Passages

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I addressed the ball on the first tee. It was a par 3, 150 yards. I pulled out my 5-iron, thinking, This could be a hole-in-one—straight on, pretty view.

I swung.

I whiffed. I mean, I completely missed the ball.

The rest of the round was pretty pathetic. It was beginning to encourage me to quit. On the last hole, I said to myself, Okay, I'm at least going to end this round with a par.

I topped the ball.

That did it. I picked up my ball and walked to the clubhouse for a Corona.

I decided I was finished with golf.

Like baseball, running, basketball, football, water and snow skiing, boating, and difficult hikes, golf is now in my past. Good memories. Times I am grateful to have experienced. I have enjoyed the delight of doing them.

But I am learning that life is about passages.

Not only the activities we once did, but also the people who have been part of our lives—parents, spouses, siblings, friends. People come into our lives, share a passage with us, and eventually, for one reason or another, that passage ends.

Accepting this as part of the way life works helps me feel more grateful for what I have had and what I have done. Somehow, it also lessens the grief of what is gone.

Even my photography has gone through passages. I moved from large format to medium format, to 35mm, to compact cameras, and now to the iPhone.

And that's okay with me.

Been there. Done that.

What's new and exciting for me now?

Recently, I printed an image I took with my iPhone as a 20-by-20-inch print. The detail wasn't quite acceptable at that size. My first thought was, Well, okay.

Then I realized something.

I am naturally moving toward more abstract, painterly images anyway. So instead of fighting the limitation, I can embrace it. I can use the filters and techniques I have been exploring to create the new effect I am drawn to.

In other words, I can flow with the passage.

Maybe that's what these passages are really asking of us—not to hold on to what was, but to be open to what is becoming.

My brother Richard said, in his elder years, that the biggest task in life is to love. Everything else melts away.

Maybe he was touching on the same idea I am thinking about when I speak of passages.

There are natural losses.

But there are also possible gains: wisdom, gratitude, peace, perspective—and LOVE.

I still have passions. They may simply look different than they did before.

Before is gone.

Today is where life is.

And I am curious about what comes next.

Superior Awakening

Siblinghood

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I received a Dear John letter recently. It was said that I have “emotional affairs”; that I crossed boundaries that, to her, felt romantic or emotionally exclusive. This was not my intent. But, this was how my actions have been received. I question how to be, after losing my wife of more than fifty-four years.

I know I don’t want to feel ‘possessed’. I am at a place where living LOVE is important to me. I want to be free to love whomever I please; not romantically, but like a close sibling.

Can a man be deeply affectionate, emotionally open and loving toward women without that affection being romantic? The answer to me is clearly yes. But, it gets a little hairy when there is a romantic relationship involved. I believe it takes a high level of trust and communication for it to work.

How do we communicate that intention clearly enough that the other person experiences the relationship that way too?

Men especially can sometimes be deprived of deep, emotionally open friendships because our culture teaches men to keep certain feelings to themselves. A siblinghood perspective says, Why?

A brother can tell his sister he loves her.
A sister can tell her brother she misses him.
They can talk about life, death, hopes, fears, spirituality, memories and dreams.

What if we treated everyone we meet as a brother or sister we hadn't met before?

Romantic love says, "I choose you."
Sibling love says, "I recognize you."
Universal love says, "I recognize myself in you."

Uniting

Book Access

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The latest pdf versions of both Simply Gift, Divine Design and My Journey to Live LOVE, Eighty Years Discovering What Matters Most are now available, free of charge, on MikeSipe.com. High quality print versions are also available at Amazon, at cost. Unfortunately, the cost is high due to on-demand printing with Blurb’s high quality paper. If you want your own copy I recommend you get digital pdfs of the books at Blurb.com at $5.99. Email me to discuss Mike@MESipe.com.

Felicity

The Way

8/8 80

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8/8. 80. Coincidence? I choose not to think so.

They say the Lionsgate portal opens on 8/8 with extraordinary energy. Conveniently, that's also the day I turn 80.

Did I suddenly become wiser? Let's not get carried away.

I did, however, find enough energy to give My Journey to Live LOVE one more careful editing pass. The good news is that the book is better. The even better news is that I resisted the temptation to rewrite the whole thing.

The updated edition is now on MikeSipe.com.

If you'd like to take a look, I'd be delighted. And if something in it speaks to you, I'd love to hear from you.

EIGHTY YEARS DISCOVERING WHAT MATTERS MOST

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I am just realizing that I will be eighty. You would think I would have absorbed reality by now, especially since I just finished writing a 60-page account called My Journey to Live LOVE: Eighty Years Discovering What Matters Most, which is posted on MikeSipe.com. Yet part of me still thinks I am sixty-five. Reality keeps reminding me otherwise. So I have given myself a new affirmation: I have at least ten good years. At the speed time now seems to pass, that feels like tomorrow. Which leaves me with the question that matters most: How do I LOVE today?

