Green Gal

I love it when the weather supports my plans to spend time outdoors by brightening the day with sun and a gentle breeze and clear skies. This weekend I felt very supported by the weather because I planned on being outside for a total of at least seven hours this weekend. Yesterday I participated in a women's nature connection hike that I co-organized with a fellow residential adviser, Sonja, and my friend Collette, who is a nature mentor . The, this morning and early afternoon, I participated in a bike ride to a local farm to volunteer. The sun shined down on me and my fellow community members both days, and it allowed us all to feel comfortable and engage with the activities we were doing together and develop connections and have fun! Nevermind that it's nearly finals week and I have work to do--the sun doesn't always shine like it did this weekend, and nighttime is for homework, right? That's why we have light bulbs (CFL of course). Yesterday's hi...

"Our True Heritage" by Thich Nhat Hanh The cosmos is filled with precious gems. I want to offer a handful of them to you this morning. Each moment you are alive is a gem, shining through and containing earth and sky, water and clouds. It needs you to breathe gently for the miracles to be displayed. Suddenly you hear the birds singing, the pines chanting, see the flowers blooming, the blue sky, the white clouds, the smile and the marvelous look of your beloved. You, the richest person on Earth, who have been going around begging for a living, stop being the destitute child. Come back and claim your heritage. We should enjoy our happiness and offer it to everyone. Cherish this very moment. Let go of the stream of distress and embrace life fully in your arms. -- Thank you to my friend Collette for sharing this. Collette has a wonderful blog about Deep Nature Connection at www.awakeningwild.com . For more inspiration, visit her site!