Painting of a tree with a red backpack leaning against its trunk, a grassy field, and a sky with trees in the background.

Pondering Blog: exploring lessons from life’s teachers

Painting of the ironwood tree by Tracey Harris - a tree I first saw in a dream, 20 years before I met it - and where I was held safe for my vision quest in Kapaau, HI, Big Island - an amazing gift by Karen Smith Good

Writing is how I process and make sense of the life experience. I take time to carefully review, digest and find the poetry in my world. Writing helps me get the lesson - earn the wisdom - find the perfect piece of sea glass in the painful shards of glass. Without writing, the teacher may go by unnoticed and return in another form.

Do you have a writing habit? My pondering workbook offers writing prompts so you can scratch the surface of your life - dig deeper into relationships, past experiences, dreams, habits, animals and hobbies and find beautiful words and imagery to elevate your wisdom, understanding and peace.

Sat nam, for truth, Janet

A woman with brown hair wearing a white blouse with black embroidery and striped shorts, sitting on a rock by a rocky beach, resting her chin on her hands, looking toward the water.

Janet Howard 5/28/25 Janet Howard 5/28/25

When Devil Whispers

I asked my spirit team for help in letting go of the past - they sent me rock and water.

Janet Howard 4/21/25 Janet Howard 4/21/25

Love Prayer Song for Earth Mother “By the Ironwood Tree”

Love Prayer Song for Mother Earth

Janet Howard 4/19/25 Janet Howard 4/19/25

4 Nights Under the Ironwood tree - Kapaau, Big Island, Hawaii

4 nights with the Sacred Ironwood Tree

Janet Howard 3/21/25 Janet Howard 3/21/25

Stones and Bones

Honoring stones and bones

Janet Howard 2/25/25 Janet Howard 2/25/25

Sweeping the Garden

Tending the garden tends one’s own personal garden. Sweeping up leaves, twigs and petals - sweeps up our own - letting go and starting anew.

Janet Howard 2/14/25 Janet Howard 2/14/25

Scars

Honor your scars. You earned them. Wear them with pride.

Janet Howard 12/23/24 Janet Howard 12/23/24

What Holds You Steady?

My foundation for self care is a three legged stool - my daily kundalini yoga practice, healthy food and adequate sleep. And each leg relies on the other. When one starts to wobble, the whole structure is at risk.

My stool fell this year - its legs slowly weakened and fell to the ground. I thought it was sturdy so I started paying a little less attention to it. When it wobbled, I thought it was fine.

But it’s okay. I think I needed to embody the understanding - my sat nam - that I can’t take the sturdiness of my stool for granted. Just because it was strong and steady yesterday doesn’t mean it will always be that way. It doesn’t mean I can invest in it less.

And just because it feels like a pile of broken pieces today - doesn’t mean it won’t be sturdy again.

Janet Howard 11/13/24 Janet Howard 11/13/24

Returning to Innocence

Janet Howard 10/14/24 Janet Howard 10/14/24

Sometimes my house screams: Message from my smoke alarm

Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo - I bow to the teachers in my life. I bow to divine guidance

Even or perhaps especially when it comes through my smoke alarm with an important message.

Janet Howard 8/18/24 Janet Howard 8/18/24

20 Breaths

I gently pushed off into the darkness - slowly frog-stroking away from shore,

stretching my arms and legs and moving through the darkness into the unknown,

now an ocean creature, through the cold, healing liquid.

for ten counts out

turning,

and ten counts back.

Janet Howard 6/14/24 Janet Howard 6/14/24

Sometimes I ask for help

I make messes. And then I clean them up.

Janet Howard 2/24/24 Janet Howard 2/24/24

A Bowl Full of Happiness

I didn’t know I would learn the names of so many people, get to know them - learn about their kids, their career, their life partners and the nicknames that their partner called them - like Honey Bun. Once when I called someone that - she told me that her deceased husband called her that - so we started calling each other Honey Bun.

Janet Howard 10/23/22 Janet Howard 10/23/22

Waiting for the bus - the Bus that Never Comes

and I pedal

into a beautiful future

and never look back.

Janet Howard 8/15/22 Janet Howard 8/15/22

I Can’t. I Am. I Did. - Lessons from uncomfortable positions

Every dawn - I face discomfort head on. One minute each. Every morning. I start the day doing something that I think I can’t. This short, daily kriya is an important component of my spiritual healing practice. It represents life - Tackling what scares me the most. The things I don’t want to do - the parts of my self I don’t want to look at.

Janet Howard 4/16/22 Janet Howard 4/16/22

Grasshopper Lessons

On my vision quest, I had some quality time with grasshoppers.

Janet Howard 11/22/20 Janet Howard 11/22/20

Lessons from KitKat - A Needy Cat

KitKat’s depth of need appears bottomless - perhaps that mirrors my own. As I take the time to love and comfort her - I take the time to love and comfort myself.

Janet Howard 12/24/19 Janet Howard 12/24/19

A Recurring Dream - A Gift with a Pretty Pink Ribbon

I like reoccurring dreams. I welcome them. Important information is delivered, like a present tied with a pretty pink ribbon. And if I don’t fully appreciate the gift, it’s given to me again and again.

Janet Howard 8/30/19 Janet Howard 8/30/19

Solo at Dawn

What color is the world today?

Janet Howard 7/21/19 Janet Howard 7/21/19

If You Give a Moose a Mantra Or Early Chanter Gets the Moose*

The sound of splintering trees roused me from my pre-dawn mantra on the front porch. Twigs snapping from across the street– was a tree falling down?

Janet Howard 1/20/19 Janet Howard 1/20/19

Salty Rivulets

Letting things go is hard for me. I look to the tide for comfort. It knows what it’s doing. It comes in and brings us gifts. It goes out and takes things away. In life, things come and they go. Some things on the beach aren’t meant to be there for long. In they come and out they go and it’s perfect. Like a tide. Like a sadhana. Like a breath.