Welcome! I am a contemplative thinker and photographer from Colorado. In this blog, you'll discover photographs that I've taken on my hiking and backpacking trips, mostly in the American West. I've paired these with my favorite inspirational and philosophical quotes - literary passages that emphasize the innate spirituality of the natural world. I hope you enjoy them!

If you'd like to purchase photo-quote greeting cards, please go to www.NaturePhoto-QuoteCards.com .


In the Spirit of Wildness,

Stephen Hatch
Fort Collins, Colorado

P.S. There's a label index at the bottom of the blog.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

When a person seems prickly, it is helpful to remember that they are protecting a beauty which is innately vulnerable.


People often don't like it when they come up against the boundaries we set to protect our space and spiritual vision.  During such times, we can seem overly prickly.  For those of us who are obsessive about seeking harmony with others, it is easy to feel guilt when we erect those boundaries.  But it is important to remember that when we become prickly, we are simply guarding a thing that is vulnerable and beautiful. It is helpful to realize as well that vulnerability and beauty always go together. Beauty is like a fireworks display, simultaneously dissipating in the very moment that it expresses itself in all of its glory.  Similarly, when we come up against the prickly defenses of others, it is important that we look past the defenses and search for the vulnerable beauty they are protecting. After all, they are just like us!

Photo: Ball Cactus and Pawnee Buttes; Weld County, CO; June 10, 2013







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