Bringing the Outside In - NOW

I can fixate on the pains of the past. I can worry about the uncertainty of the future. But,. I long to Be with nature now. In Peru I feel the Sacred Valley is a sacred valley. Natural beauty abounds. The Peruvians live the outside in - open markets abundant with fruits, vegetables, flowers, outside restaurants, flowers on every table. Buildings of windows. The people wear bright colors and hats of their native regions. I feel filled with joy as I photograph the skies of the Andes. I find myself saying unf……believable, all the time.

Outside In

Going with the flow - Being

Yesterday I wrote about my recent revelation - having is not what’s important to my loving, being real is. I mean, what IS important, to me, is going with the flow of being in the moment - more specifically, serving, relating, contributing, as I allow my natural goodness to flow from my being. These are three of the nine attributes of the Self-realizing, Connecting, and Giving (SCG) principles I frequently speak and write about. Having, in the sense I’m thinking, is self absorbing. Loving what IS is seeing and being present with the real goodness of all natural beings and things.

What is interesting is that in giving and being in the present, I receive - I feel exhilaration, gratitude, joy. No past, no future, being now. It’s the ideal, for me to do now. It’s a beautiful thing for me to prioritize my passions and positively impact others. What that means for me tomorrow, I don’t know. I am just going to go with the flow, taking the lead from my Inner Wisdom.

Swimming against the current

Loving What IS

A few years back, I woke before Patty and was full of love, as I admired the brimming light on her profile. It was beautiful to me. I captured the moment with my iPhone. I am glad I did - the memory is lasting. The image of the moment is below. It may be morbid, or inappropriate to you, but telling to me.

Recently, Johanna, a dear friend, and class mate of Michael and Bridget, posted that Patty saved her life. Later she posted that Patty was a dear heart to all of the ‘hanging around’ class mates. Patty lived… and loved, in the moment. Past and future were of little attention for Patty. I was unaware of Johanna’s experience and probably a lot more of Patty’s loving moments. I suspect there were many.

During a recent long meditation, I realized that; life is not having what you love, nor even loving what you have. It is loving what IS. You would think that I would have picked this up from a half century of living with Patty. I guess I am a little slow. It is never too late to learn. Thank you Patty for shedding light on what’s important.





Up Close

Graphics of close up photography appeals to me. Exploring with the telephoto talent of the new iPhone 15, and even cropping the telephoto’s narrow view to get to the image essence is resulting in my delight. This delight, in looking close, for essence, or authentic goodness applies not only to nature landscapes, but to people, to me. I love it.

Blue falls close up

The River Flows Still

A reflective walk along the St. Paul Mississippi path is my occasional delight. SKYWARD is my present photo project. Meditation is my present journey. The stars must have been aligned for me, this visit to brother John’s and sister Eileen’s at the GNL in Lowertown, because the great river flowed still. Never before have I seen this still. The blue and white skies and surrounding structures imaged perfectly in the water. The fishers were at peace.

The moment screamed silence, gear neutral, no mindful duality, peaceful quiet, block out road noice in favor of bird speak. I enjoyed the urban nature - a real treat, with a couple images to boat.

Still

Peaceful Paul

Growth Spurt

Looking back on 2023, I’m stroke by how an amazing growth period it was for me - spiritually, most importantly, and also, photographically.

My quest for more being versus doing is ongoing, and surprisedly, I’m reaching fulfilling depth of Inner Wisdom. I am now searching for why the ego is always being beat up in what I hear. I know there is a good purpose for the ego. We are not created with bad stuff, we learn it! A dear friend of mine suggested we have ego “to get shit done”. My daughter, Bridget, says the same, and contrasts it with, too much ego - narcissism.

I’ve put up my reticular activator to ego, and shortly thereafter I heard the Dalai Lama and Eckhart Tolle both talk about reconciling doing and being. My take - healthy ego is having LOVE oriented strength of self-esteem, humbly knowing, and gratefully reaching, passionate service capability. More on this in a longer writing of I LIVE LOVE NOW, when I figure it out, for me.

Photographically, I was prolific in 2023. I tagged over 600 images as ones I like - pretty much unheard of for me. And, I didn’t pull out the big guns - the PhaseOne equipment. Most of the images were taken with compact cameras and a monopod. I love it! I think the impressionistic style I’m adopting, and the convenience of having a compact camera with me all the time is resulting in all this fun I am having. See my gallery website MESipe.com. I am amazed at the skies. I am making great progress on my passion book SKYWARD, which I was motivated to do when I captured TO LIGHT, FOR PATTY in February 2022.

Plane site - the black walnut trees must have grown three feet in 2023

The End Game

“Angels clapping” - Bernadette declares to the hospice nurse. I am not surprised - Bernadette prayed for that. Bernadette’s expressed wish for her husband, five children, their spouses, and thirteen grandchildren - hell - everyone - was they go to heaven. Her focus was eternal happiness for all.

