The spacious altar frees us:
the nautilus from the
South Pacific with healed cracks;
the real rabbit’s foot;
a bird’s nest of human
hair;
the small wooden cube,
inside which are hidden a number of very tiny trinkets;
a dragonfly
Throwing the stone
into the waters of the heart has repercussions universe-wide.
The aesthetics of presence are synonymous with peace.
From “Faith Fool”
(19 Oct 2012)
I am bent over, thighs folded on calves, resting on heels, balanced
on toes. Left and right hands lie flat on muck, beautiful mud that borders the
water of the wetland. I gently close my eyes, hear … the sound of birds whose
names I know not, sing with clear voices that immediately bring tears to my
eyes. Cool, wet soil, strands of grasses and small pebbles … And peace becomes
friends with rootedness. In an inexplicable instant, I feel that I am at home –
even though I am squatting in a place I’ve never been [before] …
From “Grounded in Autumn” (18 Oct
2013)
The shape of stories: circle and spiral. They lie down flat
in the thick meadow grass and are held, fed nurtured by the mercury moon. They
become whispers that echo back and reverberate forward through the times of all
moons – full…waxing…waning…new. They leave thick salt like pearls in our
eyelashes, sticking to the long tresses of our hair, after an ocean swim. Even
in chronology they are not linear. Our stories are present now.
From “Notes…” (24
Oct 2014)
As we hike along, he says, “It looks like that tree is
twinkling!” I follow his gaze and see that an aspen, as sparkly as the gold
leaf on the Burmese pagoda, is quivering in the slight breeze…
From “Unification” (23 Oct 2015)
The natural world brings us
together in unity, makes us equals.
The spirit of all that is holy,
whatever is divine, wondrous miracles, can be found in nature.
From my journal (19 Oct 2016)
What if we gifted spaciousness in lieu of presents? Or presence instead of presents? An hour is just about the most blessed gift there is. I just stepped outside … and the moon, planets, stars were absolutely stunning! Bright. Clear. Another gift.
All blog images created & photographed by Jennifer J. Wilhoit unless otherwise noted. Please circulate images with photo credit: "©2016 JenniferJWilhoit/TEALarbor stories. AllRightsReserved."
