Darker Hours

Blustery and damp on my walk to work this morning. Makes me want to cozy up in front of the kettle, watch the steam rise, and make tea.  Tomorrow I'll have the time to do that leisurely, like the photo above.  Today in the office, it's the photo below.  Both have a calming effect on my psyche.

The quote on the calendar says, "Every path, every street in the world is your walking meditation path."  ~Thich Nhat Hanh

How do you navigate the transition into the darker hours?

Tea Flowers

My tea plant (Cami, get it?  Short for camellia sinensis) has been covered in tea flowers!  I took these photos several days ago; they're now starting to fade. I think tea flowers are beautiful and I like to bring them inside (see bottom photo).  Tea flowers are discouraged in commercial production because when the plant is producing flowers its energy is towards making fruit and seeds rather than producing more leaf. (Most tea plants are propagated by slips (cuttings) rather than seeds). On my balcony, I love to let my tea plant go crazy with blossoms.  Enjoy the photos.

Living in Oz

I shared this photo on Facebook recently, and for several people, it conjured images of Oz.  Isn't it cool when other people see things we don't? I hadn't considered the Oz comparison and now I see it so clearly.  The yellow brick road, a red dress (instead of shoes). It was indeed a magical experience, walking into the leaves and looking down to see the hem of my red dress framed by such vibrant gold.  One of those standstill moments.

And like Oz, I walked on into reality. The truth that magic is everywhere in the everyday. That joys abound and that I must solve my own problems. That friends help each other along, and that sometimes the magic is seeing things in a different way.