One of my favorite fascinations is to observe the earth’s flying things, whether butterflies or birds, or even kites, as they ride on currents of air high above the ground to which I am generally tethered. Seeing these winged beauties swoop and dive and glide, buck the winds, loiter in search of prey, simply cruise away … More Romance the Wind
Summer Palace, 2009, Morris Arboretum, Philadelphia, PA. Stickwork sculpture by Patrick Dougherty. Photo: Rob Cardillo. “The groves were God’s first temples.” With these words, American poet William Cullen Bryant began his classic poem, A Forest Hymn. Said to be written in farewell to the thick foliage and tall trunks of his native Massachusetts as he … More “The groves were God’s first temples.”
Something opens our wings. Something makes boredom and hurt disappear. Someone fills the cup in front of us: We taste only sacredness. – Rumi William Guion once was told that the way to make more powerful and personal photographs was to find something he loves and to photograph it—over and over and over. And … More Breathe in the Sacredness of the Trees
“If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive.” – Eleanora Duse, Italian actress Photo: Along Saybrook Point, by … More Fed by the sight of the sky
Sunrise and sunset present us with two of the most dramatic contrasts between light and darkness, the division between day and night. Both are sky paintings of color. Dawn is more typically soft and pale and pastel. Sunsets tend to be vibrant with reds and yellows, remnants of the day’s energy and warmth, or, as … More Celebrate the Milestones
Hurricane Sandy swept Long Island Sound ashore last fall before leaving with layers of topsoil to reveal these dormant flower bulbs. As Elizabeth Barrett Browning once said, the earth is “crammed with heaven.”
The summer sun is long gone and with it, one might think, the lure of the shore. But though I will admit to being clearly partial to the warmth of the sun, I cannot deny the stark, cold winter attraction of New England’s rocky shores and its cobble beaches. Wave-battered rocky shores are common throughout … More Granite Bay
“The edge of the sea is a strange and beautiful place.” ̶ Rachel Carson Marine biologist and author Rachel Carson wrote in her classic book, The Edge of the Sea, of a marginal world, an area where waves have broken against the land, the tides have pressed forward, receded, and then returned. It is an … More A Place to Breathe, to Linger
Thinking about joy and the question of just when and where I have found it in my own life, I look back on my memories as a very young child and realize that the roots of joy run deep. One of my happiest memories–one that can still start my day off right–is that of listening to … More Three Anchors of Joy
The Canadian Cree singer-songwriter musician Buffy Sainte-Marie tells us, “You have to sniff out joy. Keep your nose to the joy trail.” That, in short, is the purpose of lifeisfullofsweetspots.com! With its postings of helpful tips and reflections, suggestions from fellow travelers of even the tiniest of steps one might take on the road to … More Welcome to the Life Is Full of Sweet Spots blog
Life Is Full of Sweet Spots 