I am so happy that I was able to get Marti deAlva's beautiful photograph into this morning's blog. Yesterday was a day of renewal for me and Montana's Mother Nature was an integral part of it. I opened Facebook this morning and there was Marti's extraordinary photo with the perfect Rumi quote.
Marti is one of my favorite photographers and here is why. Montana is a vast and sweeping landscape. In the fourteen years I have lived here there has not been a day that I have not felt like I was living in a beautiful painting. So it is very, very easy to take beautiful photographs here -- even I can do it.
What makes Marti's work so extraordinary is the intimacy she finds, even in the vast spaciousness. This photograph is a perfect example -- clearly the landscape is vast and yet the quality of light, the perfect Rumi quote all create a sense of deep intimacy. That's what things were like yesterday.
The past few months have been harder than I would have liked. I had a vision of coming into 2012 with a more balanced life -- work, family AND leisure. It turned out the Family overtook a great deal of it, work didn't let up and so what got sacrificed was leisure.
Yesterday a friend and I took the afternoon off and drove to Quinn's Hot Springs for lunch and a soak. Bright blue skies while we drove along the beautiful Flathead River and entered the canyon that "houses" Quinn's. Lunch was lovely and the sky was still bright blue when we immersed our bodies in those healing waters. Luxury! Leisure! A good friend, good conversation, healing waters and a beautiful blue sky.
And then - the reported shift in weather occurred. Spring and summer in Montana bring amazing shifts in weather and everyone jokes that if you don't like the weather just wait 10 minutes or so. Clouds rushed in and rain began to fall - but no thunder so we remained in the pools and then, magically, the sky was blue again. Suddenly the clouds moved back in, the light shifted and we heard the rumblings of thunder so it was time to get dressed and head home. Rain was falling in buckets and as I got into the car huge hail began to join in with the rain. It was intense and beautiful. Almost magical. The hail looked like diamonds on the roadway. We drove about 5 or 6 miles with the rain and hail falling and then - you guessed it - sunny blue sky again. The shifts in light renewed my perception of the landscape, and of my life.
Yesterday was one of those magical days where everything I did felt perfectly matched to my deepest desires and gifts. It reminded me of the wisdom Alan imparted to me when I would get tense with the press of business and what felt like the limitations of time. In his gravely New York accent he would say, "Relax Sweetheart, there is always a lull. You will cross the t's and dot the i's in the lull."
Yesterday afternoon was one of those lull's and I feel this morning like I had a vacation. I am grateful.
Peace,
Donna
Yesterday a friend and I took the afternoon off and drove to Quinn's Hot Springs for lunch and a soak. Bright blue skies while we drove along the beautiful Flathead River and entered the canyon that "houses" Quinn's. Lunch was lovely and the sky was still bright blue when we immersed our bodies in those healing waters. Luxury! Leisure! A good friend, good conversation, healing waters and a beautiful blue sky.
And then - the reported shift in weather occurred. Spring and summer in Montana bring amazing shifts in weather and everyone jokes that if you don't like the weather just wait 10 minutes or so. Clouds rushed in and rain began to fall - but no thunder so we remained in the pools and then, magically, the sky was blue again. Suddenly the clouds moved back in, the light shifted and we heard the rumblings of thunder so it was time to get dressed and head home. Rain was falling in buckets and as I got into the car huge hail began to join in with the rain. It was intense and beautiful. Almost magical. The hail looked like diamonds on the roadway. We drove about 5 or 6 miles with the rain and hail falling and then - you guessed it - sunny blue sky again. The shifts in light renewed my perception of the landscape, and of my life.
Yesterday was one of those magical days where everything I did felt perfectly matched to my deepest desires and gifts. It reminded me of the wisdom Alan imparted to me when I would get tense with the press of business and what felt like the limitations of time. In his gravely New York accent he would say, "Relax Sweetheart, there is always a lull. You will cross the t's and dot the i's in the lull."
Yesterday afternoon was one of those lull's and I feel this morning like I had a vacation. I am grateful.
Peace,
Donna
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