Sunday stroll…

All the windows of my heart I open to the day.

~ John Greenleaf Whitter ~

I thought, given that yesterday was the one year anniversary of Carry It Forward, that I’d do a Sunday stroll of my favorite photos of the year. It became clear, quite quickly, that it would turn into more of a marathon than a stroll, so I decided to narrow the field a little. Windows have been a favorite subject for me for as long as I can remember, so here you go – a stroll through twelve months of windows from around the world!

Wyomissing, Pennsylvania

Malaga, Spain

Ronda, Spain

Washington, DC

rural Virginia

New York, New York

view from my window

Washington, DC

Washington, Virginia

Freeport, Maine

Falls Church, Virginia

New Orleans

New Orleans

New Orleans

Somewhere in the sky

Phoenix, Arizona

Ferry from Seattle to Victoria, BC

Carving Shed, The Wick, Tofino, BC

Tofino, BC

The Wick, Tofino, BC – on my fiftieth birthday

Mabel Dodge Luhan House, Taos, New Mexico

Mabel Dodge Luhan House, Taos, New Mexico

window shopping, Calistoga, California

my dining room

Falls Church, Virginia

Green Gulch Farm, Marin County, California

greenhouse at Green Gulch Farm

Shining your light…

This is a reposting from last spring – a first for me, but it seems to be a time when many of us (me included) need to hear this again.

People are like stained-glass windows.  They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.  ~ Elisabeth Kübler-Ross ~

I had dinner last night with my friend, Pamela, from Walking on My Hands.  It was wonderful, as usual, of course… and I won’t even begin to try to map out our conversation for you.  I’d have to send virtual Dramamine, there were so many twists and turns.  Anyway, we talked a lot about light, the light inside of each of us, and she had a lot of questions on that topic.  Here, in part, is what I said. This whole analogy came to me a couple months ago and it seems to be one that most folks can relate to easily…

I see us all as lighthouses. We all have light inside of us, we come that way – think of the way small children glow, the way babies look at you, the knowing in their eyes and the way the room brightens when they enter.  As we get older, though, that multi-paned, 360 degree window starts to get a little dirty, you know?  Daily dust, windstorms, hail and salt spray all add up and before you know it, the grime is thick and gets harder to remove every day.  And the only way to clean them is to take the time and effort to do it.  Only you can clean your window, only I can clean mine, because the mess isn’t only on the outside.  We can help each other with the outer panes, yes, but each of us sees the view from the inside alone.  And just as an oil lamp shade gets smoky when the wick burns too low, if we haven’t kept our own flames going strong, the dirt buildup on the inner panels of glass can require even more work than the salt-encrusted exterior.  You get the picture… only you can tell if it’s really clean and clear, all the way through.
There is a saying, worded in all sorts of ways and sometimes attributed to Dwight L. Moody, that goes something like this – Lighthouses don’t go searching for the ships, they just beam their light from where they stand.  No matter how you say it, it is very true.  We sometimes think it is so complicated, finding our calling in life.  And we can make it so, even in a well-intentioned way.  But if we all do our work, if we keep our wick at a reasonable height, if we take the time and the elbow grease to go out and clean our windows really well once, then spend a little time every day doing whatever it takes to keep them that way, our light will shine clearly and brightly.  We become beacons of good for each other.  We light up the room, our lives and our world.

Take some time – soon – to figure out what it is that keeps your spirit going.  You have so much to give.  Find a way to shine your light and brighten the world.  I can see you from here.


The windows of my soul I throw
Wide open to the sun.

~ John Greenleaf Whittier ~




Shining your light…

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within. ~ Elisabeth Kübler-Ross ~

I had dinner last night with my friend, Pamela, from Walking on My Hands. It was wonderful, as usual, of course… and I won’t even begin to try to map out our conversation for you. I’d have to send virtual Dramamine, there were so many twists and turns. Anyway, we talked a lot about light, the light inside of each of us, and she had a lot of questions on that topic. Here, in part, is what I said. This whole analogy came to me a couple months ago and it seems to be one that most folks can relate to easily…

I see us all as lighthouses. We all have light inside of us, we come that way – think of the way small children glow, the way babies look at you, the knowing in their eyes and the way the room brightens when they enter. As we get older, though, that multi-paned, 360 degree window starts to get a little dirty, you know? Daily dust, windstorms, hail and salt spray all add up and before you know it, the grime is thick and gets harder to remove every day. And the only way to clean them is to take the time and effort to do it. Only you can clean your window, only I can clean mine, because the mess isn’t only on the outside. We can help each other with the outer panes, yes, but each of us sees the view from the inside alone. And just as an oil lamp shade gets smoky when the wick burns too low, if we haven’t kept our own flames going strong, the dirt buildup on the inner panels of glass can require even more work than the salt-encrusted exterior. You get the picture… only you can tell if it’s really clean and clear, all the way through.

There is a saying, worded in all sorts of ways and sometimes attributed to Dwight L. Moody, that goes something like this – Lighthouses don’t go searching for the ships, they just beam their light from where they stand. No matter how you say it, it is very true. We sometimes think it is so complicated, finding our calling in life. And we can make it so, even in a well-intentioned way. But if we all do our work, if we keep our wick at a reasonable height, if we take the time and the elbow grease to go out and clean our windows really well once, then spend a little time every day doing whatever it takes to keep them that way, our light will shine clearly and brightly. We become beacons of good for each other. We light up the room, our lives and our world.

Take some time – soon – to figure out what it is that keeps your spirit going. You have so much to give. Find a way to shine your light and brighten the world. I can see you from here.

The windows of my soul I throw
Wide open to the sun.
~ John Greenleaf Whittier ~

And on a whole different subject, I am very happy to say that the new and improved Carry It Forward site should make its debut by the end of this week.

Please note that I cannot automatically change your subscription. I’ll provide a link so that you can find it easily, but you will need to resubscribe to the new site. I hope you will follow me as I move forward!