Skip to main content

EARTH'S CHAPEL by Nancy Carlson

Being outside in winter, is important to me…

It helps me connect with the earth and its grounded-ness. So I hike, snow or no snow, and bundle up…so happy to walk in the cold crisp air. I find myself listening to the silence and easily letting go of my daily, more materialist life. Metaphors and contemplation abound! Spirit is more tangible, if that is even possible. I feel at home, inside and outside. And when I return to my daily life, I feel steadier, clearer, happy and more connected to my true self and the Divine. So, for me, it is Earth’s Chapel…and from this a poem was born!

Photography by the author, Nancy Carlson

Earth’s Chapel
Nancy Carlson

Hiking through and around
Pine groves and water.
Birds collecting bits of nourishment
And my favorite,
The sound of the wind at the top of the trees,
Protecting us from the cold.

Such strength, they have
Steadiness, quietness
A big embrace
On this crisp, shadowy day.

Spirits of nature appear as chickadees
Water running quietly under ice
Moving slowly, yet surely
Cushions of pine needles
And crunchy brown leaves
Hills and valleys, ahead and behind.

A visit with Mother Nature, the Earth
Listening to the sounds
Feeling its support
From under my hiking boots
And all around.

‘Tis the season of hibernation
Quiet, inward-bound
Grounding, steady and still.

These trees are Lovers
And do what they know is True
So many paths, so many cycles,
Life repeating life.

Noticing the presentness of this day
Grace…
The fleetingness of everything
Nothing to stop, or make, or do.

Grateful for this expression of life
Reflecting the temporary
And the Eternal One
A living, breathing Chapel of Life.

Photography by the author, Nancy Carlson


Nancy Carlson: "I am an evolving poet, writing mostly as reflection, contemplation. But most recently, as a student of bhakti-yoga, as an expression of my devotion. I work as an Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant, Integrative Health/Wellness Nurse Coach, yoga/meditation teacher and Reiki Master. You may contact me on Facebook here or via my website 'Joyful Healing' here






*For submission guidelines, click here. We'd love to hear from you!*

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

IMAGINE A WOMAN by Patricia Lynn Reilly

  This poem invites you to look upon yourself with loving kindness… Gazing at your own true reflection, you will discover that everything you have longed for “out there” is already within you! I invite you to love your creativity fiercely. Faithfully plant seeds, allowing under-the-ground dormant seasons, nurturing your creative garden with love and gratitude. In the fullness of time, the green growing things thrust forth from the ground. It's a faithful, trustworthy process. AND it takes time and patience.  Blessed is the fruit of your creative womb! I invite you to trust your vision of the world and express it. With wonder and delight, paint a picture, create a dance, write a book, and make up a song. To give expression to your creative impulses is as natural as your breathing. Create in your own language, imagery, and movement. Follow no script. Do not be limited by the customary way things have been expressed. Your creative intuition is original. Gather

IMBOLC by Caroline Mellor

The inspiration for this poem came after I watched a magical winter sunset and full moonrise from the top of Firle Beacon in the South Downs... Unusually for me, I wrote the poem quite quickly and changed it very little before publishing it – perhaps the energies were working through my pen! Imbolc is the mid-point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It’s a fire festival which I particularly love because of its associations with Brigid, the Celtic Mother Goddess of arts and crafts, clear sight, healing, inspiration and nurturance of creative talents – something which, through my writing, I am always trying to connect with.  I also love Imbolc because, with so much darkness and negativity in the world today, it is a time for hope, potential, visioning and initiation. With love and blessings as the light returns. Photography by Chanel Baran IMBOLC    by Caroline Mellor I am the dream of awakening. I am the returning of the night.  I am the tough green

WINTER SOLSTICE: A GIFT OF LOVE by Carolyn Riker

I’ve had several days now of alone time… It is unusual and a gift that I couldn’t see until I breathed it. I have been able to watch the sun’s rise through the grey of dawn and smile at the flickers of frost melting on the waving boughs of evergreen. It’s unique to follow daylight as it traverses the tempo of a cat’s soft slumbering purr. Night comes swifter and the glow of candles and the flames of fire comfort me more than the steady stream of always-doing-more. As much as I resisted, I needed this break. I had no idea how much my body was trying to tell me   slow down   until the exhaustion settled in around my joints. My eyes swam in molasses. Heaviness of I-can’t-hold-out-much-long, walked me to the throne of my nest. It’s winter’s gift of self-nurturing and love. It’s been a quiet proclamation of femininity and a need for comfort foods. Lemon crisps and cranberry, white-chocolate shortbread dipped in tea; I felt a hint of being pampered without