The dance of Shiva

black and yellow bird perched on tree branch
Photo by Ray Bilcliff on Pexels.com

Within the snow

See

The raven-winged worlds of wonder

Become the beginnings and the endings,

The souls who are the one

Soul –

The re-awakening beginning

And the ultimate ending, broken asunder.

The soul of the snow goes

Drifting by on the many rivulets,

You

Who

Are no one and everyone,

The soft-spoken spirit

Of the call of the night heron,

Floating over the waters

Of the black lake

Of eternity,

Where the boatman

Dips his pole

Toward the far shoal,

Awake

Now, with all the children of the stars,

Sons and daughters

Of heaven,

Who are dancing –

Dancing

The dance of Shiva,

The one Soul.

© Copyright, Sharon St Joan, 2023

Only the white owl

bird white owl feather
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

It is only the white owl

From her tall

Pine

Spire

Who

Might see the pinecone grow

And who

Still remembers

Even now, the snow

Drifting across the misted moon

After the embers

Of centuries

Of dark fire.

It was only

A while ago

Among the gold cliffs

That black ravens sounded their raucous calls

Of wisdom-woven prophecies,

They who brought the end of time, at last,

This time that has drawn to its close,

And now the single petal of the rose

Falls.

There glimmer

Within the universe of beings, the silent

Springing feet of the herd of deer

Bounding ever higher,

Ever fast,

On their journey

Across the snow.

Soon,

In the beginning,

The gold face of the setting sun

Will appear

Through silver sheets of rain that shimmer,

While, in the wandering whiffs

Of bitter smoke, will sound the cries

Of yesteryear,

That linger, still heard, echoing among the far cliffs,

The spirit of days

Gone

By.

Now hills swept with snow

Travel farther back to

The land of mists and magic, flown.

There

The wings of butterflies

Unfold in the dawn,

In the beginning

That knows still the ancient ways

And there along the shore that goes to nowhere

The brave one

Walks on alone

In the far country,

The soul of courage,

Portender of knowledge.

The howl

Of the wolf, ascendant,

Will mark

The moment

When the moon

Rises over fields of stars, when Hanuman, hero

Of the earth and the skies,

In the beginning and the ending,

Brings clouds of peace that shine

Transcendent

Through the living fire of the distant dark.

© Copyright Sharon St Joan, 2023

The Beauty of sleet

dry grass covered with ice in sunny day
Photo by ArtHouse Studio on Pexels.com

Sleet falls in a sharp angle across the sky. The ground in just a few moments is covered in white – white that highlights the deep shadows of mystery within the waving sage brush.

The sleet turns to snow and rain. There is thunder too, deep, far away. Huge snowflakes billow down. The sage brush bounces, buffeted by the wind. This is the beauty of the universe.

If I were outside repairing the electric lines, or even just trying to get my car going — I would be saying, “Oh, what nasty weather!”

Somewhere the electricity repair person is hard at work, and for him or her, it is truly very nasty weather.

Inside, I am grateful for electricity and warmth and for the freedom to watch the beauty of the earth – where all is One – the falling snow, the rhythm of the seasons. And all is eternity – each snowflake and the ravens that fly bravely in the wind.

© Copyright Sharon St Joan, 2022

From thisveryworld.wordpress.com

By Kristine Crandall

The yellow-breasted chat was teasing me, enticing me to follow and try and see him. I felt so close, the whistle echoing against the wall of cliffs. Thirty seconds later I heard him way up the Santa Clara River. I walked along the trail for a few minutes, getting closer, even closer…It was briefly quiet before I realized he was up beyond the next bend. Worn out, but not disappointed, I turned around and hiked out. This same pattern has repeated across many summer hikes here. They merge into one.

Photo:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yellow-Breasted-Chat-Oregon.jpg Attribution: Jim Conrad, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Yoho~ —

Muted fall colors, (click to enlarge) and pale powder rivers. Canada is gorgeous, in every season, but fall’s, subtle splendor, takes your breath away, as does a gregarious gray jay! Cheers to you from Yoho National Park in the fall~ The post Yoho~ appeared first on .

Yoho~ —

Chasing Waterfalls~ —

Moloka’i, has stunning waterfalls. This one is a double. Hawaii is experiencing a severe seven-year drought. It would be a triple or more with normal water flow. Maui in particular is suffering from the drought. It looks more like drought stricken Southern California, than a verdant tropical paradise. But, it is still beautiful Maui. Cheers […]

Chasing Waterfalls~ —

A course of action

tall tree
Photo by Tom Fisk on Pexels.com

A course of action.  If you wish to help the earth, you might do the following:  Listen to a tree – or talk to a tree. If there is not tree immediately available, it could be a cloud, a rock, a bird – any aspect of the world of nature. Spend half an hour a day – or five minutes – or whatever time you have.

How will this help the earth? This will work because the basic problem which is destroying the planet we live on – is the alienation of us, as human beings, from the world of nature. Because we focus on our human interests and wishes (and sometimes genuine urgent situations that cannot be avoided), we have become alienated from nature. (When there is a real crisis that requires your attention, then come back to focusing on the tree whenever you are able to.)

In this way we will be getting back in contact with nature – and in our own way building a little bridge to connect with nature. This may be the most effective and most direct way to transform our relationship as human beings with the planet earth. And in so doing, we will be laying the groundwork for the transformation that is required. It will also have a healing effect on us – and on the tree too. And on those around us – like a pebble that lands on the water of a lake and ripples in all directions. Like the butterfly that you may have heard about who changed the course of world history by a single motion of his wings.

***

© Copyright Sharon St Joan, 2022

Dinosaurs survived one extinction in chilly temperatures – study — The Extinction Chronicles

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF – Saturday React8 Comments|39 Share https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/dinosaurs-survived-one-extinction-in-chilly-temperatures-study/ar-AAZ89sU?ocid=msedgdhp&cvid=b49af7fe99b848b3a537fe3c7a9b030a Save Dinosaurs may have outsurvived other creatures living alongside them during a largescale extinction preceding the period where they became dominant due to their ability to survive in frosty conditions, according to a new peer-reviewed study published in Science Advances on Friday. © (photo credit: Courtesy of Woodruff […]

Dinosaurs survived one extinction in chilly temperatures – study — The Extinction Chronicles