The Right to Daydream

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Is it okay to just stare out the window and do nothing for a while?

It’s Memorial Day weekend. Sadly, for all the barbecues, parades, and outdoor activities planned, it’s going to be a complete washout. It’s been raising all day and it will continue through till Tuesday. For myself, I have a couple smaller get-togethers planned, both indoors with friends, and which include coffee.

When I came back home from brunch earlier, I realized I had no desire to do anything. Truly, nothing. I brought my book, a sketchbook, and my phone over to the sofa by the front windows, invited Charlie to come and curl up, and looked out at the rain.

And despite a little scrolling and reading a few pages, that’s what I did — stared out at the rain. I watched the patterns it made in the big puddle at the edge of the sidewalk. I watched a squirrel pop up on my porch railing and eat a walnut he had unearthed from somewhere. I watched the trees swaying in the dark and cloudless sky. It felt good.

With all the things we always have to do or feel compelled to do, are we not entitled to spend some time “doing nothing”? Can we not just let go of all the `shoulds’ that so tightly bind us?

Do we not have the right to daydream?

Here’s hoping, whatever the weekend weather is bringing to you, that you take the time to curl up and look out your window and watch the world go by. Even if only for a little while.

Something Wonderful

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I recently learned of a small, very simple tip that actually does make a difference in how you can feel each day, and I thought I’d share.


Photo by Chidy Young / unsplash

Before you go to sleep at night, say to yourself or say out loud, “Something wonderful is going to happen tomorrow.” 
When you get up in the morning, say, “Something wonderful is going to happen today.”  And repeat it from time to time during the day. But each night, each morning.

And it works. Here’s why.

We spend a lot of time in worrying and negative thinking. Wonderful things are going on in our lives all the time, but we often don’t stop and notice. They needn’t be huge. They can be as small as an unexpected call or text from a friend. Someone let you go ahead in traffic. Or you spotted this adorable little toad when you were out gardening. 

My 4-year-old neighbor pointed out this little toad to me. He named him Jumper.

If, each day, you look at the day before to see what wonderful thing happened, you will spot it easily. And that works every day.

I think of it as gratitude through the back door.  Try it.

Tree Hugger

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There was a time that “tree hugger” was a dirty word. If you were accused of being a tree hugger, that was an insult. It meant you were a softie, perhaps a bit tetched in the head because you loved trees.

“Tree hugger” was also the catchall name – a slur – for an environmentalist, someone who loved and respected the rich and diverse life on this planet. And there were, and still are, too many people that view the environment as something to be used and abused.

But to others of us, “tree hugger” is a mighty fine compliment, thank you. I will happily accept your calling me a tree hugger. And if you’re still here reading, and looking at photos, I feel pretty confident that you are a tree hugger, too.

Nice to meet you.

The photographs here are selected from those I’ve taken over the last 10 years or so with my phone or digital camera. I have many others taken with SLRs, but they are stored in other formats, not available on my computer.

Some of these are taken around my own town, others in Frenchtown and Clinton, NJ, Tinicum, PA, and a couple at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ.

They all say one thing – trees are magnificent beings. We can be grateful that they share their beauty with us, season after season, clean our air, offer us shade, and provide homes for so many forms of wildlife.

Have you hugged a tree lately? You might feel a little too embarrassed to brazenly wrap your arms around a tree and hug, but I’m sure a little pat and a quiet `thank you’ would be appreciated.

When Music Finds Me

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I never really know how music finds me when it does. It just does, and I’m always grateful. The song and video below are what inspired me to write this poem.

I’m pretty sure I saw Gladiator a long time ago, but I don’t recall the storyline. It doesn’t matter. It is this music and these visuals that called me to write these words.

The song, played by 2CELLOS and the London Symphony Orchestra, is Now We Are Free, from Gladiator, written by Hans Zimmer.

This was my inspiration:

Colosseum photo by Chris Flxxx / pexels

Poetry – Day 30

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Today is the last day of National Poetry Month. We leave quietly with a poem by Mary Oliver.

Photo: Leeloo The First/Pexels

Today

Today I’m flying low and I’m
not saying a word
I’m letting all the voodoos of ambition sleep.

The world goes on as it must,
the bees in the garden rumbling a little,
the fish leaping, the gnats getting eaten.
And so forth.

But I’m taking the day off.
Quiet as a feather.
I hardly move though really I’m traveling
a terrific distance.

Stillness. One of the doors
into the temple.

Mary Oliver, 2012