Books by the old Leather Chair

  • Snow In The Summer
  • My Bible
  • The Power of Silence
  • What Comes Next and to Like It
  • Encore Provence
  • A Year in Provence

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Think On This

This early very cold morning I checked to see when is the official beginning of Winter. December 21 is the date. This morning is a little bit of a reminder of what it will be like. In the past on early mornings when Miss Callie was let outdoors she would not come back inside. She would sit on the terrace or deck and watch for something to chase in the woods. This morning a small dog was immediately back at the door wanting to return to the warmth inside.

A thought surfaces this morning that no matter how rocky the road has been or is - my list of blessings is endless. My life at this moment is so different then I visualized it years ago.

In a time long ago I visualized a continued life with my mate, in the big house, travel and most the world had to offer. Now I have the gift of a small cottage at the edge of my woods where I garden, read, meditate, write, stay in contact with children and grandchildren, and drive the country roads with my camera. Not as I imagined years ago but it is a life of continued spiritual growth and deep peace.

A thought to keep in mind ..... not to make me sad - but to accept as a reality.....


I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old.

I am of the nature to have ill health. There is no way to escape ill health.

I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death.

All that is dear to me and everyone I love is of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them.

My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.


Buddah's Five Rememberances - Thich Nhat Hanh's version


25 comments:

BlondeMomBlog (Jamie) said...

I love you and I love your new blog header photo.

Miss Amelia and I are up early...she is watching a Barbie movie. :)

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

my header is suppose to be the "whole wreath" mom not to technical and could not reduce size :) I probably should go to computer school. Will just go with what I know.

Laura said...

E,
this is so exquisite. yes change. change our constant companion. A good friend, a surprising friend. One who sometimes disappoints, but then somehow makes up for it later with the next shift..the next beginning...the next breath.

gentle steps

Ugich Konitari said...

In the throes of
a Golden Fall,
every tree
in your woods,
remembers
the shining summer
and
a spring that
regenerates
good thoughts,
amidst a gently
falling
thirst quenching
rain.

Growing old,
and ill health,
are simply some
seasonal winds,
training you
in facing the
vagaries of nature,
like
an unscheduled snowfall,
a surprise rain.

A tree must,
in celebration,
continue to grow.
Nature teaches us so much,
you live with all,
you grow with all,
and though you may think
you are separated,
from all,
you are as close
to them
as your mind can travel...

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Ugich, how can I adequately thank you for the lovely poems. Poems that come to mind and write about this One Woman when you read her rambling.
From my heart - thank you - have a day filled with peace.

Barbara Blundell said...

When I "Think on This" I try to remember that nothing is permanent and this could be the last day on earth for anyone of us so I had better make the most of it and act accordingly ! Don't find this thought morbid at all but find it can give meaning to life

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Barbara, thank you for visiting this early morning. We think "alike". Have a wonderful day.

... Paige said...

lovely post; here by way of Laura's Shine the Devine

Sky said...

something has happened to your template - your posts have an entirely different format on the main page with very tiny photos now intead of the normal size. everything seems jumbled up together with no spacing between the posts, etc. this will take some getting used to. don't know if it is intentional or some blogger misfortune. :(

Sky said...

well now, things are back to normal. must have been a blogger issue.

Darla said...

I feel blessed to have 'found' your blog...or it found me. Your words today touch me; not only has my own life changed from what I 'expected' several decades ago, but also my mom's life two years ago when we lost dad shortly before their 51st wedding anniversary. She doesn't use a computer much, but I'm hoping that I can encourage her to read your blog. I think it would help her to move with peace and even joy into this next phase of her life. Blessings to you.

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Paige and Darla - thank you for your kind comments. Darla, would be pleased for your mom to read what I share.
Sky, I never did see what you shared :)

Beverly said...

As I always say, and am not the first; the only thing constant is change. That is the way with our life....it would be so boring otherwise....

I love your grounding thoughts....

Beverly said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Beverly said...

I posted twice, and tried to remove the second, but, sorry, it looks like I removed it for some reason, except that I pushed the button twice.... sorry

mermaid said...

Yes, change in inevitable, but suffering is optional. I do love that quote and your post. You seem to accepting change with grace and courage.

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Beverly and Mermaid, thank you for visiting me. It is a cold morning in the woods but a delightful afternoon is expected. Have a great day.

the wild magnolia said...

It was a joy to know of your visit and a meander over from our dearest of Cate's.

Splendid post of thoughts on aging, where we supposed we would be, and where we landed.

I too have wandered to study Buddhism and the meditation.

Fun is to be had here and I will follow and know what you are up too. :)

Paul said...

Me too - my life came out different than I'd imagined. Both for better and for worse. And I don't mind.

Janice Lynne Lundy said...

So powerful, Ernestine. True to life and hard to accept, but when we do, grace and appreciation for what we do have is there. Enjoy the journey...

Sharon said...

I discovered the Five Remembrances this summer and they took my breath away ~ in their simplicity and complexity, both at the same time. It is our acceptance of "what is" that makes all the difference.

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

WM, Paul and Sharon, thank you for visiting. Your comments made me smile. Have a great day - wherever you are on this planet!!

Elsa Louise said...

Ernestine, I find your header photo to be appealing just as it appears, but you might try the following step to capture it in its entirety.

When you upload the image from your computer into your Blogger template, an option should appear in the Placement section asking whether you want to “Shrink to fit”; check that box and see if you don’t see a difference.

No need to go to computer school, unless you wish to!

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Elsa, thank you for commenting.
I did this - but it still did not shrink it enough. My daughter (the editor) tells me there is somewhere I can size pictures. All of my super wise children and know more then mother when it comes to computers "are so busy"
What I do is all I know to do and have not felt like spending time education myself on this :) maybe some rainy day. Have a great day.
Checked to see if you had a journal and could not get one to come up.

Elsa Louise said...

Ah. Just wanted to offer that suggestion, as it’s the quickest, most readily available one when publishing with Blogger.

Indeed, there are myriad ways available to resize images. If you’d like, you may e-mail me your original photo (full-size jpeg), and I might be able to help. I know a bit about such things. You have piqued my curiosity in re the rest of the image!

Send to: die.schreiberin(at)gmail(dot)com