How did you celebrate Earth Day?
If you looking for some ways to "green" your lifestyle click here!
A Moveable Feast |
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This past Sunday two other Wilson students and I shared a prayer for the planet at an Earth Day Vigil. I left inspired by the ways so many of us are sharing in the work to protect Mama Earth.
How did you celebrate Earth Day? If you looking for some ways to "green" your lifestyle click here!
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Life in the valley these past few weeks has been none stop, but I've tried to be intentional about taking moments to breath and remember what is good around me. Lately I've been grateful for... TWIN TIME (Adam visited me for four days this past weekend. It was so sweet to see him and I loved showing him my North Carolina home!) We drank a lot of hot beverages together. Read a few books. Rode some bikes. Spotted some polar bears. And found a new alley way that reminded us of Italy. This week has also involved an amazing Better Together Day that left me thankful for community, dialogue, and chalkboards Now it's time from a Waffle House outing with these two crazy ladies, then much needed sleep. With gratitude for this wild, crazy, amazing ride I fondly call college,
Michelle by Kahlil Gibran Then a woman said, Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow. And he answered: Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears. And how else can it be? The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven? And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives? When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight. Some of you say, “Joy is greater than sorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.” But I say unto you, they are inseparable. Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed. Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy. Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced. When the reassure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall. Something sweet for a Monday.
With love and rain drops, Michelle Tolling bells only ever make me miss Italy. Especially around Easter. Buona Pasqua a mi famiglia e tutti miei amici italiani!
Love, Michy Le printemps est arrivé! La primavera é arrivato! La primavera llegó! What an exciting time! This year in the valley spring has come on slowly with stretches of warmth and then quick returns to colder weather, but with the passing of the spring equinox I'm hopeful that blue skies and warm weather are here to stay. This past week was spring break here at Wilsonland and I spent the week working for Landscape Crew which meant plenty of time in the warm sun. This week was a sweet time to recharge and refocus my energy for the last eight weeks of the semester. The beauty of the world and my own life hit me with such force and humility this week I am nearly at a loss for words. Some highlights of the week included: Learning how to salsa dance Fresh berries Onion grass and clementines Driving the dumpster buggy Working next to the cows Planting native grasses in the green house Seeing the mountains (and Garden Cabin covered in rain) Opening the suite windows to welcome in spring (Officially) putting away my flannel sheets Celebrating the Persian New Year with sweet friends My life here is a such a beautiful and grace filled gift. I am remiss when I forget to keep my eyes open to the wonder around me, but I am nonetheless grateful for and humbled by the many ways I have been reminded this week to keep my heart filled with love, joy, and wonder because this world really is a beautiful place.
Happy Spring, everyone!! All my love and more, Michelle But isn't this the very purpose of our lives: to live in a such a way that our very breath testifies to the grace and glory of God?
“What is more important than the meal? Doesn’t the least observant man-about-town look upon the implementation and ritual progress of a meal as a liturgical prescription? Isn’t all of civilization apparent in these careful preparations, which consecrate the spirit’s triumph over a raging appetite?” ~Paul Valéry Let His love and mercy satisfy you today. With love, Michy For Lent I'm following an online devotional over at She Reads Truth.
Today's lesson was a beautiful reminder that God's love is bountiful even in the midst of our empty sin. I hope this reading brings you hope today! Deep, abounding love, Michy By Pablo Neruda
You've asked me what the lobster is weaving there with his golden feet? I reply, the ocean knows this. You say, what is the ascidia waiting for in its transparent bell? What is it waiting for? I tell you it is waiting for time, like you. You ask me whom the Macrocystis alga hugs in its arms? Study, study it, at a certain hour, in a certain sea I know. You question me about the wicked tusk of the narwhal, and I reply by describing how the sea unicorn with the harpoon in it dies. You enquire about the kingfisher's feathers, which tremble in the pure springs of the southern tides? Or you've found in the cards a new question touching on the crystal architecture of the sea anemone, and you'll deal that to me now? You want to understand the electric nature of the ocean spines? The armored stalactite that breaks as it walks? The hook of the angler fish, the music stretched out in the deep places like a thread in the water? I want to tell you the ocean knows this, that life in its jewel boxes is endless as the sand, impossible to count, pure, and among the blood-colored grapes time has made the petal hard and shiny, made the jellyfish full of light and untied its knot, letting its musical threads fall from a horn of plenty made of infinite mother-of-pearl. I am nothing but the empty net which has gone on ahead of human eyes, dead in those darknesses, of fingers accustomed to the triangle, longitudes on the timid globe of an orange. I walked around as you do, investigating the endless star, and in my net, during the night, I woke up naked, the only thing caught, a fish trapped inside the wind. I hope this week reveals to you its reason and renews your purpose--reminding you why you're here. With love, Michelle Up until I was seven years old I lived in a bi-level with my three brothers, my parents and our family dog. Walking in through the front door the stairs split with a flight leading upstairs to the living, kitchen, my parents room, and the room I shared with my twin--Adam. The stairs going to the basement led to a unfinished spare room, the laundry room and the room of my two oldest brothers--Stephen and Matthew. When I was five years old, to accommodate our growing family my parents boughtt Adam and I a bunk bed. He took the top, I took the bottom. Around this same time Stephen and Matthew reported hearing strange noises (in the form of a red-eyed lion, mind you) coming from their bedroom in the basement. Despite my mom's protests and reassurances that there was no such creation in our basement Stephen and Matthew decided to move upstairs to the room I was sharing with Adam. At five years old I believed everything my 11 year old brother told me and was thoroughly convinced for several years our basement was hiding a red-eyed lion lurking in a corner just ready to pounce. So when the four of us started sharing one bunk bed I didn't protest. For me, it was like a sleepover with my best friends every night. My brothers might not remember our shared room so fondly, as I had a penchant for lining every square inch of our bed space with our toys and my dolls, but for the two years that we shared the space I'd like to think we had a fun time. This weekend my suitemates and I have been thrown into the mix of involuntary displacement (due to a burst pipe--not a red-eyed lion) and I once again find myself sharing a bunk bed with one of my favorite people, but this time from the top bunk. From the top bunk with love,
Michelle When I was applying to colleges three years ago I remember being struck by the ever important thought that I wanted to go somewhere with four seasons. Changing leaves and falling snow were two things I didn't want to give up while pursuing higher education. Luckily, my valley home has all four seasons. Heavy summer air hangs in the valley from May till September and reminds everyone of the need for Chacos, sweet iced tea, and a reliable repertoire of swear words. Cool autumn colors the trees as falling leaves color the hiking trails and roads. And then winter. If seasons are representative of the stages of life then winter in this valley is an agnsty teenager whose mood changes with the wind. In a week I can transition from wearing shorts and a t-shirt to jeans, layered with leggings and wool socks without having time to catch my breath in between. This week winter winds have blown in an ice storm and a fine layer of snow. I always think snow quiets the place it falls and I'm grateful for the day off and extra rest this stormy weather offered. I went out for a long hike the day classes and work were canceled and here are some snap shots from my hike: I hope today you find the time to revel in the wonder of the world around you!
Michelle |
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