Monthly Archives: January 2016

Well today is about as bleak a winter day as any I can ever remember in Kansas. It is grey, grey, grey and the temps sit at 20 degrees as I write this. I cannot see any green but the yellowy kind of green that plants have when they are in their version of hibernation. I could get utterly lost in the depths of the dismal winter blues. But as I look longingly out of the kitchen window as I wash the dishes, hoping for a glimpse of bright green somewhere on the landscape or a sign of joy, I have a sudden spirited visitor. A cardinal lands right in front of me on a branch in the walnut tree just beyond the window. His head is pointed straight at me. He sits still for a moment and then bows (!) in my direction. And bows a few more times. I watch in rapt wonder. Such vibrant color in this beautiful bird. And that we had a measure of communing with one another is just what I needed. No matter how bleak my world might seem to me, there is always magic to experience if I just open my eyes. What’s up in your neck of the woods?

#ReportFromTheBack40 #SquirrelRun #kippinitreal #wuvip

Well, for those of you who chimed in and read yesterday’s report, you will no doubt get a chuckle out of today’s. Whereas I was bemoaning winter checking in at barely 30 degrees yesterday, the Arctic winds really blew in during the wee morning hours this morning and brought us not only a dusting of snow, adding insult to injury in my humble opinion, but also plummeted temps down to single digits! I say winter has brought an exclamation point to my protest of yesterday, and Mother Nature has a lovely sense of humor. I am grateful that we are sitting above the zero mark on the thermometer and that the sun is shining so brightly. I leave with a shot off of the back porch looking south into The Back 40 here at Squirrel Run. What’s up in your neck of the woods?

#ReportFromTheBack40 #SquirrelRun #WinterIsComing #WinterIsThrowingItDown #kippinitreal #wuvip

Well friends, I’ve about had it with winter here in Kansas — and we’re only one month into it! Yes – I know the days are lengthening, and like any masterpiece, I cannot rush Mother Nature. But try telling my body this sweet morsel of wisdom. I officially declared “Enough!” this morning as I feel that arctic air descend upon our little valley. I see the empty Great Blue Heron nests atop the grove of sycamore trees outside our kitchen window and the skies empty of the tribe of turkey vultures that live here in gentler times and my heart is calling them all here in due haste. Oh but I miss their antics and company. And even though it is barely breaking above 30 degrees today, I want so badly to break out my shorts in opposition to the whole matter. A voice pipes up inside of me saying, “But Elizabeth, you are not accepting what is here right in front of you. Love the moment for what it brings.” And I appreciate the bracing cold that wakes me up down to my bones. I appreciate the respite the trees seem to get from being fully dressed in all of their leaves and holding so much more of the world for most of the year. Somehow, I am not able to stretch myself quite that far into loving this moment, and I find myself wishing for the future instead. Once again, The Divine is teaching me a lesson. Wherever I feel resistance, there is a lesson for me. And the resistance I feel right now is no exception. I stop for an instant and lean deeply into the breath – the essence of life itself, right here, right now, and I partake fully in it. In and out. Again. And once more. There is no escaping this feeling rising up within me. I am fiercely craving the color green when I look or walk outside. The really vibrant green – you know the luscious green that is just filled to the brim with growth and the vitality of life. So, as I anchor into the breath in this moment, and patiently await the coming spring, I say, “Bring on the green!” What’s up in your neck of the woods?

#ReportFromTheBack40 #squirrelRun #springdreaming  #sacredcurves #kippinitreal #wuvip

With gratitude for photo to ksuayan

1) For the light within always being there, like the sun, no matter how cloudy the world appears in the moment;

2) for so many teachers in my life and the many lessons they have shown me; and,

3) for The Divine, Illuminator of All, Bringer of teachers and their lessons, and Creator of the rest of All That Is.

#thegratitudemovement #GratitudeBringsTheJoy #kippinitreal #WUVIP

With gratitude to Hari Bhajan Kaur Kalsa for the quote

“We can find our way by simply dwelling in gratitude.” ~ Hari Bhajan Kaur Kalsa

These mountains have been here for a thousand thousand years and more. I am here as human but for a blip in time. Be here now. Savor the moment.

#BeHereNow #PeacePod #kippinitreal #ElizabethKipp #WUVIP

Be here now. Savor the moment.

You’ve got a new story to write – and it’s here in the present moment.

#ToolsForBetterLiving #PeacePod #kippinitreal #WUVIP

Your new story is right here, right now.