Wisdom Givers - Introduction - Chapter I

I'm toying with the idea of writing another book. This one is called Wisdom Givers. I thought I'd share a chapter. If you like it, leave me a comment and let me know...

 

 "Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes." C.G. Jung

1 - Introduction: Dawn – Waking Up


In the early morning hours of late November, I was struck by the darkness and coolness while gazing outside of my open window.  I was quietly contemplating the past, what might come today, and what the future might hold.  Deep philosophical thoughts often come to me over my morning coffee while I sit safe and warm in the comfort that is the home I created.  As the Earth continued to turn toward the sun, I took in a deep breath to prepare for a beautiful show and I was not disappointed.  There is a beautiful energy to sunrise that most miss unless they patiently watch with open hearted curiosity.   This moment felt particularly special.  Watching the sunrise has always felt like a sacred greeting or deep initiation that is soon rewarded with spectacular array of colors painted wildly vivid and then slowly fading into the normal blue sky and surrounds.

This day and moment was special to me.  It’s not that I haven’t seen a sunrise before but this sunrise was just different.  I sat transfixed by the sights and sounds, and I deeply appreciated the reality of the city stirring – waking up.  Maybe that’s why I love mornings so much because it is yet another chance in our lives to wake up, learn and become more aware of the grace in our lives and be touched by the light of the entirety of the cosmos.  I wrote this poem that morning to commemorate a return to awareness and a path I had diverged from more than a decade ago.   This time, no trepidation.  This time, I held only curiosity and courage…hard won sentiments and gifts given in the course of my life…blessings of time if you will.

Before the world fully awoke, something in me stirred…

 
A Morning of Grace
The trees stood, silhouetted sentinels
Emerging from the last traces of night,
Morning’s gentle brush painted broad swaths
Of smoky pink and orange light
Blanketing the view from my window—
A quiet unveiling, soft and bright.
The hum of distant highway traffic
Streams in with the cool morning air,
I become a silent witness
To this strange beauty—unfolding, rare—
Moment by moment, on an ordinary day,
In the tender hush of life’s daily affairs.
As if beauty couldn’t gather more notes,
Faint birdsong drifts in—
Soft at first, then drawing near
As Earth slowly turns to face the day.
Coffee warm, against crisp air,
Light emerging, darkness held at bay.
Witnessing, in silence, the uplifting birdsong,
Grateful for this moment in time,
This precious instant, deeply watched,
Each breath unique, each heartbeat a sign
That this moment, treasured and close,
Will not return—never again align.
When the turning in your world
Brings chaos, disappointment, or frustration,
Pare back your thoughts, your plans, your motion—
Return to simplicity, to quiet observation.
If you calm yourself into presence,
You might discover the notes of grace’s revelation.
That grace, woven through all that exists,
Awaits the open, vulnerable heart—
Meet it face to face, with curious hope,
And you’ll find your life set apart.
You’ll see how precious every form is,
Every moment—a masterpiece of art.
Thankful for this day, I send silent blessings—
Of gratitude, of peace, and gentle ways to everything and everyone.
May each passing moment infuse
Precious grace, to light all days.

Every day is another opportunity to live, to learn, and to love.  Making that seemingly simple concept more precious is the idea that no matter what it is we encounter in a day, our lives mean something.  Maybe you don’t yet realize what your life means or you haven’t thought about giving it meaning or becoming aware of the meaning it has to others. You may not have become aware of the light of grace weaving its way through your life and striving with an ever-present energy just waiting for you to notice it.  When you do, and when you feel the light of that grace, you will begin to see things differently.  You might be able to follow the beauty of a moment into the grace lighting the way for you attain precious wisdom in your life.

We encounter moments in our lives in one way or another that seemingly takes away from or mars our experience of safety, love, or trust.  You might feel safer limiting your world view through a sense of lack, scarcity, or fear.  You wouldn’t be wrong.  Some things in this world just seem to randomly happen at the worst time – no explanation – no rhyme – no reason – just random chaos or seeming darkness.  In such moments it may be hard to imagine anything could ever be light again.  But, as luck would have it…we often encounter situations that give birth to our awakening.  We may then come to realize that everything on Earth is transient and impermanent.  When you want everything to remain exactly as it is forever and ever, this truth may be devastating.  But if you are in a darker moment of your life, this truth may be just the thing that lights you up and brings you hope and strength enough to carry on.

Every awakening has a beginning, though most of us do not recognize it at the time. Long before we know how to name the sacred, we encounter it in subtle ways—through light, through intuition, through a sudden knowing that feels older than we are. These early moments become the quiet architecture of our inner life, the foundation upon which all later wisdom stands.

