A Mountain Respite

Sunday, May 24th

A Mountain Respite

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone!  We hope you all can do something fun, even as it might be vastly different from your typical Memorial Day festivities. Let us also take time to remember the origin of this holiday and to honor our military service members who died while serving our country.
The downward slope of the roller coaster returned this week and I (Colleen) was again feeling depressed and with a bit of a “short fuse”, flustered at even the simplest of tasks or decisions.  We decided a trip into the mountains might restore our souls, and boy howdy, did it!  We took a day trip up Poudre Canyon (Emma, too!) and were delighted, awed, and calmed by the many manifestations of Mother Nature.  The river was wildly raging, the wildflowers were an explosion of color, the birds entertained us with flight and song, and everything was again right with the world.  It was once again a reminder of how this earth still spins in all its granduer, and if we stay present to the moment, all is indeed well in the grand design.  We hope you are all hanging in there and that we will be able to be together soon.  We are contemplating having an outdoor gathering in the Paths of Heart backyard, maybe within the next few weeks!
Be well, friends,  Colleen and Mark

Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest

As noted above, we have begun to contemplate how we might achieve an in-person gathering, and meeting in the spaciousness of the backyard comes to mind.  It’ll take some doing, setting up a sound system and electronic keyboard, etc., but we are up for the task if it means we can finally have a gathering, albeit socially distanced and sans hugging!  Stay tuned for more definitive plans.
 We have also begun the Paths of Heart labyrinth project in the front yard, and though we had hoped for it to be a community project, it will probably be built mostly by our good friend and artist, Matthew Robinson.  We’ll post pictures soon.
We have been enjoying our individual visits with folks on Sunday mornings!  It gives us some semblance of normalcy, and it feels great to feel connected in this way.  Mark and Colleen will continue to be available each Sunday on Facetime (or FB Messenger or Zoom if you prefer!) from 10:30 a.m. – noon (when we’d normally be hanging out with you at Paths of Heart), in  ~15 minute increments to simply chat or maybe share a poem or a tune with you that you love. Let us know (you can reply to this newsletter) what time (and platform) is best for you and we’ll confirm with that time or the closest available. Depending on demand, if all the slots fill up for this week, you’ll be first in line next week!  We’ll continue to do this till the next right thing appears! 

Gratitudes

Thanks for the notes of encouragement and love we receive in our inbox and through the mail each week! We miss you dearly and hope to see your (masked!) faces soon!

“Be mindful. Be grateful. Be positive. Be true. Be kind.” ~ Roy T. Bennett

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorns have roses.” ~ Alphonse Karr
“Today I choose to live with gratitude for the love that fills my heart, the peace that rests within my spirit, and the voice of hope that says all things are possible.” ~ Anonymous