Winter Tranquility - Grant Creek, Missoula, Montana

"There's a sense of sovereignty that comes from life on a mountain, a perception of privacy and isolation, even of dominion. In that vast space you can sail unaccompanied for hours, afloat on pine and brush and rock. It's a tranquillity born of sheer immensity; it calms with its very magnitude, which renders the merely human of no consequence. Gene [my father] was formed by this alpine hypnosis, this hushing of human drama."

-Tara Westover, "Educated: A Memoir", p. 27

On Inspiration And Work - Winter - Grant Creek, Missoula, Montana

“Inspiration is for amateurs.

 The rest of us just show up and get to work.”

- Chuck Close, renowned artist, b. 1940

(Wishing you deep thoughts of how today's photo ties in with the quote....C.)

Complex Simplicity - Missoula, Montana

"The art of simplicity is a puzzle of complexity."
-Rev. Douglas Horton (1891-1968)

Winter Sleeper - Missoula, Montana

"Gen closed his eyes, leaned forward, and put his head on his knees. 
Sleep was a country for which he could not obtain a visa.
 'Commas,' he said through a yawn, 'pause the sentence and separate ideas.'" 

- Ann Patchett, Bel Canto, p. 210

(Forgive the slight stretch on picture-quote pairing, but I've been sitting on that lovely middle sentence for such a looong time...)
 

Changing Mystery of Now - Grant Creek, Missoula, Montana

"You just have to live, Ave, and let life unfold. Say what you mean.
You can't always think about what you've lost, or what you don't have, or what you didn't get. Because when you do that, you're missing out on the now...
We shouldn't let a day go by when we don't stop and think about what we are to each other and how the best part of that is the part that changes.
That's the mystery.
And that's the part of people that's divine. Accepting the unknown and trusting it."

 -Jack in  Home To Big Stone Gap, A Big Stone Gap Novel, p 162, by Adriana Trigiani

Small Things - Missoula, Montana

"Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies."

-Mother Theresa (aka Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, 1910-1997)

Poplars On Ice - Clark Fork River, Missoula, Montana

Amazing how the smallest unexpected graces can bring such delight and refocus thoughts in a positive way - the sparkle of light revealing hidden colours in a winter creek bed, a chatty gathering of glossy green-head ducks, or another driver actually signalling into the traffic circle. 

Be still my heart - hope springs eternal!

Inspired Path - Grant Creek, Missoula, Montana

"I see my path, but I don't know where it leads. 

 Not knowing where I'm going is what inspires me to travel it."

-Rosalia de Castro

From Map of the Heart by Susan Wiggs, Part 6 intro page

Perhaps the Lewis and Clark exploration team felt what this quote expresses....and even looked down a similar water-path! I'm extremely impressed anytime I ponder the tenacity of previous generations who forged ahead in the face of varied physical hindrances - and without all our modern "must-haves". There's something to be said for making your own way - and there are plenty of modern-day pioneers still to admire. For inspiration (or maybe more at "whew, glad that's not me!"), check out the latest posts from the Canadian Renegade(s).