Mud Love

 

 David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, Nairobi, Kenya

This splash of mud appeared on a baby elephant leg in a sanctuary for orphaned elephants. Left alone due to poaching and human conflict, the elephants are nurtured for eight years before being re-released into the wild. 

Love is messy, and exists fully in both conflict and peace. Love isn’t limited to only those places where things feel good or right, but rather pervades all.

Inside, Outside

 

Miniature Japanese Maple, home neighborhood

Love is often covered over by the layers of our lives. Aspects of our ego, personality, and physical embodiment can obscure the true essence of our selves and each other. Stress and challenge can render the pure truth of being imperceptible. But once we have seen it at the center of ourselves, of others, and of the world, we know it is there. Then our holy discipline is to remember what we know in all circumstances. We are all infinite Love. As we re-member this truth, we begin to see it more and more, until one day nothing can ever again dissuade us from knowing the truth of who we are.

Dog Love

Sasha with chest fur heart

This sweet heart appeared one day when our dog Sasha lay just so. She is almost 14, and age is catching up with her. She went deaf this past year and licks her wrists a lot from her arthritis pain. She also has trouble with her hips. One day when she was sitting by me I did some touch therapy. I put my hands on her old-girl body and she leveled herself as flat as she could on the floor, maximizing her surface area to receive the love coming through. Now she comes every morning for this tending. She also lets me know when she's finished. She sits up and looks at me. We're done, she says.

Anyone who loves dogs knows how present they are - how they don't think about the fact that they used to be able to hear or walk without pain. They don't complain. They simply accept each moment as it is. I feel the peace of this in Sasha. And who else gets soooooo happy just to go out to take a pee, or welcomes you home with a celebration even when you've only been gone an hour? Dog love. I learn a lot from it.

Invitation

 

Mesa Verde, Colorado

Human beings make many plans and have many ideas about what will happen next. We may think we know how someone will finish their sentence, or how the day will go, or what we will be when we grow up. The truth is, we never actually know the future, not even the next minute. The only thing we ever know for sure is what is right now. Even our past, which we think we know, is an activity of mental creation through thought. Love continually invites us into the unknown - the beautiful, unbounded, and infinite unknown, and to realize, thankfully, that we don’t know!

Eyes of the Heart

 

Heart light in clouds over I-70 west of Denver, CO

"One sees clearly only with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye."

 - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Bubbly

 

Light through trees, West Seattle, WA

 

Rising up, soft and green, Love blooms in the light of the air, like laughter bubbling up from a long-quiet place. Here it comes…bubble bubble, joy that’s double!

Mirror, Mirror

Multiple self-portrait reflection in foam bubbles, Oregon coast

The world around us is a dual-function mirror. It mirrors our consciousness as a perfect reflection of aspects of our relationship with ourselves, and it is also a divine pointer to the field of play around us. Do you like what is showing up in your mirror? If you’d prefer something different, you have a couple of choices. You can begin by either seeing and shifting the world inside of you. This is a good option if you feel "triggered" by someone or something. Or you might recognize that what is reflecting back to you is simply information about the program running in the environment, and you are a sensitive receiver. In either case, whatever is showing up in your life is a divine opportunity full of perfect information to assist the conscious expansion of your soul. EVERYTHING is here for this purpose: for you, in pure love and service.

Forgiveness

Blossom smudge, sidewalk

"Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it." 

                                                                                                            - Mark Twain

I love that quote by Mark Twain. And even more, forgiveness is the sweet scent that we get to breathe when we say yes to letting go. Forgiveness doesn't mean we think what someone else did is ok, or that we would allow it again. Forgiveness is our way of saying we're finished with that part of the story. In the end, is for us, because we are the ones who find freedom and peace. 

Forever Loved

 

Flower petals, Willamette University campus

There is never a moment in your life that we are not loved unconditionally and completely. The biggest block to experiencing this infinite, divine love is our own idea that we are not love-worthy. The universe is giving us a steady stream of love-connection, divine grace, and eternal light every moment of our lives. Sometimes there are angels along the way to remind us of this sweet truth. The one above appeared just a few feet from the heart in the 2nd photo. Today, remember you are never alone, and you are forever loved.

Guidance

                               Detail of metal handrail on footbridge, Lewis and Clark campus, Portland, Oregon


Love is the perfect compass for every moment of our lives, whether we are facing big decisions or daily choices. It is the still, small voice, the gentle nudge that says, “Go this way,” or “Take this action.” Love challenges us to rely on neither logic nor emotions, but on the wisdom of our hearts - our inner knowing. Often, the still voice of Love is drowned out by our mind chatter, and by fear in particular. But this Love-compass is indelible. It never fails. It might be as simple as, “Call so and so today,” or "Yes, that feels right," or “Take this footbridge, it’s only a little bit out of your way...” as it was with this photo. The bridge was inviting enough all by itself - a small span suspended over a ravine of overgrown greenery and towering trees. And then, on a metal handrail and about the size of a dime, was this. Honor yourself enough to follow the wise and quiet knowing within you. It is the wisdom of Love.

Beautiful to Behold

 

Paper napkin, Willamette river bank

It’s true that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. One need only visit a neighborhood garage sale or a developing nation with widespread poverty to see this truth in action. We all view the world through our own particular and unique lens. The camera repeatedly reveals interest and beauty in the hearts I find, no matter their substance. What, do you suppose, is the Divine lens? What if seeing with the eyes of God, through the heart of Being, we find not right or wrong, or better or worse, but only different perspectives and manifestations of this infinite energy we call Love? Isn’t that a beautiful thought?

Macro-micro cosmos

 

Sun on the chalk cliffs near Mt. Princeton, CO

Lichen on sidewalk

As above, so below. As without, so within. Our universe shows us profound connections between the micro and the macro, as evidenced by the research of a group of astro-physicists who are testing the theory that galaxies spin around each other in the same pattern that electrons spin around the nucleus of an atom. This just amazes me. The connectedness. The order. The love that is the substance of the cosmos and stars, and of our cells. Beautiful.

Love Listeners

“Through our eyes, the universe is perceiving itself. 

Through our ears, the universe is listening to its harmonies. 

We are the witnesses through which the universe becomes 

conscious of its glory, of its magnificence.”
- Alan Wilson Watts

Bear Heart

         Heart cloud rise over mountain, top of Cottonwood Pass, CO

You'll need to get your inner tune on for today's post.  Think, "For he's a jolly good fellow."

Oh... the.... heart went over the mountain, the heart went over the mountain, the heart went over the mounTAIN!... to see what it could see. And all that it could see, and all that it could see, was the other side of the mountain, the other side of the mountain, the other side of the mounTAIN!... was all that it could see.

See what you can see today - good, bad, up down. Just see. Whatever it is, it's just another side of the mountain.

YES!

 

                                Cherry Blossom, Salem, OR

 

Life requires our full participation. When we show up with a full-hearted “Yes!” amazing miracles and opportunities open before us. Our yes is the spark plug that ignites the entire engine. Without it, we are a world of possibility sitting idle. Conflicting thoughts and ambivalence take all of the juice out of our miracle machine. Love is full of clarity and conviction. What is asking for your “Yes!” today?

Beginning

Hi everyone.

This blog is a place where I am glad to share two of my passions with you - heart photography, and reflections on the journey of life. So here I go. My hope is that you will be led to look at the world in a new way through the images you find here, and also to live your life with greater awareness and understanding of who you are. Welcome to the Heart of the Matter - a place to be inspired, explore, play, and love. My open-heart-felt love to each of you!
Christine

                                                         Begonia blossom - back deck