Although the camera stopped the action -
these sandpipers are running to beat the band!
Up and down the wave as it ebbs and flows,
faster than anything,
and then flying to the next wave, and running again,
and again and again.
They tickle the funny bone,
these masters of slapstick,
making any willing heart lighter.
St. Augustine Beach, May 2014
It is still the birds that bring me back to the wonder of this world, flying over the waves or diving for their dinner, wild and free and alive!
At the risk of repeating myself,
we really do live in a beautiful world.
Nature persists.
In spite of what men do to each other and to the planet
to distract us,
Nature persists.
There is beauty and diversity and wonder
all around us.
And we,
who are a part of that wonder,
must insist on PEACE.
We must revel in the beauty and the possibility of Peace
in our hearts and in the world.
Sunrise, Vilano Beach September, 2023
2 different days!
Last call, last chance
Last song, last dance
Sometimes you just don't know when that's gonna be
Hold me baby, give me a kiss
Like tonight is all there is
Cause there's a last time for everything
It's a Brad Paisley song that someone mentioned in a piece I found somewhere,
and it stuck with me.
Can we really cherish our days and nights like it's the last time?
Why not?
This is our life, our time, our blessings,
why not cherish them always?
"Last Time For Everything", by Brad Paisley.
Sunrise at Vilano Beach, St. Augustine.
Republished from LainesBlog, June 2017
©LaineQuinn2023
The beauty around us
No matter where you are
There is beauty around you!
The Inlet St. Augustine
©LaineQuinn 2022
The way the light catches the sails
at a certain time of day...
it's irresistible,
delicious,
wonderful.
The Schooner Freedom returning to safe harbor.
©LaineQuinn 2022
Sea oats in the breeze
Sun getting ready to set
One more wave - no two!
Vilano Beach, July 2022
©2022 LaineQuinn
Resembling luminescent jewels,
the colors of the ocean at sunset
on a calm evening,
raise the spirit,
like the sails of a great ship filling with a welcome breeze.
Filling the heart with Love!
Happy Valentine's Day!
St. Augustine Beach, 2.10.14.
Reprinted from Laine's blog, 2014, with additions!
©LaineQuinn2022
It is a lie - any talk of God
that does not
comfort
you.
Poem by Meister Eckhart, 13th century mystic, translated by Daniel Ladinsky.
Grateful for all the people who have come and gone in my life
and helped me to become the person I am today -
for better or worse!
Grateful for all the things that are going right in my world -
and there are many.
Grateful as always for the sun and moon and stars,
for blue skies and rain and trees and flowers.
We are all made of the same star stuff -
the same stuff.
All one.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Sunrise, St Augustine Beach
©LaineQuinn2021
What nourishes you
in the middle of a Pandemic?
What nourishes you
when political forces take a dark turn
and plunge us into a past that should be long forgotten?
For me it is Poetry -
Poetry and Music that soothe my soul
and the beauty all around me -
flowers still blooming in our Florida gardens and
the angle of the sun in the trees at a certain time of day,
and of course the beach!
And happy dogs and peaceful cats!
And friends, young and old!
Let the autumn light reach you.
©2021 Laine Quinn, photo of Spanish Moss in Live Oaks at Washington Oaks State Park.
Does the Egret apologize to the fish?
Is the fish feeling like a victim, getting angry and huffy?
These two marvelous creatures are
living and dying on the same page.
No apologies.
No blame.
When we seek honestly that which nourishes us,
we thrive.
Reprinted from Laine's Blog, October, 2011
©LaineQuinn 2011
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
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!
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.
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
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!
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.
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
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
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
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
Everyday - at least once a day -
Picture your perfect world.
At least once, for a few minutes or more!
Everyday.
Vilano Beach Reflection, © 2020 Laine Quinn
Collectively it is time that we imagine a better world.
No matter what happens in the next months or years,
it is time to put our minds on better things.
Call it the power of positive thinking,
of visualizing,
of collective prayer -
it all works and can change the world.
Psychopathic leaders of politics and industry - be warned -
it is time for the Human takeover of our world.
Time to imagine a world where we live harmoniously with the earth,
harmoniously with each other - near and far,
harmoniously with all creatures -great and small.
A world in partnership.
A world of compassion and love and generosity.
If it fits in your mind,
it fits in your world.
We are more than what we can imagine.
Collectively it's time to imagine
what comes after -
to dream big and have faith in the human heart,
in the human desire for connection.
Photos of our Beautiful Planet in the days ahead.
American Democracy has been considered
an experiment from its earliest days
and has been observed for over 200 years
to see if self-governance actually works.
