Laine's Blog, Thinking Out Loud

What I know...

 

What I know - what I know is -

Love will find a way.

 

Conflict in your life?

Say this -

Love will find a way.

 

Anxious?

Say this in your heart and mind -

Love will find a way.

 

It does.

It will.

 

 

Somehow it opens your heart and reminds you of the love there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a song that goes like the first line of this post but I can't find it!

But there are 2 others with the title of "Love Will Find a Way" by Pablo Cruise and Lionel Ritchie.

In any event, Love will find a way!

©Laine Quinn 2021 Photo of sunrise with steady waves, one after the other, 09/08/2021

I'm Okay...

 

When memories pop up that remind you of your mistakes, missteps and lost opportunities -

do they come to make you feel bad all over again?

Or are they coming to maybe help you?

Help you to find forgiveness and compassion for your self?

To finally move off - move on - to the happiness you found in life -

the happy memories?

 

Sure it's all intermingled but remember the kindness, the love and the friendships,

the comraderie and the joys you found in nature - in being alive,

in reading a good book and sharing a good meal,

the good work that you did.

In the BIG tapestry of your life

the missteps  would shrink beside all the good all the joy and happiness -

all the little things that made your life whole.

 

Funny that they come, those haunting memories,

but next time flood them with the joys and maybe they will cease and desist

eventually.

 

Maybe after forgiveness and compassion there is acceptance.

"Yeah, I did that , but I also did this and this and this...

I'm okay!"

 

You're okay!

I'm okay.

 

 

 

 

©2021 Laine Quinn

Tapestry, "Tree of Life", Astoria Grand at Wayfair.

 

A note to my email subscribers, the email address Laine@lainesblog.com is no longer active, an I have corrected it so that you can reply to my blog in your email and I will get it in my google account.

Thanks for all!

 

Not Like That...

 

I wanted to write about the unsettling times we find ourselves in

and then there was that date,

September 11, 2021

staring me in the eye.

 

In 2001, almost a week after that horrible day,

I was on a sailboat in Provincetown Harbor

and witnessed the most magnificent sunset

caused by the dust in the air all the way from 

New York City to Cape Cod,

from that terrible tragedy at the World Trade Center Towers.

 

I lived in Provincetown at the time and my friend invited me out on the water.

Planes were still grounded and it was eerily quiet and peaceful, calm and beautiful.

 

We talked about how the U.S. behaved in the world

and how that created more enemies than friends.

 

The Country stood still for a while - 

collective grief - shock - compassion - empathy.

 

And you know the rest of the story.

They said,

"Get on with your lives." "Go shopping."

We'll start a war or two and make it right.

 

A primitive response lacking insight, intelligence, even compassion for the victims.

It's not what their families wanted.

 

It wasn't misguided -

it was exactly what some people wanted.

 

Will America ever be the Beacon of Democracy she promised to be?

 

Not like that.

Not like that.

 

 

 

 

 

©Laine Quinn 2021, photo September 17th, 2001.

 

 

Getting Grounded Again...

 

How's it going?

Personally - within?

 

Take a moment to remember

that you are here now

with your very own life.

 

Your very own precious life.

 

How's it going?

Within?

 

Breathe.

 

 

©Laine Quinn2021

 

Wonderful...

 

Between cloudy nights

and thunderstorm days,

the moon only showed her face two times

for an entire month.

 

But the clouds - the clouds were wonderful!

building each day in the willing sky,

between sun and rain and rainbows!

 

 

 

 

 

©LaineQuinn 2021 Stormy July!

Yes and Yes...

 

Can you be stressed and joyful at the same time?

Worried and happy at the same time?

Yes

and

Yes!

 

It takes some living and loving and forgiving

to arrive at a time in your life

when your emotions balance

without effort.

 

Joy and happiness can rise to the top like bubbles in water.

 

Stress is still stress and worry is still worried,

but they're paired with your innate joy

and they don't eat away your minutes and hours-

your days and nights.

 

The edges are smoothed and softened.

You can still find gladness in the little things

and laugh at your clumsy self.

 

 

 

 

©Laine Quinn 2021, Vilano Beach July 2021.

 

America Is...

 

America is a mess...

 

But the good news is this:

Americans are good people

and love is rising above hate

and kindness is spreading in every neighborhood.

 

There is more that connects us than divides us

and optimism is our only choice and our hope

for the future of 

the American Dream of Self Governance.

 

Happy Independence Day!

 

 

 

 

 

To My Email Subscribers...

 

Hello, loyal followers!

Laine's blog is in its 10th year!

(I can't believe it!)

Thank you for being part of my dreams and meanderings!

 

The subscription service that I have been using, Feedburner

will no longer be available after June.

I have moved my list to Mail Chimp and hope that I did it correctly!

 

You might get two copies of this if it is working,

so please be patient with me while I iron out the wrinkles.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being there for Laine's Blog!

 

With love and best wishes for everyone!

Laine

 

 

 

No Worries...

 

Spotting a Baby bird outside my window, I watched to see if she was in distress...

 

 

And here comes her mom or dad!

