Seen And Not Seen - Missoula, Montana

“All I have seen
 teaches me 
to trust the Creator 
 for all I have not seen.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), from XI.Immortality, 
  p. 338, The complete works of Ralph Waldo Emerson: Letters and social aims [Vol. 8]

Alliteration Illustrated - Stevensville, Montana

My favourite guest-poster strikes again! Big thanks to Pat Richards for sharing her thoughts and visuals from their recent Montana visit.

 

Alliteration Illustrated

The babbling brook bubbles by.

And indeed it did!

Musically mesmerizing my soul.

Relaxation music courtesy of Mother Nature

While the Bitterroot River can hardly be termed a brook, simply sitting on a rock watching and listening as it flows by is one of my favorite Montana pastimes.   

- Pat

Time Past In The Present - Missoula, Montana

”Time is a weird thing. 
 Sometimes you can appreciate a moment that’s gone 
 more in the present than you did 
 when it was actually happening.”
- Steven Pressfield 
From “10 Short Life Leasons From Steven Pressfield" (adapted from Tribe of Mentors)

Repetition - Missoula, Montana

“Practice builds habits. 
Our habits are our character. 
When it comes to virtue, practice “makes a very great difference — or rather, all the difference.” 
- Eric Greitens, Resilience

(Y'all think some deep thoughts, now, on how repetition and resilience and bees and coneflower patterns all tie together...then let me know how you connected these particular dots!)

Everyday Miracles - Missoula, Montana

“There are two ways you can live your life:
as though nothing is a miracle,
OR
as though everything is a miracle.”

(Omigosh -  thank you, Janet Martin, for painting another great word image:
 "...The fervor of [today's] live-laugh-love / Unfurling from God’s kiss."
Read Janet's full poem in the preceding text link - or here, if not obvious.)

(& many thanks to a dedicated child sponsor for this quote, included in Comments at this moving & motivating blog post from Compassion International.)

Quiet Reflection.- Missoula, Montana

Today's gorgeous evening view overlooking Missoula is courtesy of Pat Richards, who also shares her hands-on India / Asia perspectives at JourneysWithGod.com.
Thanks, Pat, for always making the time to share your guest blogger Montana perspectives!

In moments of quiet reflection, I begin to see clearer the depths of who I am. 
Are the waters of my soul still, clear, reflecting light?
I pray it is so.

For the world beyond deserves to see beauty, light and life in me.

Be Ready When Opportunity Knocks - Missoula, Montana

The Best Husband Ever noticed this undaunted little ant on the bike trail - and promptly launched into a running commentary which he certainly thought to be amusing. 
(TBHE - not the ant.) 
Suffice it to say, topic range included plank-in-your-eye-Bible-verse corollaries and first-person (er....first-ant?) smart remarks. 
We shall not quote verbatim.

Fast forward to yesterday evening's perfect weather for ice cream. Walking out the door (literally!), I called our friend, Carrie, to say, "Hey, we can pick you up in 5 minutes to go for ice cream - our treat!"  My announcement that we were at her back door cut off her explanation of why she looked like s**t - and off we went to Sweet Peaks!

Long story short, amidst the sublime throes of Strawberry Fields (single scoop on a cake cone), she noted how glad she was that she joined our impromptu outing even though she looked like s**t, and quipped, "I was not prepared, but I'm ready."

Aaaand after my immediate comment of "That line makes me almost wish I was on Twitter!",  thence commenced a slightly prolonged and semi-deep conversation around isn't-that-really-just-a-great-rule-to-live-by. 

And I thought again of the little ant, seizing the unexpected and relatively ginormous pine needle find, and proceeding willy-nilly down the bike path to wherever he thought it was needed.

We can't all be Boy Scouts, be we can be ready to say yes to the unexpected - especially when there's ice cream.

Marmalade Cat Negotiations - Missoula, Montana

"The cat does not offer services. The cat offers itself. 
Of course, he wants care and shelter. 
You don't buy love for nothing."

- William S. Burroughs (1914-1997)