Tag Archives: Photography

Sweet Solstice, Sweet Summer!

“There is a pleasure in the pathless woods

There is a rapture on the lonely shore

There is society, where none intrudes

By the deep sea and music in its roar

I love not man the less

but nature more.

-Lord Bryon

Sweet Solstice!  The nectar of summer absorbed by all of the senses…

The layers of myriad greens, the sensuous breeze, the fragrances of pine and honeysuckle and wild roses, the raven song, the textures of grass under bare legs…. these small yet large, simple yet complex pleasures feed my soul.

Happy Summer, Happy Solstice, Happy Long Languid Days!!

Luminosity

 

“Look carefully around you and recognize the luminosity of souls. Sit beside those who draw you to that.”

-Rumi

“…with thankful attention… looking back…I can always tell which moments had taken on the restful luminosity.  There is a certain stillness, or completion, about them.”

-Hannah Hinchman

“The perceptions of middle age have their own luminosity.”

-Gail Sheehy

“I try to live in the luminosity of things.”

-Meia Geddes

The Door

“The doors to the world of the wild Self are few but precious.

If you have a deep scar, that is a door.

If you have an old, old story, that is a door.

If you love the sky and the water so much

you almost cannot bear it,

that is a door.

If you yearn for a deeper life, a full life, a sane life, that is a door.”

-Clarissa Pinkola Estés

This Is What You Shall Do

Oh Walt Whitman!!

Timeless words that inspire me daily….

“This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body.”

-Walt Whitman

These Trees

Carmel at the Santa Lucia Preserve, an idyllic retreat among lichen dripping oaks, green slopes, vistas, birds, deer, and coyote. The alive ecosystem of the coastal environment is present in a vital way to this tired body.  Yesterday’s wedding already a fading memory. The Barn, the view of the mountains for the ceremony, the relaxed vibe, all a part of me now, but I’m present in this moment without reflection on yesterday.

It’s all about the trees here. The way they stand in artistic poses and profound presence. They are peace and calm.

And the quiet! It seems they are thinking deep thoughts, still becoming more. It is a vital pervading mood that permeates – introspective and wise.

I am out with the trees now. Sweet soft breeze. They receive what’s offered with such grace. Later there will be a wild wind and a hot sun, and they will provide respite for some winged ones. They will shelter dozing deer, and yawning coyotes. They will talk to their brethren and commune with the others. Later still they will enjoy a moon bath and stellar sparkling light on their leaves. Their roots will reach deeper into the earth and their crown to the heavens with their hearts wide open to all that is. These trees.