Bernadette, my big sister - was just two years older than me - It seemed like quite a difference at 10 and 12, when she was a foot taller than me. She apologized numerous times for chasing and beating me with a broom at that early age. I may have apologized once, for pushing her, to the point of breaking, a window in the living room. I don’t think I ever apologized for setting her hair on fire.

During the last three years, while in the nursing home, she always started a call with me- “Is this my dear, wonderful, loving, talented brother?” And she ended the call - “That’s life in the Big City”. I think the last uttering was just a couple weeks before her crossover.

I remember in a recent talk, Bernadette declared that I always plan for something and then make it happen. Yes, I have been fortunate to accomplish my plans. I am very grateful for that… and for Bernadette’s positive, encouraging, loving comments.

Now, in this End Game, I am learning that planning the future is overrated. Being in the present is where it all happens. I wish to be quiet about the future, suck up the present and let the universe guide my remaining years, until I again embrace my loving sister Bernadette.

Cloud light - Stairway to heaven

Bare Passage

Walking along Lake Champlain in unusual temperate forty degree weather, for the end of December, at Shelburne Farms, listening to Awakening Love by Gina Lake, was a delight today. I was listening to wise words and still, my senses were in tune with the beauty of bare trees against artful skies. I recalled the sentiment of a nature loving friend saying the bare trees are most beautiful. She is right - most beautiful to see the bare branches reaching skyward, bathing in the sun’s warmth .

Bare Passage

Bernadette is LOVE

My dear sister Bernadette passed over this morning at 4:17am. She was a beacon of light at her rest home. She expressed love to all the patients, their mates, children, staff - whoever was fortunate to be in her path. She prayed like no other. Others came to her side requesting to pray together. She was slow to judge, and quick to forgive - a very wise woman. She is now surrounded by LOVE.

Moon over rock dunder

Missed the Point

One day after showing excitement about the images in the Original Art blog, I find myself saying there is something wrong here - the images aren’t capturing the feel, for me. The skies were so magnificent that I am not doing justice as I interpret the essence of what I am seeing - too many detractors from the colors, sky patterns, design. I usually like sky grounding. In Original Art, the sky alone is the image - nothing else is needed, as I see it.

Original Art edit

Golden edit

Auburn edit

Original Art

I love Magenta - blue red gold affect skies over Button Bay on Lake Champlain - presented below. This is the second time, within a short period, the skies blow my mind, while walking the state park along the shores of the great lake. I am into the walk and talk. Beauty overwhelms. We stop. My nature loving friend notices the Original Art first. I use my new iPhone for a series to stitch, process, interpret - resulting in some of my favorite images of the year, and maybe ever.

The Original Art is priceless - not mine - natures. All four of the artful skies are within minutes of each other - within steps of each other. A real art show. I capture, interpret, and present. Joy to the World.

Original Art

Auburn

Golden

Button Bay December

Sacred Space

The skies delight while exiting the St Paul History Museum - backlighting the St Paul Cathedral, during my last Minnesota visit. As I reflect on Sacred Space, the image below, I’m struck by how filled with joy I am by nature - viewing colorful clouds, majestic trees, warming light. The greatest Cathedrals can’t fill my soul like God’s glorious natural space. Blessed am I to grow in this love.

May you have a Merry Christmas and be blessed to love each day.

Sacred Space

Felicity

Every once in a while I capture simple beauty that just makes me happy to view. Felicity does that for me. Sky, mountains, water, and mostly light, mesmerizes. I noticed the image a couple months ago and made it a banner on my blog page. I blog about it now because it fills my heart. I don’t now about tomorrow - maybe it won’t have staying power on my wall. I am about to go to the print room and make it a possibility as a photo of a life time.

Felicity

Crimson Show

I am nearing All Souls on the shores of Lake Champlain for a monthly diner gathering. All Souls faces my favorite mountain range, the south end of which I identify by the peaked Adirondack mountain you’ll notice in the images below. I have to stop, just blocks before the best positioning, at All Souls, to see the disappearing closing day colors. A number of near by cars do the same. People shooting the scene with their companion iPhones. One person standing by said “I haven’t seen a sky like this in a long time”.

Moments like this are why I carry my monopod and Sony compact camera with me all the time. I got a few shots, but was too late for the position I would have liked in front of All Souls. You get what is given. I am grateful to have seen the beauty and capture a bit of it.

BASE POINT

Stand Tall

The Point

Seeing the LIGHT

Seeing the LIGHT - LOVE, is a favorite present topic with my blogs, and images. It is because of a present focus on seeing the depths of my INNER WISDOM - learning the LOVE within. It’s a really cool journey for me. It brings, joy, peace, forgiveness, letting go of judgements while allowing for praise. I have for a long time said ‘LOVE is the answer’, but it is this journey that is bringing me closer to understanding that it is LOVING only that I long for. I have flashes of Enlightenment, and the journey has just begun

Seeing the light