Month: January 2022

Trace the bending arc

Round the curve toward justice

Vow to do no harm

  I was reminded, recently, of a day last August when I was sitting in a café in Buena Vista, Colorado.  It was a resupply day for me during my attempt to thru hike the Colorado Trail (CT).  A friend had driven for four hours and graciously picked me up at the top of Cottonwood Pass where the CT crosses a highway at an elevation of 12,142 feet.

At that point I had backpacked about 220 miles of the trail (I ended up doing about 320 miles and hope to finish the rest of it this coming summer).  As we were sitting in the café my friend asked me what I missed most while out on the trail.  Since I was scarfing down a huge lunch, she probably thought that my answer would be about food.  My reply, I believe, surprised her:  “Sitting in a chair.”  I responded. 

After going for days on end where the options for sitting were:   the ground, or a log, or a rock….. the simple joy of settling into a chair was, to me, a profound luxury.  It is often the simplest pleasures in life…. the common things in our lives….. that we so often take for granted …that can lead to an unequivocal amount of gratitude and joy.  If we pause for a moment in our hectic daily lives to reflect on them, embrace them, relish them, honor them, there is no telling how much happiness we can find in a single day.

Take your pleasures in simple things:   lying on your back at night and looking up at the stars, a fresh cup of coffee/tea in the morning, watching the sunrise, watching the sunset, a chocolate dessert, making someone smile, a gentle breeze, a piece of pizza, a warm cup of soup, finding a heart shaped rock, watching animals in nature, a homemade meal that someone cooks for you, the warm love of a family pet, doing something with a friend,  a new flower in the spring, trail magic, trail families, a trail maintained by selfless volunteers, a cold drink on a hot summer day, the flight of a butterfly, dancing in the kitchen, a friendly chat with the cashier at the supermarket, listening to water flowing, an unexpected hug,  a soft caring touch, an unexpected  message from a friend, helping someone that needs assistance. 

For me in 2022, I don’t want to go chasing what I am told is important in my life by marketing companies.  I don’t want to go chasing happiness or wait for someone else to shape my life.  I want to be present.  To pay attention.  To accept things for how and what they are and lean….as best as I can….. toward the Light.  Toward kindness and compassion.

 Whatever is beautiful. Whatever is meaningful. Whatever simple things bring you happiness. May it be yours throughout the coming year. The end of the year is a time for remembrance. We take stock of where we came from, and have a moment to think about where we are going, as we pursue the future with hope. May your new year be all that you hope for, and may it be blessed with love and friendship and an occasional chair to sit in. If any of you are interested in my some of my thoughts on hiking the Colorado Trail, please let me know and I will send you a copy.  You can see my photos of the CT at: https://www.robertwinslowphoto.com/Recreation/Hiking-and-Backpacking-Adventures/Colorado-Trail-/

Resting and alert

Colorado winter scene

Waiting for a friend

Wishing you much joy

a Colorado Christmas

Love, Light, Peace to all

An aged cliff dwelling

Good shelter from the weather

Has some solar gain

Cliff Palace winter

What was it like to live there?

Must work together

To get these images, I cross-country skied in a little over 2 miles on unplowed roads.  Of course, there was no one else there,  so I was able to scramble around to places not accessible to tourists and found some trees to help frame the images. Then I had to ski back out to my car in the darkening twilight. A Cliff Bar for dinner on the way home.  Such is the lonely life of a photographer.

Luminarias

A cliff dwelling’s all aglow

Magic in the night

This is Spruce Tree House. These photos were taken long ago.  1990, I believe. After the year these photos were taken the NPS did not put the luminarias inside the cliff dwellings anymore, but around the edges of the dwellings.  Later they totally did away with all the luminarias except to line the walkways.  To light up Spruce Tree House they used battery powered lanterns.  Now Spruce Tree House is closed, but the NPS will, once a year, light up some of the other cliff dwellings with the lanterns.

Hungry mule deer bucks

pulled down a full bird feeder

winter survival

Snowing. Wind blowing.
hopes for turn at a feeder
Orange House Finch waits

It is New Year’s  Eve

Honor the light within us

Grow into kindness