America has faltered many many times yet she still stands.
The way that we participate in the experiment is up to us.
Voting is the most crucial and significant thing that we as Americans
can do to participate in this "grand" experiment.
Voting can be manipulated -
by gerrymandering Congressional districts,
by turning people away at the polls,
by intimidating people into not voting at all.
Ballots can be stolen, "misplaced" or rejected for some trumped up reason.
It is usually the minority party which is invested in suppressing the vote,
one way or the other.
Once they have power, they will do anything to keep it.
Whatever the tactics, it is imperative
that every eligible voter casts their vote
no matter how or who discourages us to do so.
VOTE.
The future is in the balance.
The future of our Earth, our food, our water,
healthcare, Social Security, racial justice.
It is all on the line.
Talk to your friends, your family - be sure that they plan to vote.
Our Future is in the balance.
VOTE!
Are you registered to vote?
Are you sure?
In some areas of the country,
if you have not participated in the last one or two election cycles,
you are purged from the voter rolls.
Period.
Do not wait for election day to discover that you are the victim of a voter purge.
Check ahead of time, like today.
In my county,
you must be registered to vote at least 30 days before an election
in order to participate in that election.
So, double check, even if you are sure that you are registered to vote.
Double check!
Call or visit online your Supervisor of Elections
and be sure that you can participate
in the most important presidential election
of your lifetime - so far!
Brought to by Laine, in the historic year of 2020.
Never met a stranger
When I heard that sentiment many years ago,
I spent several days, weeks, months scratching my head.
What on earth did it mean?
Then it hit me like a ton of bricks - of course -
none of us are strangers to one another.
As Joni Mitchell put it so many years ago,
"I see something of myself in everyone..."
All of our vulnerabilities and insecurities,
all of our hubris and self righteousness -
we all share these things.
Anxiety, arrogance, shame, hate, joy, love, ecstasy, balance -
Who hasn't experienced these emotions and lived to see another day?
Our humanity is what connects us.
Perfectly imperfect.
Some of us love dogs, others cats.
Some people love the ocean
and for others it's the mountains and valleys.
I like blue!
What's your favorite color?
(I won't hate you for it!)
Family at the beach ©2020 Laine Quinn
Let's be patient with one another.
We are all in this for the long haul
and depend on each other to remain safe and healthy.
Love and kindness are our best tools to see this through.
Love and kindness and patience.
Deep breath.
Sunrise, Saint Augustine Beach, Yesterday!
©2020 Laine Quinn
"Anchor the eternity of love in your own soul and embed this
planet with goodness. Lean toward the whispers of your own
heart, discover the universal truth, and follow its dictates.
Release the need to hate, to harbor division, and the enticement of revenge.
Release all bitterness. Hold only love, only peace in your heart, knowing that
the battle of good to overcome evil is already won. Choose confrontation
wisely, but when it is your time don't be afraid to stand up, speak up, and
speak out against injustice. And if you follow your truth down the road to
peace and the affirmation of love, if you shine like a beacon for all to see,
then the poetry of the great dreamers and philosophers is yours to
manifest in a nation, a world community, and a Beloved Community that is
finally at peace with itself."
John Lewis
From his book, Across That Bridge: Life Lessons and a Vision for Change,
quoted in a Beautiful tribute to John Lewis in Brain Pickings.
Surely he walks with the angels!
©2020 Laine Quinn - Sunrise, St. Augustine Beach
A walk on the beach.
Blue sky
Ocean
Sand
Nature stands by.
Peaceful
Beautiful
Sometimes thundering
And what are the humans doing?
Try to be nice!
It is the best way.
©2020 Laine Quinn, St. Augustine Beach, June.
Full Twist
Alternate leg stretch
©2020, Laine Quinn Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, St. Augustine Beach
Change is in the air.
Compassion and righteous anger are walking the streets of America with Lady Justice.
There will be no turning back these pages of history ourstory -
no matter what the impeached president says or does.
Change is in the air.
This isn't 2 dozen people with automatic weapons
standing on the capitol steps
protesting the lock down because of covid-19.
This is thousands and thousands of peaceful Americans
supporting one another and walking together
to protest the racial inequality that permeates our society.
Protesting militant police who murder innocent people for sport.
Change is in the air
and it's not going away.
Police are on notice.
States Attorneys are on notice.
We are watching now.
And we are many.
Change is in the air.
Stay vigilant.
Stay safe.
Stay together.
In 1953, Rachel Carson penned this...
"It is one of the ironies of our time that,
while concentrating on the defense of our country against enemies from without,
we should be so heedless of those who would destroy it from within."
Amen.
©Laine Quinn 2020