 

 

A few seconds later, after mom left,

one of her siblings flew in and knocked her off the railing!

They tussled on the ground until the intruder took off and she flew back up to the rail

waiting for the next feeding!

 

 

So, she could fly!

And her parents were feeding more than one babe!

 

And all of this outside my window!

Lucky me!

 

 

©Laine Quinn 2021 Baby Tufted Tit Mouse and parent!

Sometimes...

 

 

Sometimes when I am standing at the water's edge,

looking out over the waves,

I think that I should be having some profound thought

or insight into my life or life in general.

But, I never do.

 

Sometimes I am worried about something.

Sometimes I am not worried!

 

 

Standing there or walking,

loving the wind on my face and the waves bumping into each other

and the low ceiling of clouds moving overhead -

it is enough -

more than enough.

 

Just being there!

Yes,

it is plenty!

 

 

 

 

©LaineQuinn 2020

Waves at Vilano Beach, Egrets and Pelicans and Gulls in the distance and Dolphins and fish swimming below!

 

Earth Day

 

 

That we dedicate a day for the celebration of the Earth

is absurd and also necessary.

 

The, so called, "most intelligent" creatures that life has spawned

can't even protect that which sustains their very existence.

(It wasn't always this way.)

 

There are people involved in the destruction of our air, water and soil

who just don't care.

They don't see the earth as a living, breathing, life sustaining entity -

all they see is profit and power.

 

They continue to exploit the natural resources that belong to all of us

without consideration of the consequences,

much to our peril

and all in pursuit of profit and the power that comes with it.

 

Promises are made and broken.

They just don't care.

 

You and me - we can do our part and should continue to do our part -

but until corporations and governments stop tearing the fabric of life apart

we are doomed.

 

 

It is a few at the top,

the very top of the pyramid who allow the destruction to continue.

 

There are new promises in the works that will help to mitigate the destruction -

let's hope it is not too little too late

and that those promises are not broken.

 

It is time to hold their feet to the fire -

hold those in power accountable and don't let up.

 

 

"We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality,

tied in a single garment of destiny.

Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly."

 

                                                                        Martin Luther King Jr.

 

 

 

 

 

 

©LaineQuinn 2021

In an attempt to remain positive in my blog, I must say that I am positive that we are in a very precarious situation!

 

Moonlight...

 

Every day brings us closer to moonlight

But

Where is she now?

                                                               

 

(Crescent moon coming soon to your neighborhood sky!)

 

 

 

 

In Honor of National Poetry Month, an original!

©Laine Quinn

Photos taken in 2013, the moon and Venus just after sunset.

 

 

                                                                         

Getting Grounded...

 

Grounded in springtime -

planting and potting and cleaning!

And the Cicadas are due any minute now!

We called them the 17 year Locusts.

 

Magicicada.

 

Living as nymphs, 8 feet below the surface,

feeding on tree root sap in underground bunkers,

(and I thought they were sleeping!),

17 years later,

they emerge through tunnels that they create,

to shed their skins

and reveal the insect that we are familiar with,

the Cicada.

 

 

The males sing their hearts out

waiting for a reply from a willing female.

 

5 weeks later they are gone - deceased- it's over -

except for the thousands of eggs left behind in the bark of their preferred trees.

These eggs become larvae that fall to the ground

and become the hardy nymphs that live quietly underground

for a very long time!

 

Yes, the "song" can be annoying, deafening even,

but it is truly fascinating to ponder such a life

and to witness its Grand Finale!

 

Grounded indeed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

©2021 Laine Quinn

Photo of a bog on a farm nearby!

 

 

Hidden Gifts...

 

 

 

What I have been trying not to say out loud,

is that there are blessings or gifts hidden in tragedies,

and these gifts may not be obvious for some time to come,

but they are there.

 

If we can make a commitment not to let the anger and helplessness

allow us to disconnect,

and instead turn to our friends and families,

and really see them in that deep way that keeps love alive,

then that compassion spreads to our neighbors, and the person behind the counter,

and we become part of the force that moves us away from the madness,

and towards creating a loving and compassionate world.

 

Be gentle with each other and kind and open.

 

 

 

 

 

Reprinted from Laine's Blog, 4/2013 and 6/2016

 

Things...

 

 

I am a thing

among other things.

 

There was a little book

in the "Tiny Library"

next to the little playground

which is next to the community garden

in my neighborhood.

My young friend wanted to play on his own

for a little bit,

so I picked up the little book,

"The Alphabet of Grace"

to peruse

and sat on the bench

to read.

 

I forced myself to remember that line,

or close to it

because it seemed to equalize everything!

 

Me, the swing set, the sliding board,

the moon and the stars.

 

We are all just here,

doing what we do

with all of the rest of nature and things!

 

Why be so serious?

Relax.

Enjoy!

 

You are just a thing

among other things!

No better

and no worse either!

 

Make good trouble!

 

 

 

 

When I went back to borrow the book, it was gone!

But I found the author on line, Frederick Buechner.

Photo of lizard on a thing, at the edge of the garden,

© 2021 Laine Quinn

 

 

Pretty Eyes...