Big edit to Simply Gift, Divine Design

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I made a major revision to Simply Gift, Divine Design after first posting it on MikeSipe.com on June 18. I added about ten pages, removed nearly sixty, and learned once again that less is often more. I am deeply pleased with this more focused version.

I am grateful to those who offered editing suggestions, including ChatGPT, which helped me see opportunities for improvement while encouraging me to preserve my own voice and spirit throughout the book.

It takes about an hour to browse through Simply Gift. I designed it so that it can be opened to any page and enjoyed for a few quiet moments or a much longer time of reflection.

At eighty years old, the book reflects much about the spiritual path I now walk. It is my hope that these images and reflections invite others to pause, notice, and experience the simple gifts and divine designs that surround us every day.

Divine Design

Simply Gift pdf now on Website

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I am pleased to share the second draft of SIMPLY GIFT, DIVINE DESIGN, now posted on MikeSipe.com.

The book contains more than 160 of my favorite nature images gathered over fifteen years, accompanied by 60 reflections inspired by what those images revealed to me.

Photography has taught me to slow down, to notice, and to wonder. The reflections grew from the same place. Together they express what I have come to believe: life is filled with simple gifts and divine designs, often hidden in plain sight.

Creating this book has been a joy. Sharing it is my way of extending a hand and connecting with fellow explorers who find meaning, beauty, and inspiration in the natural world.

I hope you enjoy the journey.

Felicity

Union

Going with the Flow

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I was a career planner. I helped others plan their tomorrows. I planned my own as well. My sister Bernadette used to say, "You dream, you plan, you do." That was certainly true for much of my life. Now, I feel more inclined to go with the flow. I no longer have clients whose financial independence I help project. My estate plans are in place. I have enough resources left to live a simple life. For now, I am sharing another's home. Soon, I will share our remodeled photo studio with family. I will be an occupant rather than a provider, a role that feels unfamiliar, yet surprisingly comfortable. I do not know what tomorrow will bring.

 Much of what lies ahead is beyond my control. The universe will unfold as it will. Rather than resisting that reality, I find myself accepting it. And it is good.

There is a simplicity and purity in being present. In accepting what is. In connecting right here, right now—with nature, with family, and with the quiet rhythms of my small world.

 I have also learned the significance of LOVE.

I try to live LOVE as fully as I am able. When I do, it feels natural. Less like effort and more like flow. As though something deeper than thought is guiding me. My Inner Wisdom seems to know the way, even when my mind does not.

The stream does not struggle to find the river. It simply follows its nature. Perhaps that is what I am learning to do. To trust the current.

To live the moment. To let LOVE carry me downstream toward whatever grace awaits

Going with the Flow

New Address

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It’s no longer Wolf Lane. My new permanent address is 16 Wild Apple Ln, Richmond, VT 05477. The new mailbox is just a couple feet away from the old one. The new abode, soon to be converted from photo studio and shed to home, sweet home, is down the hill from 60 Wolf Ln, a few hundred feet to the northwest. It’s a little eerie looking up the hill knowing I can’t just enter my old home of more than eight years.

I am looking forward to moving into what will be the most unique of my more than twenty residences. I’ll be closer to my black walnut trees and family. It may be my last home - that’s what I said last time. You don’t know what is to come, do you? If you want to make God laugh, tell him/her your plans!

New home

A Brief Glimpse

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It is eight o’clock, and the sun is setting over the Adirondacks. I am settling into my bedroom at my new homeshare when I notice the unusual sky through the window above my bed. Is it too late to get into position and capture Spring growth beneath this fiery sky? I think so… then maybe not. I rush to Overlook Park, just blocks from where I’m staying. Time seems to slow for me there, giving me just enough of a moment to capture the beauty before it fades. Later, I process the images to express what I felt: awe at nature and its ever-changing art show.

Overlook

Aflame

Late Bloomers

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I walked my Walnut Way the other day. The sixty black walnut trees are not yet blooming, while the other trees are already well on their way to full leaf. I noticed the same late blooming in my nursery of special plants last spring, after a bitter winter. At the time, I worried I had lost them. I was delighted to see them come along in their own time and flourish. I am less worried now, knowing they are simply late bloomers.

I breathed a sigh of relief yesterday when Jessica, who walks the land daily, excitedly told me that my walnut trees are coming alive. I will walk the Way today with delight and awe. It is a real treat to watch them grow from saplings to twenty-foot youngsters to fruit-bearing trees. I will not be there for the harvest. That is good. I am not sure I could bear it.

