The Giant Sequoias Witness to the Ages

Giant Sequoias -
The Standing Tall Grandfathers
Cathedral of green.

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Witness to the ages, The Giant Sequoias in the Sequoia National Forest are a thousand years older than the coastal Redwoods; the oldest known Sequoia Tree has been estimated to be 3,200 years old based on a ring count. Walking amoung these Grandfathers has the power of ancient cathedral. When I travel by car along the west coast of California, I know it is important to stop, get out of the car and walk with them for a bit. Then to sit with them a bit – breathing in the oxygen they are sharing with all on Our Great Mother, The Earth.

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Quiet, cool and peaceful, the standing tall redwoods of Santa Barbara are relatively young sequoias at about 100 years of age. They Stand less than a mile from my home. Feeling so blessed to live in a place of such beauty. The serene giants grow deep in Mission Canyon along the pathway favored by the small amount of seasonal water flow in the region. Couple this with a narrow canyon and you have the perfect microenvironment for the Sequoias.

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These quiet watchers, I wonder what their message is to the puny short-lived humans? It may be:

“Do not be in such a hurry Dear Ones, more is gained thru quiet rumination than rushing without thought. In your headlong running to ‘see it all’ you miss much. I delight in your joy and exhuberance, with wisdom you will learn to couple that with more time sitting quiet and tall – rooted like the redwood – becoming witness to the ages. Without moving, I have traveled the Milky Way and back. Come sit with me. Trust me, with stillness the panorama of existance will come to you.”

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At the Table

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Oatmeal and berries,
Butter and maple syrup.
Break-fast with sunrise.

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Chopping wood and carrying water – includes the times in between. Eating, sleeping, time in the silence, time in the company of good friends.
Seeking to recognize it is all (as Ram Das first said oh so many years ago) 'grist for the mill'.
Gotta say – this morning’s fuel is oh so good.
I prefer simple fare. Simple foods – raw nuts and a piece of fruit – steamed veggies with rice ( I mix together basamati, jasmine and wild)- sometimes with just tamari or Bragg’s on top - - sometime with butter added in. This is not to say a pizza with red sause, cheese, pinapple and fresh tomato and basil does not also make me go YUM.
…. And oh ya … often with ground flax seed to throw on top of ‘whatever’ after prep/cooking complete …

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For the most part I do not plan meals in advance – eating simple does not require much planning other than to have good options on hand.
There have been times in my life when things were different. Oh my gosh. During pregnancy I would, while eating breakfast plan lunch, with lunch I would plan dinner, with dinner I would plan hour of sleep snack – and yes – as I drifted off to sleep I would be planning breakfast again.
Then I grew full with baby – I would go to the tent maker to purchase clothes that would fit. Thinking that some was baby- but thighs did grow also. Oh my goodness, it seems I have ‘food’ coupled with joyous pregnancy as good memories.
Food shared with friends and family also brings joyous memories. Food coupled with friends and family – sitting at the table and looking out over the land – or looking down to the ocean and the Channel Islands - sweet peaceful moments of repast. Then after eating, sipping tea and discussing with harmony in vanguard whatever topic/s come to mind.
With gratitude for good food and good friends/family.

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Doug -  do you see the container in use for breakfast? I use the cup/bowls you gifted me almost daily. xo xo

Black White Red

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We may disagree
You see black and I see white.
But, both have heart red.

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The divisions between ideologies – I can live with.
The divisions between heart connection that can be created when we carry varying ideologies brings great saddness.
I may disagree with you – however – I will not throw you out of my heart. I have been taught: ‘Fools argue, wise men discuss.’
We are family on a journey across time and space. We have had different life experiences that have come together to create our personal world view. None on this earth plane consciousness see the entire picture. We are the proverbial blind men touching the elephant. Until we rise above the... I / ME / MINE ...consciousness our vision will be flawed at least a bit.
So – as we work towards creating a unified heart carrying love for all - let us agree to disagree now and again. Let us continue the sometimes painful but very important work of ‘ironing out our differences.’
With love across the miles we travel- both inner and outer - I see you – and know we are family. 

  

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“Most of the time, people talk and act from their own viewpoint. They seldom see, or even try to see, the other person’s side. If, lacking understanding, you enter into a fight with someone, remember that each of you is as much to blame as the other, regardless of which one started the argument. ‘Fools argue; wise men discuss.’ ”
Paramahansa Yogananda

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Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School

Conscience of a nation:
Our Young Ones call out to us –
“Is it finally time?”
 

Whereas it is important to continue to find the quiet and peaceful place – daily – yet as one seeking to become a real human being, I feel I must also stand witness to the horrors We The People have created. We are simultaneously victims and creators of the times we are passing through.
We are well beyond the time where a line in the sand dividing -Them and Us - will serve. There is only us and we are suffering by our own hand - by our own choices. The only way through is for the consciousness of the people to pass the tip point of division and return to ONE MIND / ONE HEART.
At any point in time, we can choose to turn towards the light – towards unity. Is it finally time to say/be WE.

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I had thought that taking the discipline to write a Haiku a day was going to be 365 pleasant meanders into quiet times on the land and quiet daily rituals. I never had the intention of writing about the controversial and emotionally charged topics predominating our world conversations. Doing more than looking – actually seeing what is unfolding is wrenchingly painful. Then to write on what I see, I ask, ‘who am I to write on these huge issues?’ I am no one. Yet, here again because the discipline has been set - I write. When I woke this morning, I had come into the front room with the intention of writing about … the morning cup of coffee. How I wish this were a time to talk about having a cup of coffee. Maybe tomorrow will be the time to write about coffee . . . .

   

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photo is of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Emma Gonzalez during her speech at the Broward County Federal Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on February 17, 2018.

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Paramahansa

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Behold, Supreme Swan!

Rides on luminous waters-

Into open hearts.

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