I went for a drive as the sun was rising this morning and pondered the concept of Love. I put in a CD of Alison Krauss’s music, listened to her sing the Beatle’s “I Will” – and let the music lift me up into that magical place where there’s no anger or fear, enemies or hate – where all of creation knows nothing but joy and good will. This poem and these pictures are what I brought back…
If I open myself up to Love I avail myself of all the power of Love – the warm, healing presence of Love.
Love isn’t some fragile thing. It’s not destructible. It’s not pretty in a Christmas tree glass ornament way. It’s enduring, dependable; as solid as a mother’s lap; as strong as a father’s rescuing arms; as beautiful as the sound of Beethoven’s “Joy”- indestructible, and perfect.
Love fills all space – every corner, hole, and crevice – the collective consciousness of universal compassion and kindness nurturing and reaching out to the love in all of us. And the love in all of us can’t help but respond.
And that’s how we heal. -Karen Molenaar Terrell
Click here for a link to a video I filmed of the sunrise.
Photos of the sunrise over Skagit County, Washington, this morning. Photos by Karen Molenaar Terrell.
I love gold stripes on the road in autumn as my window wiper wipes raindrops off my windshield or the sun shines through the leaves making them look like stained glass set in a blue sky . – Karen Molenaar Terrell
What is it about pumpkins? I was wandering through Gordon’s Pumpkin Farm yesterday and I realized I was smiling under my mask. Smiling at pumpkins. (!) They are a friendly vegetable, aren’t they?
Ode to Pumpkins
Shiny round-cheeked pumpkin Nestled in my autumn garden You may become a lantern. You may become a pie. You may become a hardy soup on my stove top, by and by. – Karen Molenaar Terrell
Limerick to a Pumpkin
There once was a punkin’ named Jack who appeared in the patch in the back. He was orange and round and grew up on a mound – He was the star of Halloween – that’s a fact. – Karen Molenaar Terrell
Pumpkin Haiku
Round friendly pumpkin Waiting now for Halloween Soon he’ll be compost. – Karen Molenaar Terrell
My husband and I came back to Mount Rainier this weekend. We rented the Jimmy Beech House – the same house where my dad, Dee Molenaar, celebrated his 100th birthday two years ago. It felt good to be back. I remembered Dad surrounded by his old mountaineering friends and his family as they celebrated him. He sat in that chair and slept in that bed. And he laughed and reminisced and stuck his finger in the icing of his cake right over there.
It rained on us this weekend – buckets of wet fell from the sky and dumped on us – it was GREAT! While we were inside we drank tea and watched movies and The Seahawks and sat in front of the fire in the fireplace – it was very cozy. But we also went hiking, of course, because… well, that’s what hikers do, right? We drove up to Paradise on Saturday and did a quick hike up to Alta Vista to say hi to Mom and Dad’s ashes. It stopped raining for a bit and we watched the clouds drift by in the valley below us. When we got back down to Paradise it started snowing – great windy gusts of snow blowing in our faces and whipping around us – the first snowfall of the season there. We’d started a second hike, but turned around at Myrtle Falls because of the weather.
Today we drove back up to the park, but only went as far as Longmire this time. (When we entered the park we were told by the ranger lady that there was a lot of snow at Paradise now and traction tires were recommended. I’m glad we got up there yesterday.) So we did a quick easy hike on the Trail of Shadows loop and then hiked a bit up the Wonderland Trail towards Cougar Rock Campground.
I told my husband about a hike I remembered doing years ago in my twenties – Eagle Peak – and thought maybe that was something we could do while we were at Longmire – I remembered it as fairly easy. But when we checked it out we saw it was labeled “strenuous” and was more than seven miles long with an elevation gain of 3,000 feet. Which. What the heck?! I started sort of chuckling then, remembering my strong young self – and the adventures I used to have – going off by myself for a “quick hike” of some peak. I’m so glad I had those adventures! And I’m also really glad I survived them.
I didn’t mention my dad to strangers all weekend. This is kind of a big deal for me. Normally I find every opportunity to let people know I’m the daughter of a famous mountaineer and I used to work at Rainier and… and… did I mention I’ve climbed to the summit? But this weekend I kept all that a secret. I asked other people for directions. I played the part of the tourist. And it felt really good. – Karen Molenaar Terrell
You may remember the story about the intrepid little sunflower who was sawed in half by a slug earlier in the summer and grew new roots in a bottle. I transplanted her to a pot and put her out on the side of the house by her sister – where she’d originally been when she was attacked in the infamous Slug Wars. She thrived and grew out there and now she’s blooming!
Because she’s in a pot I was able to move her away from the dark background of the house for a photo of her in the sunlight. Check it out…
Adventures of the Madcap Christian Scientist 