What gifts will today bring?
Yesterday I found laughter
with my students, and love
in a message, the music
of rain pattering on the window,
a cat waiting to be scratched
behind the ears and a dog
waiting for a walk. And on that
walk I found jewelry of ruby
amber, gold and copper, blown
by the wind to the side
of the road.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
“…today is big with blessings.”
– Mary Baker Eddy
We had an unspoken pact –
trusting each other.
I’ll never share what I saw
when she was at her most
vulnerable, scared.
Another pact –
as my partner and I
work and play through the highs
and lows of our life together –
there are some things we’ll
never share with the rest
of the world. We are not
a reality show.
All of humanity shares a pact.
We trust each other to do the right
thing, to treat each other fairly,
and with tenderness and consideration.
When we venture onto highways,
by-ways, and freeways, we trust
those around us to be competent,
intelligent, and thoughtful drivers.
When we enter stores, malls,
and concert halls we expect those
around us to share our values
of kindness, courtesy, and honesty.
When we send our children
off to school we trust that the rest
of humanity will protect them
as we would protect their children.
If we didn’t trust each other
we wouldn’t be able to do what we need
to do, be where we need to be,
survive. Thank you for honoring
our pact.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
“Brood o’er us with Thy sheltering wing,
’Neath which our spirits blend
Like brother birds, that soar and sing,
And on the same branch bend.
The arrow that doth wound the dove
Darts not from those who watch and love.”
– Mary Baker Eddy
Snow geese in Skagit County, WA. Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell
“Thou to whose power our hope we give,
Free us from human strife.
Fed by Thy love divine we live,
For Love alone is life;
And life most sweet, as heart to heart
Speaks kindly when we meet and part.”
– Mary Baker Eddy
Every single one of you who ventures forth into a new day in America is a hero. It takes courage just to walk out the front door these days – and you’ve got it. Go out there and shine like the sun shines. Love like that’s all you’re made of. You’ve got this.
“To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, today is big with blessings.”
– Mary Baker Eddy
The sun rises over a field in LaConner, WA. Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell.
Well. What are you going to do, you know? Just keep on shining that light. Be kind. Be honest. Because what’s the alternative?
October 2nd –
It’s already been said – over and over, again and again, by people much wiser and more eloquent than me. Not much I can add, I guess. But I do want to share a couple things that happened to me today…
I stopped at Sisters Espresso for my morning mocha on my way to work. Courtney was at the window. I can’t remember what she said now – something from her heart – and I came around to the door and she opened it for me and we hugged. And she gave me a mocha on the house. And that little mocha meant so much to me.
At lunch I decided to get out into the sunshine and walk down to the co-op. As I was walking down the overpass I felt my face start to crumple a little – thinking about all the sadness in the world. And then I heard someone honk and I turned and this older gentleman wearing a veteran’s cap and driving a little econo-car smiled and gave me a friendly wave. I waved back. Later, as I was walking back up from the co-op the same man drove by – and again he honked and waved – I looked over and waved back, and he asked me if I needed a lift somewhere. And it was so sweet – his effort to help me – it really warmed my heart. I thanked him, and told him no I was fine. And he wished me a good day – not just a flippant good day – but a genuine good day. I felt like I’d connected with a good Samaritan, you know?
Later, my co-worker, Melanie, came up to my office to chat. We talked a little about what was going on in the world, and she said something really simple and profound and true: “Remember that there’s a lot more good in the world than bad.”
And so that’s where I am right now. Remembering all the good in the world – and that includes you – yes, you who are reading this. Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for the humor you share on here, and the inspiration, and the cool things that happen in your life. Thank you for caring.
Sunrise on the way to work. October 2, 2017. Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell.
Instead of uniting behind a symbol, why don’t we unite behind what the symbol represents? Justice, equality, freedom.
Photo of eagles by Karen Molenaar Terrell, Skagit County, WA.
So a couple months ago I noticed an interesting development in the little flower box I have on my deck…
I knew I couldn’t transplant her without hurting her, so I kept her watered and awaited further developments.
And she grew. And grew. and grew.
And today she shone her intrepid golden glory out on a world of smoke, and filled it with her plucky joy…
Nature voices natural, spiritual law and divine Love, but human belief misinterprets nature. Arctic regions, sunny tropics, giant hills, winged winds, mighty billows, verdant vales, festive flowers, and glorious heavens, – all point to Mind, the spiritual intelligence they reflect. The floral apostles are hieroglyphs of Deity.
– Mary Baker Eddy
Has no one ever told you
who you are?!
Jeepers.
You are the child of Truth!
The image and likeness
of Love itself!
You are AWESOME!!!
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
“You is kind. You is smart. You is important.”
– Kathryn Stockett
“Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies, you will not find another… We are made of starstuff”
– Carl Sagan
“You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees or the stars;
you have a right to be here.”
– Max Ehrmann
“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”
– A.A. Milne
“God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them… And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.”
– Genesis 1
“In Science man is the offspring of Spirit. The beautiful, good, and pure constitute his ancestry… Man and woman as coexistent and eternal with God forever reflect, in glorified quality, the infinite Father-Mother God.”
– Mary Baker Eddy
(Heron skimming Lake Padden in Bellingham, Washington. Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell.)
