The Blue Skies Shine

This week’s blog will focus on some of my favorite exercises from the second section of my book “The Songbird In My Heart.” These exercises are called “Acts of Contemplation, Freedom for a Glad Heart” and are designed to put you in touch with your deeper self. Each day a corresponding prayer from the book will also be posted to Facebook.

The inspiration for these exercises came from two unlikely sources. The first are the beautiful books from Thomas Merton and his editors A Book of Hours, Seeds of Contemplation, and New Seeds of Contemplation. The second is the red Fieldbook by Peter Senge to his best selling business book The Fifth Discipline. While this part of the book bears little resemblance to these great books, they did serve as inspiration.

Please take some time and try them out! If you like, let me know how it goes. Best of luck. Mark

Acts of Contemplation, Freedom for a Glad Heart

Monday – Walking In Quiet Stillness
Today – The Blue Skies Shine
Wednesday – Naturetime
Thursday – Mindtime
Friday - The Universe in Time


The Blue Skies Shine

Opening Thoughts
Is there anything more beautiful or peaceful than the clear blue skies? The blue skies offer hope of a brand new day of opportunity. The energy in this kind of day allows quiet thoughts and contemplation.

Acts of Contemplation
Act 1 – Set up a recording of the song “Blue Skies” (my favorite is Willie Nelson) either with a headphone system or inside on a sound system. Or if you are alone, sing the song yourself out loud. As you listen, look up into the clear blue sky (out a window if you are inside).

Empty your mind and put aside any issues of the day. Let your mind fill with peacefulness and grace. Enjoy the fresh air. Appreciate the beauty and majesty of this perfect day. Let the song run until it is done. Repeat the song if you like.
As the day progresses let your mind return to this special feeling. Write down anything you feel is important in a journal.

Act 2 – Repeat Act 1 with “Somewhere over the Rainbow”

Act 3 – Repeat Act 1 with your favorite song.

Act 4 - Repeat the previous acts without any musical accompaniment, only you and the day, basking in its magnificence.

Act 5 – Review any notes or memories of Acts 1-4. Make this into a routine act of outdoor contemplation.

Indigo Bunting and Scarlet Tanager

Each day this week I will focus on some favorite songbirds that have entered and become part of my life here on Turk’s Mountain. Each of them have informed me and made my life fuller. I salute each of them with this small recognition.

Monday – Eastern Bluebird and Tree Swallow
Today - Indigo Bunting and Scarlet Tanager
Wednesday - Carolina Chickadee and Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Thursday - House Wren and Eastern Phoebe
Friday - Cardinal and Blue Jay

Indigo Bunting
It has been reported that the Indigo Bunting is the Magellen of the bird world as it navigates by the stars at night. From my observation this is amongst the shyest of birds, as I only get brief glimpses of it as I travel the farm and surprise them around a corner. Someday, I would love to take his picture as proof of my stealthy approach. The Indigo Bunting is a member of the Cardinal family, yet leaves every winter early, returning to the same three areas on my farm each year.



This diminutive bird appears to be a deep purplish to deep blue color because of light diffusion, but has no blue pigments in its feathers and is actually black. I have planted large areas of wildflowers where they nest, which they seem to really like.

Scarlet Tanager
This strikingly colored bird is equally as shy as the Bunting. Staying deeper in the forest, this black-winged red bird winters in South America. He makes a chip-bang song.



I saw my first Scarlet Tanager late last summer, alighting within 15 feet of me on a dawn Redwood I planted several years ago. I will never forget how amazed I was at his remarkable coloring. I don’t think he saw me as he stayed there for several minutes. I barely breathed for the entire time. Perhaps he did see me and was not threatened.