If Dawn is the soul remembering itself, then the lessons that follow are how the Earth teaches us to walk with that remembering. My own journey began with a single moment—unexpected, uninvited, yet profoundly shaping. I didn’t understand then that it was the first touch of grace - only that something in me opened, gently but unmistakably.

And so the first teacher of my life arrived not in the form of a person, but in the form of a broken vase of roses…

 

© 2026 J.L. Harter

Dapplied Light - Life in Motion

   

Among some of my favorite things of all time are dappled light streaming through branches and tree leaves onto a road, a field, the grass, within the forest and well where ever.  There is something mesmerizing about the movement of the light and dark, almost like you’re watching the tree but not the tree.  The thing giving shade and it’s oxygen so readily creates beautiful swaying dappled light when the sun is just the right place in the sky. 

There are simple things in life that don’t cost you much to notice but when you do, it can be a breath of fresh air or a moment of calm appreciation in the midst of a stressful day.  Having a love for photography, you can’t help but also love the play of dark and light on the subjects in your composition.  One of my favorite pictures was taken at Huntington Beach at sun set.  I saw a suffer come out of the water and he walked parallel to the water and I sat there with my camera waiting patiently for that moment he walked dead center in front of the sun that had already seemingly splashed down into the water.  I snapped so many pictures in rapid succession determined to get at least one good one.  It wasn’t the best photograph I ever took but the excitement of waiting for the shot I wanted was exciting.  Now, the dark and light in that photo was amazing.  Life and light moving and doing what it does while not everyone notices is an amazing way to spend some quiet time in my opinion.

This world just seems to move faster and faster the older that you get.  It reminds me of those long and hot summer days as a child when it seemed like it took forever for your friends to get done with breakfast, get dressed and come out to play.  The days were long and filled with laughter, the smell of cut grass, snacking on fruit in the back yard snagged from a nearby tree.  Sitting on the grass under the dappled light with your friends is amazing.  I think those days when you were small and there wasn’t as much to occupy your time, the Earth days seem to move so slowly.  When we’re grown up and doing grown up things, working, child rearing, family caring, and more, time moves fast.  I guess it’s all perception.  Time moves slowly when we’re grieving or missing someone but moves so fast when we’re caught in the moment having the time of our lives with family or friends.  Perception can be a funny thing depending on which side of the dark or light you choose to stand upon in any given moment.

If I sit back now, some of my earliest memories where about the play of light streaming through a window, dust particles creating sparkles in the very air, trees, flowers, or even curtains bringing a dichotomy of shadows and light to change the view and add to the movement of a moment. When you’re still and watching, it’s fascinating how light and dark are part of the same thing.  I think about people in this frame.   We like to think of people as all good or all bad or maybe we think of ourselves that way.  I’m about to begin my 60^th decade on Earth and while I’m generally a good citizen, friend, caring family member or member of my community, I am far from perfect.  Within me is both dark and light…good things and bad things.  I think the same is true for most of the people I know.  I think when our perception kicks in for this reason or that, the way we experience each other shifts and changes.  It’s hard to hold two truths at the same time but learning to hold multiple truths is a worthy endeavor.  People are not all dark or all light.  That perception changes by the experience of the people around them.  To some, I may be kind, to others I might be sharp or blunt and to others I could seem aloof or disengaged.  I think about that when I encounter someone who rubs me the wrong way.  I remember that we’re all part good and part not like the yin and yang symbol.  The dappled light reminds me that light and dark do something to our perception physically and metaphorically.  A photographer loves the interplay.  As human beings, we appreciate one more than the other for many reasons.

I think as time goes by, I find myself more appreciative, and even understanding of the exchange, the dance between dark and light.  I’m not overly fascinated by good and evil here and that’s not really what I’m focused on.  It’s more superficial and also philosophical I guess.  I appreciate both darkness and light.  I appreciate all of the seasons.  I love the heat and the cold.  I like blue skies and dark gray ones.  I like quiet mornings with birdsong and diffused light and I like the sharpness of a turbulent sky punctuated with fractured lightning and instantaneous booms of thunder. 

I think the more I live, the more I appreciate life in motion.  I may not like all aspects or enjoy exchanges with every aspect of nature or even human beings but what I will hold is enough grace and respect for life as it’s happening.  I think the more I learn and understand, the less I find myself borrowing trouble with worry or rigidity that does nothing but frazzle my own nerves.  When the road ahead is shorter than the road behind you, I think you start to become choosier about the thoughts and emotions you most wish to entertain.  I think I’d much rather hold forgiveness and it’s resulting peace, than anger and it’s resulting animosity or love, instead of fear.  I have rambled.  Thoughts over coffee have concluded, I promise.

I’m glad that you stopped by little corner of the internet, I’m glad that you are here lending your time and your energy to life on Earth.  Whether you are feeling the light or the darkness, you are life in motion.  Everything matters, you matter.

© August 2026, Photo and Words