Reflections

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  1. barba
    barba
    6 months ago

    The naturalness with which nature/life exists. This inherent dignity and strength. It gives me courage, hope, a role model, inner peace.

  2. Ose
    Ose
    6 months ago

    Water. It moved me to be close to it. Every morning there is gratefulness and joy when walking along the water. The sun and the moon shining on it is touching me deeply. To be open to it all and let it in makes my soul come alive.

  3. cvangog
    Chung van Gog
    6 months ago

    swimming in the river in the wilderness, honestly

  4. Josie
    Josie
    6 months ago

    Getting to today’s reflection a bit later than usual has been an added blessing as I read everyone’s response.
    I resonate with all that has been said.

    I will add this one new revelation to me. Recently I started accessing a Birding app which identifies birds by their songs. During my meditation time,
    I listened and was in awe of the many different kinds of birds singing away around me. I felt one with their songs of praise. Most often I never notice them. What a gift when I do now!

  5. Denette
    Denette
    6 months ago

    Birds flying and singing are my absolute favorite. Flowers blooming and laying beneath my feet when i walk my dogs make me feel regal. Cloud shapes are fun as is the moon. Colors that are everywhere. I have appreciation for many additional parts of nature but these are make my soul come alive.

  6. Nannette
    Nannette
    6 months ago

    There are so amny aspects of nature that make my soul come alive…the big trees and creek that surround my home…the moon glowing at night, the sun so bright in the early morning…the stars and the rains, thunder and lightening…What a Universe. I am so thankful to be part of it. Namaste’

  7. Ngoc Nguyen
    Ngoc Nguyen
    6 months ago

    Sunshine is one aspect of nature that makes my soul come alive, while rain brings me relaxation. As I wake up and my room fills with light from the window, my day starts full of energy.

    1. L
      Loc Tran
      6 months ago

      My Ngoc, we get to see the morning sunshine everyday giving us ample Vitamin D.

  8. Barb C
    Barb C
    6 months ago

    I’m glad this was worded in the plural, not the singular. All of your answers–yes! The real secret for my soul coming alive is stopping to pay attention and then any aspect of nature makes my soul come alive. A few specific items to add to all of yours:

    Starry skies on a dark night–tougher to see in our electrified world so when I see this my heart overflows.
    Clouds in all their forms from towering thunderheads to wispy mare’s tails, especially when they move in the wind like living beings. Lying on my back in the grass looking at the sky doubles the effect.
    Sunrises and sunsets.
    Seeds poking up through the soil with the first cotyledon (a word I learned in grade school and recently reacquired).
    Butterflies.
    Birds soaring overhead. Yesterday as I was riding my bike home a great blue heron flew overhead, “gronking” as it flew from the tree right by the farmers’ market in downtown Olympia that serves as a rookery this time of year.
    Trees full of autumn leaves.

  9. Linda72766
    Linda
    6 months ago

    I live in the rainy northwest, so a beautiful sunny day makes my heart soar. Blue sky and every color of green is now what we can look forward to for the next 3-4 months. Yay!

  10. L
    Lauryn
    6 months ago

    Mountains have always captivated me since I was a kid. In the Summer, I’d go hiking in Vermont, and later on in Pennsylvania…there is nothing quite standing on top of a mountain… When I lived in the Los Angeles area, I loved my daily view of the majestic San Gabriel mountains, and in the San Francisco area, it was Mt. Tam and Mt. Diablo nearby….

    While there are no mountains anywhere near where I’m living these days, I do love the massive mossy oak trees and tropical weather patterns with daily afternoon rain/thunderstorms keeping everything green around me…..

  11. Yram
    Yram
    6 months ago

    There are so many that make my soul come alive!
    In the present, I am enjoying the birds coming to the bird bath water. They seem to appreciate it during this hot spell. The variety is limited to sparrows, but their variety is not limited.

  12. Avril
    Avril
    6 months ago

    Like many of you, I am a nature lover. It’s par for the course with a gratitude practice. I am amazed by all of nature, from weeds in sidewalk cracks, a small urban rooftop garden, slime mold on a log, to a majestic bald cypress. One aspect that tugs on my heart strings a little more intensely is mountains. I love them all… from tepuis to rugged and stark Himalyas. When I see mountains I understand how people wanted to construct pyramids and feel closer to heaven. My forever home will be in the North Carolina mountains where is old and lush.

  13. Mary
    Mary Mantei
    6 months ago

    It is hard to choose from all the glorious aspects of nature. I do love « big weather », be it a thunderstorm or a blizzard. To hear thunder and see the approaching lighting in the distance is a thrill to me. But perhaps my favorite natural event is to be outside, in the woods, on skis, during a snowfall. The solitude and mystery I feel is holy and enlivening at the same time. That same setting on a full moon night is a bonus. Many of you have mentioned water as soul enlivening for you. The snow and thunderstorms are water as well, it is an incredible element in its varied forms, and serves us in so many ways. Enlivening indeed.🌧️🌊❄️

    1. L
      Loc Tran
      6 months ago

      Mary, I love big weather too. Minnesota has exactly that with the 4 seasons.

      1. Mary
        Mary Mantei
        6 months ago

        Indeed Loc! When I lived in the UP of Michigan, I felt such a connection to MN and WI.

    2. Avril
      Avril
      6 months ago

      I like that, “big weather”

  14. L
    Loc Tran
    6 months ago

    Human nature makes my soul come alive. Stability in my family, love life with Ngoc, and career helps with that.

    1. Avril
      Avril
      6 months ago

      Very clever—It’s easy to think of humans as separate from nature.

      1. Mary
        Mary Mantei
        6 months ago

        😉

      2. L
        Loc Tran
        6 months ago

        Thanks Avril. We live in a society of the eye; not the heart. It’s very easy to forget about the inner aspects.

  15. Patti
    sunnypatti
    6 months ago

    Each part of nature has its way to make my soul come alive, but water in its many forms is the #1 for me. The ocean, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, creeks… I have basked in all of them and will do so until the end of my days. My sister and nephew are here visiting from California, and my nephew is a little water lover as well. We have swam in the ocean multiple times together this past week – jumping waves, diving under, boogie-boarding, and laughing all the while. The Pacific is too cold for them to swim in where they live, and I so love getting to share this joy with him.

    1. L
      Loc Tran
      6 months ago

      We have more than 10,000 lakes in Minnesota. It’s why the original NBA team was called the “Minneapolis Lakers” until they moved to Los Angeles in the late 1950s.

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