Pep talk to self:
To the last breath –
Honor Truth.
Celebrate Life.
Love without limit.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
(Photo of dragonfly by Karen Molenaar Terrell)
Really, I wouldn’t exist at all if not for Mount Rainier. That’s where my parents met. My mom was working as a cashier in the gift shop (around 1947) and my dad was working as a climbing guide when they met.
As a youngster a lot of my life was spent on the slopes of Mount Rainier – camping, hiking, scrambling around in the rocks – like my parents, I, too, ended up working there in the summers between my university years. And, like my parents, I, too climbed to the summit (led by my dad, of course.)
My dad, Dee Molenaar, is well-known for his connection to Mount Rainier – he made a map of it, wrote a book about it (The Challenge of Rainier), painted it, and worked as a guide and park ranger on its slopes.
During the first half of my life, Mount Rainier was always there. When I married and moved to the northern part of Washington, she moved to the background – still a part of my life – but not the focus anymore.
***
My mom passed on six months ago. Last weekend my brothers, sons, husband, and I met at Mount Rainier to spend time together remembering Moz.
It was amazing to see The Mountain again – up close and personal. I started taking photos from the car as we were driving to the mountain – box store outlets and traffic signs in the lower part of the pictures – The Mountain massive above them.
Our friends, Rick and Jana, had offered us the use of their weekend rental home, The Jimmy Beech House, for our time there. Jimmy Beech had been a mountain pilot who flew tourists around Mount Rainier – and he and my parents had been good friends. Jimmy flew me in my first-ever airplane flight when I was a little girl. It was very cool to know I was staying on the spot of land where he’d lived.
On Saturday my husband, Scott, and my son, Xander, were the only ones there. We drove through the Paradise parking lot (which was hugely full) and down to Reflection Lakes for a hike up Mount Plummer. I felt like I’d come home. It was so good to be tromping around on the slopes of Rainier again. It was cloudy when we started out – we weren’t sure we were going to be able to see Rainier at all – but when we got near the top of Plummer I heard my son and husband both let out an exclamation. I turned around. A bank of clouds had parted and there was Rainier – right there in our faces. Huge and majestic -playing peek-a-boo with us.
Pictures from the Plummer Hike –
The next day my brothers and older son, Andrew, and our friend, Rick, joined Scott and Xander and me, and we made a Moz Memorial hike up to Alta Vista, above Paradise. Even as she got into her eighties Moz would hike this nob of rock – it was one of her favorite places. When I’d worked at Rainier I’d often hiked around these very hills before and after work. And there was the Paradise Inn – where both Moz and, later, I had sung to the guests on Saturday nights when we’d worked at Paradise.
Photos from Paradise and the Alta Vista hike –
Our last day at Rainier happened to coincide with the eclipse. My husband had prepared for this event by buying a special filter for his camera lens. We hiked a little ways down a trail from Paradise and just past Myrtle Falls, where Scott stationed himself and set up his camera for the eclipse.
At some point I felt Panorama Point calling to me. I told the men-folk I was going to hike a little ways down the trail – just to the top of that ridge there. But when I got to that ridge, I thought I needed to hike to that spot right down there, and once I got to that spot I figured – well, I should do the switchbacks up to the top of Mazama Ridge. This was the first hike I’d done solo on this trip – and there was something kind of freeing and luxurious about being by myself on “my” mountain for a little while.
When I got to the top of Mazama I started heading towards Panorama Point, but I’d only gone maybe a tenth of a mile when I realized – by looking through my eclipse glasses – that the eclipse was going to reach its fullest point soon – and I wanted to get back to the family before they started packing up and wondering where I was.
I felt the eclipse reach its zenith as I was coming down the switchbacks. The light dimmed and there was a kind of eerie quiet for a few minutes. It was very cool. I took out my eclipse glasses and saw that there was just a sliver of sun left. I started skipping down the trail – I felt light-footed and free – like I was a youngster again – while I was coming down. Maybe it was the eclipse. 🙂 Or maybe it was that I’d put on my sandals instead of my hiking shoes that day and my toes weren’t jamming into the fronts of my shoes.
I passed a couple hiking the other direction, Yonsin and Kathy, and asked them if they’d seen the eclipse. They said they didn’t have eclipse glasses – so I loaned them mine. I loved watching the looks on their faces as they were able to see what was going on up there. They thanked me and we shook hands, and they let me take their picture before we parted ways.
As I went past a Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. climbing party I had to stop and turn and ask, “Does anyone here know Dee Molenaar?”
The guide in the front stopped and turned around and asked, “Who did you say?”
“Dee Molenaar.”
“Dee Molenaar is my hero. He’s a legend up here.”
That made me grin. I love this connection I have via Dad to the mountaineers on Rainier. “I’m his daughter,” I said. “He’s 99 now. We were hoping we could bring him down here this trip, but it just didn’t work out this time.”
The guide told me to tell my father hello, and said he hoped to see Dad up here again before too long.
The trip felt complete to me then.
Here are some photos of the trail to Panorama Point –
“Spiritually interpreted, rocks and mountains stand for solid and grand ideas.”
– Mary Baker Eddy
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
– Psalms 121
Adventures of the Madcap Christian Scientist 