musings from the mountains: May 2010

Go Outside and Play!

“Go outside and play!” said God.
“I have given you Universes
as fields to run free in!
And here—take this and wrap yourself in it—It’s called:
LOVE
and It will always, always keep you warm.
And stars! The sun and the moon and the stars!
Look upon these often, for they will remind you
of your own light!
And eyes…oh, gaze into the eyes of every Lover.
Gaze into the eyes of every other
for they have given you their Universes
as fields to run free in.
There.
I have given you everything you need.
Now go, go, go outside and play!”

‘Go Outside and Play’ © 2007 Em Claire

Monday, May 24, 2010

FLOWERS IN EARLY SUMMER...

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

A GENTLE REMINDER...

When you arise in the morning,

give thanks for the morning light.

Give thanks for your life and your strength.

Give thanks for your food

and give thanks for the joy in living.

And if you see no reason for giving thanks,

rest assured that the fault is in yourself.

~Chief Tecumseh

1813

photo found on web

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

LOVERS OF THE DANCE...

The young man playing the fiddle was the 2006 Tennessee State Champ...

Monday, May 10, 2010

RINGING IN THE VALLEY...

Bluegrass time has arrived in the valley of East Tennessee, held at the Nine Mile Volunteer Fire Dept. The first of four to be held this summer and fall. It was a beautiful, albeit a cool and windy day. Blue skies and green mountains surrounded the Sequatchie Valley. The sounds of the mountains and the valleys rang out for several days as campers and locals gather for good music, good food and great fellowship. Enjoy the slide show and look for the next festival to be held in June. (Please note when you click on slideshow it will offer you the opportunity to enlarge the screen, please do, I had to pay for that!!)

This free digital slideshow generated with Smilebox

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

A WORK OF ART...

YELLOW IRIS

AGE OLD WISDOM...

If you can start the day without caffeine or pep pills,
If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles
If you can eat the same food everyday and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when loved ones are too busy to give you time,
If you can overlook when people take things out on you when, through no fault of yours, something goes wrong,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can face the world without lies and deceit,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without liquor,
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,

well...hell...you're probably a dog!
~Author unknown

LIVING THE WISDOM OF THE TAO...

One who would guide a leader of men in the uses of life will warn him against the use of arms for conquest. Weapons often turn upon the wielder.

Where armies settle, nature offers nothing but briars and thorns. After a great battle has been fought, the land is cursed, the crops fail, the earth lies stripped of its Motherhood.

After you have attained your purpose, you must not parade your success, you must not boast of your ability, you must not feel proud; you must rather regret that you had not been able to prevent the war.

You must never think of conquering others by force. Whatever strains with force will soon decay. It is not attued to the Way. Not being attuned to the Way, its end comes all too soon.
~Lao tzu
Tao Te Ching

PRAYER

Lord, make me an instrument of Your
Peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow
love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt,faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much
seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to
understand;
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we
receive;
It is in pardoning that we are
pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal
light.
St. Francis of
Assisi

(1182-1226)

musings from the mountains