I am learning, too, that it is better late than never. Late in my life, I have discovered the beauty and value of what I call the LOVE Priorities: self-realizing, connecting, and giving. The activities I attribute to this SCG way are learning, serving, mentoring, exploring, relating, playing, protecting, contributing, and transferring. In retirement, I find myself busy again, but in a different spirit—on my Way of SCG pursuit, a loving way.

Late Bloomers

Bloom

Back Field

 

FLOW

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I drove by the flowing Johnny Brook on Hinesburg Road a number of times this Spring. A spot along the way caught my eye. I said to myself, I have to stop and capture the flow, as it is plenty, and picturesque. I look for LCDS - Light, Color, Design, and Story. I think I’ve got it. But, I can’t decide what capture thrills me the most. Is it the wide-angle, that images flows all over the place? Or, the more simple focused flow, that doesn’t have me looking every which way?

I fight simplification, even knowing that it’s a meaningful objective - calming, peaceful, focused on what’s most important. What do you think?

Flow

Flow 2

Flow 3

Stuff the Stuff

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I am downsizing for the fourth time. Next time is an urn! It’s been a dozen times to Goodwill and a few times to the dump. It seems stuff goes first to the closet, then to the garage, storage unit and finally, to Goodwill or the dump. I am longing to simplify and focus on what is most important to me. I have been fortunate to afford stuff. Now I desire connecting - connecting with family, friends… and new friends, nature, and divine source. There is connecting energy that I wish to tap into. How, I am not sure, but I know the phenomenon exists. I understand so little but understand more as I pay attention to the significance of LOVE.

As I sift through belongings and let go of material possessions, I realize how much lighter my spirit feels. The process of releasing physical objects has opened up space not just in my home, but also in my heart and mind. It’s as if, with every box donated, I’m making more room to welcome experiences and relationships that truly matter.

My journey to understand the significance of LOVE has heightened my focus. Since my belief that the Lord as us is LOVE, I am more alive and loving. I now recognize the great significance of LOVE within. The best exercise I ever did was developing a process to have deeper conversations with planning clients. I determined that a focus on Self-realizing, Connecting, and Giving boiled down to love of self and love of others by better learning, serving, mentoring, exploring, relating, playing, protecting, contributing, and transferring. Each person may do these activities differently - that’s the beauty of human existence. I didn’t realize that the time afforded me to start my journey on the significance of LOVE would impact me so beautifully. The focus for me on SCG has been transformative, especially after realizing I am LOVE.

In this new season, I’m eager to embrace purposeful passion and let my priorities be guided by what truly resonates with my soul. Letting go of “stuff” is not just a physical act, but a spiritual one—a declaration that my heart is ready for deeper connections and greater love.

Seeing Light

Serenity

Tranquility

Felicity

Simplicity

 

Spirit Dwells

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Mary Abele, founding pastor at All Souls Interfaith Gathering, introduced me to the beautiful sanctuary she created at Meach Cove. Now it is time for the 150 or so congregants to leave the space and become self-sufficient. I am grateful for Mary’s foresight to form All Souls, dedication to the mission of cultivating inner peace, and inspiring connection with Divine Source, and financial contribution. The last five years in which I have belonged to All Souls, has been spiritually rewarding for me.

The sanctuary with the awe inspiring panoramic views of Lake Champlain and Adirondack mountains will be missed. However the people will move to the new, more meager surroundings. As we embrace this transition, I am reminded that the true spirit of a community dwells not in walls, but in the hearts of its members. Our shared sense of purpose and connection will continue to flourish, wherever we gather. And, the fact of the matter is, it will only take a small extra effort to visit the view we will miss. It is free to see, take in, and feel the same awesomeness, as if we were sitting in Mary’s creation!

Still Movement

Sanctuary

Spirit Dwells

The Light


'Everything in Moderation'

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Everything in moderation, as my mother always said, is a good rule to live by. However, some things are simply beyond our control, no matter how hard we try. Life can throw unexpected challenges our way, reminding us that balance sometimes means accepting what we cannot change.

Vermont missed the Nor’easter this past week. I feel for the struggles of people hit hard by the recent severe weather. Vermont is experiencing a cold winter and much snow, but very bearable. In fact, the landscape is beautiful - a frozen Lake Champlain, the Adirondack, the Green mountains, and rural views.

Go Beyond

Winter Wonder

Evergreen

Cold Heart

AFFIRMATION

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My words are coming together. My actions are incomplete. I have refined my daily affirmation many times, as my life’s purpose becomes clearer with age. I am grateful for my path. I know LOVE is the answer I desire. I choose LOVE. I continue to embrace the grace of LOVE.

Following is my latest version:

Affirmation

Living LOVE

I live LOVE by embracing three fundamental actions: Self-realizing, Connecting, and Giving. These actions are expressed through a variety of meaningful activities, including Learning, Serving, Mentoring, Exploring, Relating, Playing, Protecting, Contributing, and Transferring.

