Gems 3.66

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Integrity by John Olander

About John Olander

John Olander

John Olander, known to his friends as “Johnny O” is a self-employed change-maker currently living in Denver Colorado. He has been “on a camping trip” for over ten years and understands life on the streets better than most. Yet this hardship has not made John bitter, only better. Nearly every day when he is not engaged in a search for food or shelter, John is helping others on the street. Johnny O and I became friends about a year ago when he became one of the first supporters of under1000skies. He is very dear to us all here, and we look forward to more creative content from Johnny in the years to come.

clu

 

 

May you find joy every day,

under1000skies logo 1
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.

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Gems 3.64

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Gems 364 John Olander Effort Equals Change underthesky by Niki Flow.png

Photo “Under the Sky” by Niki Flow.  Poem “Effort Equals Change” by Johnny O

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About this poem/author

 

Gems 3.62

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

John Olander Wow In Now Gems 362

Poem “The Wow In Now” by Johnny O.  Photo “Verdant” by Niki Flow.

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About this poem/author

Gems 3.61

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Cause and Effect John Olander Gems 361.png

Photo by Niki Flow. Poem “Cause and Effect” by John Olander.

About John Olander

John Olander

Nicole Huguenin and John Olander, Denver CO

John Olander, known to his friends as “Johnny O” is “a self-employed change-maker” currently living in Denver Colorado. He has been “on a camping trip” for over ten years and understands life on the streets better than most. Yet this hardship has not made John bitter, only better. Nearly every day when he is not engaged in a search for food or shelter, John is helping others on the street. 

thank you

Thanks so much again Johnny O for submitting today’s beautiful and wise poem.

With deep thanks and lots of love,

under1000skies logo 1
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.

Spotlight Saturday: Sheltering Grace

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Today we are happy and excited to bring you a brand new story for:

¤ Spotlight Saturday ¤

"Courage is not the absence of fear.  It is the conquest of it."  William Danforth

Sheltering Grace Header Spotlight Saturday u1k

Continue reading

Gems 3.59

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

closed mouth spoke silent rumi mick

Photo “Age of Silence” by Niki Flow

About Rumi

Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī (Persian: جلال‌الدین محمد رومی‎‎) (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273) was a 13th-century Persian Sunni Muslim poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic. Rumi’s influence transcends national borders and ethnic divisions.  His poems have been widely translated into many of the world’s languages and transposed into various formats. Rumi has been described as the “most popular poet”and the “best selling poet” in the United States.

Rumi’s works are written mostly in Persian, but occasionally he also used Turkish, Arabic, and Greek in his verse. His Masnavi (Mathnawi), composed in Konya, Turkey, is considered one of the greatest poems of the Persian language. His works are widely read today in their original language across Greater Iran and the Persian-speaking world. Translations of his works are very popular, most notably in Turkey, Azerbaijan, the United States, and South Asia.

His poetry has influenced Persian literature, but also Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Azerbaijani, as well as the literature of some other Turkic, Iranian, and Indo-Aryan languages including Chagatai, Urdu, Pashto, and Bengali.

from “Rumi – Wikipedia”

Journey Notes

Our upcoming Spotlight Saturday will be really special. I had the chance to speak to Dr. Bell of Sheltering Grace in Georgia and can’t wait to tell you about that interview.  It just filled me with joy.

News

Monday June 19 to Saturday June 24, we’ll be offline (medical stuff).  We’ll return on Monday June 26th.  The theme for this last week in June is “silence,” “listening,” “stillness,” and “sacred space.”   If you have a favorite quote about any or all of those, please let us know.  Also, we don’t currently have a theme for July.  If you have any ideas, please let us know.

Radical Self-Expression ☼ Radical Acceptance

This is the first and probably last self-portrait I’ve ever done for under1000skies but this is a subject close to my heart. It’s ridiculously terrifying to post this all over the place which is why I knew I had to do it.

From today on, I’m practicing something my friend told me about recently, a Burning Man way of life that encompasses everyone and everything. It’s simple, wise and really beautiful:

* Radical Self-Expression
* Radical Acceptance

He wrote,

“Embracing those two principles starts with [‘Radical Self-Expression’] — being introspective to figure out how to be yourself. What do I want to do? To be? How can I express that? And then you try stuff on. And some of it fails miserably. And some of it is awesome. But all of it can be fun. You always learn something… “Meanwhile, ‘Radical Acceptance’ requires you to suspend judgement of others–to give them room to express themselves. It’s pretty hard to do that and to attempt ‘Radical Self-Expression’ without learning how to give yourself that same room…”

I love simple wisdom because it is the kind that sinks into your bones and extends across ages, cultures, all borders. Like Rumi’s poetry.

