Prickly Sphere, Charlo, Montana

“So it is with life. 

Those thorns, the prickly problems of life, cause us to strive to rise above them and then, as we do, we learn. 

We learn to exercise true compassion, true kindness - or the thorns, if we let them, cause us to brood, to mourn over our trials. Then we plant the seeds of bitterness, hate, and ruin - weeds. 

We may reach up for the rose or down to the weeds...the weeds in life that tangle us, strangle us, and cause us to lose hope.” - James Michael Pratt

Dusk Downstream, Missoula, Montana

“A free bird leaps

on the back of the wind  

and floats downstream  

till the current ends

and dips his wing

in the orange sun rays

and dares to claim the sky….”

From “Caged Bird” By Maya Angelou

Read the entire poem here. 

Centered, Missoula, Montana

I've been compelled to stop and stare into the center of this rose every day since bouquet delivery on Monday.  Very distracting. I literally walk by, return, pause, gaze - forcibly snap out of it, back to work - why was I headed this way? All the other blooms are lovely, but they fade to mere peripheral  blurs.  It's not that it's perfect - you can see the slight blemishes. Rather, something of character mesmerized me - the swirling, unfurling of completeness, at its very apogee.  Gazing into it kind of makes me feel something similar to the banketing peace gained by gazing out at the ocean or a wind-rippling grain field. (Insert happy sigh.)