While I engage in Self-realizing, Connecting, and Giving, I strive to remain present in each moment. My attention is devoted to loving people, appreciating the process, seeking out the positive, honoring the pristine, and nurturing my passions.

I listen intently to my Inner Wisdom and accept my uniqueness, as well as the uniqueness of others. This acceptance is practiced without judgement, with respect, patience, forgiveness, and a sense of humor.

Lighting our way

Sun Beams

Lighting our way 2

Winter Freeze

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The last freeze-over on Lake Champlain was 2019. It has been cold. I pulled out the bombardier jacket a record number of times this year. It is only the middle of February so I may add to the record. I only pull it out if the temp is 15 degrees or colder. I don’t expect to cross the ice to New York anytime soon. Instead, I am thinking about a journey to Florida next year. Being a four-season person, I will most likely miss the snow and ice, but I will take the risk - at least one time!

The ice and snow on the Lake make for fun imaging. I look forward to the views as the snow and Ice melt. In the meantime I enjoy the present.

Winter 2026

Frozen

Ice-Over

Northern Exposure Photo Exhibit

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I am excited to be one of eight photographers exhibiting The World Through Our Lenses, at Emile A. Gruppe Gallery, from 2/26 through 4/5, 10am - 3pm Thursday through Sunday. Join the artists Sunday, March 1st, 1-3pm. Have a private showing - call Emile at 802.899.3211. The permanent Gruppe Collection is worth the trip alone.

There will be travel talks 1-3pm:

March 8 Costa Rica and Newfoundland

March 15 Provence and US National Parks

March 29 The Azores

April 5 Indonesia and Scotland

The address to put on your calendar is 22 Barber Farm Road, Jericho, VT

I know many of you can’t make a 1200 mile trip to the exhibit. With my virtualness, I have a pdf of my Scotland captures at MikeSipe.com. The PDF is more than 100 images of the eight day tour of the Highlands and Islands. The full Monti gives you a real feel of the magnificent awe of the area. If you can’t make it to Jericho to see my framed canvas favorites or hear about my photo approach on 4/5, peruse MikeSipe.com and call me 320.493.1318 to discuss a custom print for an appropriate wall in your view.

Iona

Iona shore

House on a Hill

Light Within

Snow Stars

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It’s ten below zero, maybe a little warmer. The lighter than ever snowflakes accumulate like a pile-on tackle in an NFL playoff game. You can almost see the uniqueness of each flake. The individual flakes fall to the ground, like shooting stars. The abnormality of cold and snow result in snow as light as a feather. This is new to me - at least the idea of weathering the cold to capture the beauty - a heavenly experience. I am grateful to capture a few images that delight.

Snow Stars

Evergreen

Tracks

Winter Walnut Way

What if...

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What if it was 1776, not 2026? After all 250 years ago is barely noticeable when you think that humans have been on earth for 6 million years. What would life be like for me in Richmond, Vermont, at 60 Wolf Lane? To start with I would be six feet under, since I never would have lived to nearly eighty; maybe half 80. But let’s say I did.

I’ve heard of the Green Mountain Boys, led by Ethan Allen. They live and fight for freedom, a short distance away, but that is a long way to travel, even if I had a buggy. I am in the middle of a hotbed of revolutionary activity. I believe strongly in independence from Britain, but I detest war. What am I to do? How do I help, without killing anyone? It is hard enough killing the wolfs at the cabin door. It is hard enough cutting precious trees down to have the heat to make it to spring. It is hard enough trapping prey to feed the family. Spring, if I live that long, will provide rain and milder temperatures to till the soil and harvest fruits and vegetables - I dream of that. I dream of community with my neighbors, when I can get an opportunity to go the distance. How big is this world I live in? Is it different for others? I know it is different. I see it in my little world around me - Slavery - Blacks, women.

Snap out of it Mike, it’s 2026. Freedom, not perfect, but a lot better than 250 years ago! I have the technology, to reach the world with this blog. I have electricity. Eighteen inch walls surround me to make the heat loss efficient. I have a wood fireplace for aesthetics and a little extra comfort. I had the best meal of my life last night - 5 courses - raw tuna, cappelleita (or something like that), scallops, pastry wrapped swordfish. Each course enhanced with a flavorful sauce, and paired with fine wine. The last course was sharing a chocolate tort and special cake with my CLAUTTIA companion, Mary Lou. I finished with a cup of tea. The Starry Night Cafe is twenty miles away, but only took a half hour in my late model electric car, riding on asphalt (although, I do live on a dirt road). By the way I plan to fly to Great Britain for a vacation in 2026. I am grateful to Be now. Maybe I would have been 250 years ago, or 250 years in the future. Freedom to choose LOVE within, is, was, and will be.

Skylight