Your Creativity

As always, we would love to feature your creative visions! If you would like to contribute photos, art work, short poems/stories, quotes, time, etc., please see our “About Us” page for details.  When we show each other what we find beautiful, we get a glimpse into each others’ hearts.

May you find joy every day of your journey through life,

under1000skies logo 1
  ☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
   writers, artists & advocates
   serving and connecting
   homeless creatives.

Gems 3.58

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Silence AngelaLong Gems 3-5-8 Photos NikiFlow 2

Photos “Oh Beautiful,” “DC Sunset,” “LBI Gull” and “Son at Sunset” by Niki Flow.

 

 

About Angela Long

Angela Long is the author of Observations off the Grid.

Angela Long had never heard of “off-the-grid” until she found herself living there. In a cedar-log cabin on a remote archipelago, she collects rainwater and fuels her laptop with windpower. Here, a collection of poems has emerged – the product of twenty years spent wandering through different countries and cultures. From Chicacao to Varanasi, Milan to Haida Gwaii, Observations from Off-the-Grid explores life beyond conventional demarcations. Here reader meets author as English teacher in war-torn Guatemala, meditation student in India. The collection gives voice to victims of torture, beggars, the homeless. It gives voice to the heartache of a Sunday afternoon. With its simple language and universal insights, this is a collection that welcomes everyone.  – Goodreads.com

Journey Notes

Special thanks to Mish or Wavingatyou for today’s quote (and all those submitted in the past). ♥ The theme for June is “silence,” “listening,” “stillness,” and “sacred space.”   If you have a favorite quote about any or all of those, please let us know!

Your Creativity

As always, we would love to feature your creative visions! If you would like to contribute photos, art work, short poems/stories, quotes, time, etc., please see our “About Us” page for details.  When we show each other what we find beautiful, we get a glimpse into each others’ hearts.

May you find joy every day of your journey through life,

under1000skies logo 1
  ☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
   writers, artists & advocates
   serving and connecting
   homeless creatives.

Gems 3.57

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

silence J Francis leaves

Photo “Back Yard Mystery*” by Niki Flow.

 

Botany Question!

Check it out! I just found the coolest botany site. I uploaded ^ this photo and they identified my plant. How awesome is that? So now I’m going to do like I promised and share their site all over because I have been bugging everyone about this plant! 😀

So this is the site:
https://gobotany.newenglandwild.org/plantshare/questions/all/2017/#q1342

And this is what they said:

Answer
Dear jazztizz, your plant looks like a species of Ampelopsis (peppervine). In our part of the world, Amur peppervine (Ampelopsis glandulosa) is the most common species with lobed leaves. Best wishes.

About J. (John) Francis, Planet Walker.”

Journey Notes

Special thanks to Ann C. for today’s quote.  The theme for June is “silence,” “listening,” “stillness,” and “sacred space.”   If you have a favorite quote about any or all of those, please let us know!

Your Creativity

As always, we would love to feature your creative visions! If you would like to contribute photos, art work, short poems/stories, quotes, time, etc., please see our “About Us” page for details.  When we show each other what we find beautiful, we get a glimpse into each others’ hearts.

May you find joy every day of your journey through life,

under1000skies logo 1
  ☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
   writers, artists & advocates
   serving and connecting
   homeless creatives.

Gems 3.56

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Herman Hesse stillness sancturary

Photo “Good Day, Sunshine” by Niki Flow

About Herman Hesse:

German-born Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include Demian, Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game, each of which explores an individual’s search for authenticity, self-knowledge and spirituality. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature.

from Wikipedia.com

Journey Notes

Special thanks to Marleen for today’s quote.  The theme for June is “silence,” “listening,” “stillness,” and “sacred space.”   If you have a favorite quote about any or all of those, please let us know!

Your Creativity

As always, we would love to feature your creative visions! If you would like to contribute photos, art work, short poems/stories, quotes, time, etc., please see our “About Us” page for details.  When we show each other what we find beautiful, we get a glimpse into each others’ hearts.

May you find joy every day of your journey through life,

♡. under1000skies
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.