In Blackwater Woods

In Blackwater Woodsby Mary Oliver Look, the treesare turningtheir own bodiesinto pillars of light,are giving off the richfragrance of cinnamonand fulfillment, the long tapersof cattailsare bursting and floating away overthe blue shoulders of the ponds,and every pond,no matter what itsname is, is nameless now.Every yeareverythingI have ever learned in my lifetimeleads back to this: the … Read more

Serenity

©J.J. Joyce – Serenity God(dess) grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change,courage to change the things we can,and wisdom to know the difference.— attributed to Dr. Rheinhold Niebuhr How do we begin to understand the difference? The idea of surrender and acceptance is difficult for most people in our culture. This … Read more

Blessings of Lughnassadh

Little Summer Poem Touching the Subject of Faithby Mary Oliver Every summerI listen and lookunder the sun’s brass and eveninto the moonlight, but I can’t hear anything, I can’t see anything —not the pale roots digging down, nor the green stalks muscling up,nor the leavesdeepening their damp pleats, nor the tassels making,nor the shucks, nor … Read more

Bliss – no kidding!

It’s good to be just plain happy, it’s a little better to know that you’re happy; but to understand that you’re happy and to know why and how and still be happy, be happy in the being and the knowing, well that is beyond happiness, that is bliss. — Henry Miller Bliss is so many … Read more

Happy Birthday, Leo!

Leos, so the tradition goes, are “on” 24 hours a day, showing off and behaving like the sexy superstars they often are. Of course, there really is more to Leo than this cartoonish version. While it is true, astrologer Jon Cainer reminds us, that Leos can be a bit over-the-top, and subtlety often escapes them, … Read more