The Secret

Psst. Over here. Let me tell you a secret.
It may startle you.
You are loved.
Not necessarily in a romantic way —
which often leaves damages —
but in an utterly open, unconditional, fully embracing way.
A love that ensures you belong.
That you’ve always belonged,
and will continue to belong — for all eternity.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Reverential Feelings

I often feel tiny when confronted with the majesty of creation. And when my husband, Rob, and I visited Hedge Creek Falls in Dunsmuir, California, the feeling came on strong.
Perhaps it was due to standing beneath huge basalt columns.
Or from watching Rob cross a giant log over a chasm
as I held my breath.
I also feel a sense of awe when I discover something new to me in nature — like black acorns! How could I not have known of their existence until now?
Lots of feelings spring up when I am surrounded by the natural world.
When I stood behind the waterfall, within a shallow cave, I was overcome with reverence. The small stream of water falling from an unseen source above gave me the feeling of being baptized by The Creator.
Nearby handprints, although technically graffiti, added to the sense of healing by the mysterious “laying on of hands” that a number of churches embrace.
In fact, the entire place brought to mind a natural cathedral with basalt organ pipes.
After my reverie and a little more exploring, we climbed back up the trail.
At the top was an empty bulletin board that I hadn’t noticed when we began the trail. It was as if the hike was an abstract idea to which the hiker would assign meaning. And I had.

Photos © Sondra Sula; Rob Sula in three photos with permission.

Take a walk with me by reading my daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Meeting Grace on McCloud Waterfalls Trail

Good things come in threes, and the triple waterfalls of the McCloud River in Siskiyou County were no exception.
The lower falls were small, but pretty. In their defense, my husband and I visited in autumn when the river is at its lowest.
Had we been there in spring, when glaciers and snow melt from the top of Mount Shasta, we were sure the flow would have been much more dramatic.
In fact, we could see pools
and holes made from years of rushing water.
We hiked uphill to the next stop, passing enormous ponderosa pines
and bunches of umbrella plants growing in and around the water.
The middle falls were beautiful and stretched across the entire width of the river.
I scrambled down into the riverbed to explore
and discovered a sacredness there, like being cradled in a holy womb.
I found it difficult to leave that place, bathed in its comforting glory, but continued ever upward, which gave me the unexpected joy of viewing Middle Falls from above.
Naturally, we had high hopes for the upper falls, imagining the waterfalls to be increasingly spectacular. There is an idea instilled in us that the most difficult things reap the greatest rewards.
But that idea doesn’t take grace into account. The middle falls ended up being the loveliest — perhaps because that was where I was simply resting within God, doing nothing to accrue favor.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Soothing Palm Springs Style

There is a desert style —
sparse, spare and elegantly tasteful in a clean-lined way.
Prickly
or smooth,
the effect is soothing.
I’ve always had a busy, salon-style home overflowing with objects d’art, which is why retreat spots seem to unclutter my mind.
Our friends in Palm Springs did not know they were providing an outdoor retreat for my overworked senses.
This was their home,
landscaped to their preferences
and I was simply benefitting from their tastes.
But benefit I did.
Because when it was all said and done I felt relaxed,
refreshed
and restored.

Photos © Sondra Sula; with many thanks to Mike and Dan.

Take a walk with me by reading my daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Very Grand Canyon

Recently I was on a plane and saw the Grand Canyon from above — a sight so new to me I didn’t realize what I was seeing. It simply looked like an astonishingly deep crevasse in the earth with a great number of veins squiggling out from its gaping mouth.
Then I got to see it up close for the first time on foot.
Not only was it vast
and beautifully stark,
but it showed off creation in a new way for me.
A way that was difficult to put into words,
unwieldy to photograph —
I simply had to let the experience seep into me.
Sometimes during prayer no words come.
Spirit lets out a groan, sigh or even a little squeal of delight.
The views were literally breath-taking, they took the breath from my lungs — drew it from my very being — and released it out into the wilderness.
That was how I became a part of my surroundings,
part of God’s glorious aesthetic sense —
unified —
with All.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

I Came Upon an Oddity

I came upon an oddity
while walking down a trail.
The colors of the trunks I saw
were greenish blue and pale.
I wondered why the twigs were red,
the leaves of normal hue.
And for what reason they were cut,
but even if I knew,
I still felt sad and shed a tear —
a tiny drop of blue.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my most recent daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Meditative Spaces

Those called to make meditative spaces obey.
Whether it comes from a deep need for peace
in a dog-eat-dog world,
or a need for order
amid chaos, is hard to say.
Some people feel tranquility,
beauty
and simplicity
all work together toward enlightening the mind.
So enjoy the patterns,
the repetition
and the uniqueness within the duplication.
Work hard to create the calming place of your dreams,
or visit someone else’s ruminative zone.
For those who are called to make these spaces want to share the serenity.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my most recent daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Nature’s Shrines

A small portion of forest had been cleared on one of my regular walking trails. Naturally, I had to inspect this new clearing and came across something reminiscent of an alcove shrine. A pine trunk had been sheared by a macerator and it was weeping sap. The gaping wound had a beauty to it as it was healing itself.
Nature is full of shrines: a tan oak acorn surrounded by shed leaves,
a corn orchid dangling like floral grapes in the dappled sunlight,
a katydid’s graceful antennae forming a DNA sequence.
Each thing, broken or whole, is worthy of our shrine-like attention.
Because it is a miracle.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my most recent daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Whimsy and Wisdom

Have you ever felt like you’ve entered an enchanted forest? I have. Numerous times, in fact.
But on this occasion, in Jug Handle State Park, I felt the Mother Tree welcoming me with her fantastical arms.
She appeared to have strange offspring. One tree walked along the ground on two legs.
Another had six legs like an insect.
Still another snaked along the earth like a serpent.
As I continued on through light and shadow I felt at peace, as though each trunk and limb were comforting me.
When I paused in front of a limb that had grown at right angles I wondered if it had been trying to box something in. Did it want to hold something that in the end slipped away? What am I holding too tightly? Should I just let go?
As I left the woods, the trees on either side of the path were reaching out to one another without becoming entangled. Without losing their ability to keep growing. I want to do the same, I thought, I want to keep growing.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my most recent daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Expecting the Unexpected

Can one expect the unexpected? I believe so.
Every time I take a walk, I know I’ll be surprised by something — in this case a strange wooden sculpture balanced on the long arm of a pine. I didn’t expect the sculpture to be there, and yet it is exactly the kind of thing a person who lives here might do: place an art object on a trail for a hiker to appreciate.
And even though I know the next portion of this trail leads through big clumps of Watsonia, I didn’t know how beautifully the sun would be shining through the leaves, lighting them like emerald flames.
A jutting rock I’ve seen time and time again has sprouted a yellow Hydra-like flower from a crevice and I’ve inadvertently picked the right moment to see it in full bloom.
Weathered hearts multiply as does love.
Do I expect love to flourish or fizzle? How much do my expectations of love command its continued presence?
When I turn back to where I’ve come from, and move towards where I’ve already been, every new moment is different. Each wave carries its own specific pattern of froth that morphs and changes every time it hits the shore.
I see the village of Mendocino beyond a field of calla lilies. I knew it would be there, but didn’t expect it to look so pastel and squashed against the egg-blue sky.
And when I see the church steeple in my peripheral vision, I know I’m getting close to the place where I began this walk. But I also expect to be different when I return.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my most recent daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.