 

 

I can see you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Puma in the ferns, and his gorgeous eyes looking back at me.

©2021 Laine Quinn

Wild Flower...

 

Shamrocks seed themselves

all over St. Augustine.

Wild?

I think so!

Delightful?

Definitely!

Lucky?

Let's hope!

 

 

 

Violets too, much to my delight!

©2021 Laine Quinn, backyard shamrocks.

A Round of Robins!

 

Noisy birds in the Hollies

dozens of them

with a familiar sound from childhood

Robin Red Breasts

 feasting in Florida

away from the Arctic Air and ice up North,

and stopping for a bath!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canadian Robins, a long way from home and probably glad of it, the original "Snow Birds!"

©2021 Laine Quinn

 

 

Teach Us...

 

Teach us to care and not to care

Teach us to sit still.

                                               T.S. Eliot

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the poem "Ash Wednesday"

Photo ©Laine Quinn

Boat on a pond in Wellfleet.

More Light After a Storm...

 

 

St. Augustine Harbor

looking east, with the sun low in the west

lighting up the sky,

after an afternoon storm.

 

(True Colors!)

 

 

 

 

 

©LaineQuinn 2015 St. Augustine, Florida

 

Blessings...

 

An early morning thunderstorm left behind these beautiful clouds for the rising sun to shine upon.

 

May all the storms in our lives be blessings in disguise.

 

 

(Let's hope!)

 

 

 

 

©Laine Quinn 2021, reprinted from Laine's Blog, November 13rd, 2011.

Good Bye...

 

2020

 

Oh My -

Goodbye goodbye goodbye -

and don't come back

ever again.

 

The odd thing about this horrid year

is that the world is more united

than ever before.

A global pandemic has brought us closer.

 

 

The virus crossed from one country to another -

without passport or visa -

sewing together the human race in tragedy and grace.

Tragedy and Grace.

 

 

 

And everywhere in the world

People are kicking 2020 out of the door

and into space

and welcoming the new year -

collectively -

of one mind and heart.

 

A New Year,

perhaps more welcome that any other in our lifetimes.

 

2021

 

You are very welcome!

Come in, come in,

have a seat,

stay for a while.

Hello! Hello!

 

HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

 

(Is it safe to come out yet?)

  

 

 

©2020 Laine Quinn

They Say We Might Get Rain...

 

Rain coming?

Bring it on!

We're ready!

 

 

 

Frogs love the rain!

©Laine Quinn 2020

 

Keep It...

 

Keep it Kind

and

Patient

and

Heartfelt

and

Simple

and

Sweet!

 

 

The butterfly counts not months but moments,

and has time enough.

 

                                                   Rabindranath Tagore

 

(Dragonflies too!)

 

 

 

 

 

Quotation is from the front of the book,"World of Wonders" by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

I haven't read it yet, but soon will, there is time enough!

Merry Merry, Happy Happy!

How Are You Doing?

 

 

It's that time of year -

in a very odd year _

when emotions are raw and memories haunt you.

 

 

 

Riding waves of feelings,

not knowing where they come from,

or why,

or how long,

you hang on.

 

 Storms come and they go,

and you hang on.

You hang on.

 

 

 

 

And they go.

 

 

Life is still life -

imperfectly perfect.

 

Stay safe,

and patient

and perfect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

©2020 Laine Quinn

A Change in Perspective...

 

 

Simple.

A little planet in a grand and glorious galaxy

in an unimaginable universe.

 

Our little rock is spinning on its axis,

rotating around our star, the sun,

which is rotating in the galaxy,

which is traveling in the universe,

with other galaxies

and planets and stars.

 

We've learned so much in the last 50 years!

What will we find in the next 50 years?

 

Time will tell!

 

 

 

 

Yikes Stripes!

 

Driving over the bridge to the beach the other night

the sky was strikingly -

 

 

striped!

 

 

 

 

From West to East -

stripes!

 

A pending cold front,

I was informed

and sure enough -

that night was our first cold one - dipping into the 30's.

 

Quite a beautiful, remarkable sight!

 

 

 

 

Vilano Beach, St. Augustine, ©2020 LaineQuinn

 

Thanksgiving!

 

How can a year as strange as 2020

appear to be whizzing by?

 

Already Thanksgiving!

And still grateful -

for the moon and stars and planets

(especially this one!) -

grateful for blue skies and rain

trees and flowers

wild waves and calm.

 

Grateful to be alive and well

and loving

and loved.

 

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 

 

 

 

Girl picking flowers depicted on a tile found in the lost city of Pompei.

 

A Gift!

 

 

Out of nowhere

nature paints a rainbow

coming out of the horizon

and it's just sitting there!

 

I see a guy

coming along in the distance,

too far to shout out

but somehow I get his attention

and point to the rainbow

and he

excitedly

gives me a thumbs up!

 

He saw it too!

 

And

then the little rainbow

just

disappeared!

 

 

 

 

 

Vilano Beach, 11/20/2020

©2020 LaineQuinn

 

 

Just Because...

 

 

Just because light and color conspired to spread joy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

ONE MORE DAY...

 

One day more...