Mandala Monday ~ It’s Been a While

Life is a wheel

constantly turning

ever-changing

staying the same

 

Around and around

right side up

upside down

perspectives in flux 

 

But the Center never moves

 and for that I am truly grateful

 

 

© Julie Rehnelt 2021

Hi friends, it’s been a while! I hope this finds all of you well and that you have beauty and joy and love in your lives!

Things have been extremely challenging for me recently, but in this moment I am ok, filled with gratitude. 🙏

I haven’t been feeling as creative as I usually am, but I have made a few nature mandalas since I was here last and thought I’d share them with you.

My garden is a bit lacking this year, so I haven’t had as much to work with, but I’m sincerely appreciating and enjoying what I do have.  I just harvested some yellow beans from my veggie garden and they were actually what sparked the inspiration for the mandala above. Here it is with the beans…

😁

And here is a mandala I made a couple weeks ago…

And a few others…

I also made a little mini wreath one day just for kicks…

I used peppermint for the base and it was very fragrant!  I’m so grateful for my sense of smell.  And for all my senses.

Well, I guess that’s all for now. I gotta go get ready for work.  Thanks so much for letting me share!  I hope this brightens your day in some small way! 🌼 May it be happy and blessed, and may the wheel of life spin you in beautiful directions today!

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

Welcome Spring

Serene pools created as the warming sun transformed winter snows, reflect the barren landscape of early spring, clothed in amber and gold, soon to join the fresh, lush hues of the evergreens

As these overflowing reservoirs spill out, carrying their replenishing waters to share with all living things along its journey across the land, streams of abundance flow, with laughter, singing a joyful song

 

Welcome Spring!

 

© Julie Rehnelt 2021

Happy Spring to those of you here with me in the Northern hemisphere! Of course, the date on the calendar doesn’t necessarily always match whatever the weather is doing wherever one may be.  Here in my area of Minnesota, we are having some beautiful weather at the moment – although that can change dramatically on any given day.

The above photo was taken on a lovely walk I went on the other day on a trail along Nine Mile Creek. It’s so hard to capture the full beauty of a place or a moment. One thing you probably can’t get the full effect of from the photo I snapped is the ‘serene pools’ I mention at the top of the poem. In the upper middle part of the photo you can just barely see it, but the calm waters so beautifully reflected the landscape there.  It was the stream I was mostly trying to capture though, but the whole scene was so lovely.  And the sound… gosh, it’s wonderful to hear flowing waters again after the long winter…

Hope you have beautiful sights and sounds to enjoy wherever you are on this first day of Spring! I’m off to take full advantage of our nice weather! Many blessings to you, my friends!

 

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

 

Winter Romance

Fresh white snow

bright blue skies

a walk in the woods

your hand in mine

 

My desire set aglow

by the twinkle in your eyes

catching my breath

my heart sighs

 

at the touch of winter romance 

 

© Julie Rehnelt 2021

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

 

Sweet Love

The sweetest pink

the softest petals

a whisper of romance

sensuality in bloom

 

© Julie Rehnelt 2021

 

Happy Valentine’s Day! 💝

 

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

Kindness & Snow

“Kindness is like snow –

it beautifies everything it covers”

Khalil Gibran

Technically this isn’t snow in this image, it’s hoarfrost (which we’ve been delightfully blessed to be having quite a bit of here lately), but who’s being picky? Certainly not me. 😉

So HI YOU GUYS!!!

Sorry for ‘shouting’ all in caps, but I’m excited!

But I’m not excited with this new editor thing. Ugh. Probably old news to you all by now, but it might take me a while to get used to it.

So, I’ve sort of been away from here for months and you know what? I’ve sincerely missed you all! ❤

I have no explanation really, but I did start back to work in the beginning of October. I feel like I’ve been on survival mode for like, ever. You may relate, yes? And that doesn’t promote much inspiration or creativity. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had many moments where there’s been both of those, but I guess maybe I just haven’t been able to take the time nor had the energy to share. Plus, do you ever get tired of yourself? Like, do you ever feel like you’re always sharing the same thing and have nothing new to offer? I don’t know, like I said, I don’t really have an explanation. And then new habits and routines form and before you know it, it’s been months since you’ve shared on your blog…

Even now, I’m squeezing this post in before I have to hurry off for work. But I saw this quote and just had to take this time to share. I’m feeling it so much…

I have more to say, but I’m gonna have to leave it there for now. I hope you all are well. I’m sending out so much love to all of you!

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

Beauty Rings

Trumpets resound at the rising sun

as beauty rings out in the garden

 

© Julie Rehnelt 2020

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

Please Handle With Care

Precious hands

precious creature 

precious moment

 

Life is precious

 

Please handle with care

 

© Julie Rehnelt 2020

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

Midsummer Morning

Stepping out into the garden on midsummer morning, a lush carpet of soft clover cushions my footsteps

Oh how I delight in feeling the earth beneath my bare feet, soothing and arousing all at once

Sweet birdsong and luscious scents fill the air

a light breeze stirs my hair tickling my cheek, I smile as I brush it aside

Breathing deeply I sigh, grateful to be alive

grateful for my five senses, and for the deeper awareness that I am connected to it all

 

© Julie Rehnelt 2020

 

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

Green Spaces

Let me escape to the green spaces 

 

Where the air is clean and fresh

and the sweet scent of the earth fills my senses

I breathe deep, filling my lungs with life-giving oxygen 

 

Where I can hear the wind rustling through the leaves of the trees

such a soothing sound

it’s almost a lullaby except for how invigorating it is

 

Where the sunlight flickers down through the canopy above 

 and a playful dance between shadow and light ensues on the forest floor

it’s hypnotic and memorizing, I join in

 

Where everything is vibrant and so alive

every organism living and working together, existing in perfect symbiosis 

I marvel at the wonder of nature, of its continual cycle of birth, death, and rebirth

 

Where nothing is wasted or taken for granted

 

Where there is no hate or division

or politics  

 

 Let me escape to the green spaces 

 

© Julie Rehnelt 2020

 

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

Spring Rains

Spring rains wash over me

refresh my heart anew

I need your life-giving drops of hope

so I can continue to bloom

 

© Julie Rehnelt 2020

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