random home and heart photos

This is Mount Gede as seen from our front porch, one of two volcanoes that are connected. Looking at it is very calming and centering. Centuries ago Indonesia was once Buddhist but somehow religion and even naming does not seem relevant when immersed in nature.    

 

Closer look...

Morning sun, flower, me, inter-are...

The view to one side of our front porch.

Bamboo and metal wind chimes call,  

evoke, remind and reconnect. 

 

This is a "village" rose. Here "village" has a derogatory connotation meaning narrow-minded but it can also mean hardy like this rose bush which is easy to take care of and has lots of gorgeous flowers!

  

This flower is common here and not sold but we have not figured out how it reproduces...

This wood Buddha statue is from Bali. I had a very strong affinity for it the first time I saw it. I love polishing it with teak oil and seeing the wood darken in color. I haven't been able to identify the mudra, but more importantly the hands are perfectly placed to hold hibiscus flowers which is my offering to myself and those who see it...

Pair of statues from Cambodia...

Loyal and good friends are very important on the path!!!

perspective/reflection

This is the view from our living room windows. A good friend took this picture last week while visiting with his family. Ten years ago we were both single guys on the loose acting out a second adolescence and now are both married with kids... Time.. flies...

Early in the morning and on clear days on the right a huge volcano is visible which is part of a national park. Every time I see it, its still like - wow that's big! It provides perspective for us, people, of time and nature as something that vastly exceeds our human life spans. Speaking personally sometimes its easy to forget this.

Years ago I learned about farming, walking and working barefoot on foothills below the volcano on land across from my martial arts school's training center. In the afternoon the earth would be so warm from the sun or during rainy season muddy and slippery in a very elemental way. Surprising how much one can feel through the soles of one's feet! One day I remember standing barefoot feeling rooted in a very good spot, watching bamboo sway and plants vibrate with the wind and sun and suddenly there was the thought, "the earth is alive and I am part of it". There was something both incredibly finite and infinite about that moment, the sense of being part of something vast and complex, yet alive, vibrant and immediate. Its the same feeling but different scale as holding a handful of seeds and feeling the energy, the potential for growth and expression, some powerful and ancient dance that we are part of yet only slightly understand. Human agency seems irrelevant in this context, our job seems to be to witness, to experience and wonder.     

Watching the fog on the hills or cover the landscape and blow right over our porch is pretty cool.

Early morning I love watching the sky turn from dark blue black to pink and orange and then the sun crest over the hills. Unfortunately if I am watching it, that means I am late with my morning meditation but I guess everything has a tradeoff...

May my eyes, heart and soles of my feet always be open to these joys!

May clouds, flowers and mountains always inspire and excite!

May good friends continue to grace and share our lives!

May my children continue to grow and learn with respect and wonder!

May I gain in wisdom, insight and humility.