by Bill Byrne | Feb 8, 2014 | Uncategorized
It’s definitely wintertime lately, and has moved us from outdoor jobs to inside. We’re doing a lot of fixing up on our lodging, housing, and cabins….new updates to furniture, painting, curtains, and getting ready for the next “season”. Seasons are part of what life is all about, and I really like the phrase “to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven”. That’s a very peaceful feeling set of words, because we can feel a bit of the eternity and oneness that it conveys. The cycle, the return to the seed and re-growth, is what nature is all about. On the ranch it is always evident when we move back enough to see the complete cycle. The seed is planted, the newborn arrives, through growth it matures, and replants its own likeness to begin again. There is a peacefulness and harmony in that cycle, as it conveys the oneness of us all.
by Bill Byrne | Jan 27, 2014 | Uncategorized
One of our wintertime projects is fixing up a better “intensive grazing system,” for our cows. Basically this means trying to fence in smaller areas for our cows to eat in, which utilizes our grass more efficiently. To do so we will be building about 2 miles of fence, in addition to the approximately 25 miles that we already have (and try to maintain). That’s a lot of fence, and much of it runs through woods and rocky areas, which makes it hard to get to and check for repairs. We also have well over one hundred gates to keep in working order. I used to try and keep all of this ‘material’ stuff in a complete state of readiness at all times, but I finally realized that I was spending a lot of time and concern for no real reason, since the cows were in only one area of fenced ground at any one time. We’ve now learned to just check and repair the area we’re going to use next…which is another lesson in ‘line by line’, step by step, work on what is before you today, and work on your future ‘todays’ when they arrive. Living in the present moment does not mean doing nothing, as our purpose for being here is to show our ‘ideal’ in the physical. Living in the present moment is our acceptance of where we are right now, our first step toward the peace and harmony that are God’s promise.
by Bill Byrne | Jan 17, 2014 | Uncategorized
January…..the middle of a month of colder weather ( I hate to use the word “winter”) always brings with it time to reflect, review, and renew our ideas and direction. This was and still is a time when those working with the physical rhythms of nature fix their equipment, check their seeds and supplies, and make sure all is ready for the coming season. It’s also a great time for exercising and refining the “mental”, which is the consideration of our ideal, that statement or set of thoughts that we try to live our lives by. All of us have an “ideal”, which is the “seed” of our behavior, the direction by which we exhibit and live our physical lives. It’s important to us as people to be aware of our ideal, and to refine it as we ourselves change. We are the only creatures that God has given this ability to, and we develop and grow our awareness of our “ideal” daily thru our meditations and prayers. May we all take time to go inside, to listen to the “still small voice” that helps us to guide our physical lives, our growth toward being seeds, children, of the energy that is God.
