The Vast Expanse
Stargazer: 1) a person who stargazes; 2) a daydreamer; 3) an impractical idealist; 4) any of several marine fishes of the family Uranoscopidae, having the eyes at the top of the head.
As for me, several of those definitions fit, but I’m especially quite taken with the idea of eyes on top of my head when the stars are as lovely as they were last night. After such a cloudy summer, a forecast of clear skies causes glee among stargazers…the dreamers.
It was 70 degrees at my home, at 2085 feet elevation, when I headed for Waterrock Knob, 6292 feet above sea level. After I got on the Blue Ridge Parkway, I watched the temperature start to plummet. It was 55 degrees and breezy when I arrived just before sunset. It quickly dropped to the upper 40’s and the wind started to howl on the surrounding ridge lines.
But the sky! The stars! The Milky Way!
With our country’s many struggles right now, it has never become more important for me to be outside, in Nature, and last night, under the vast expanse of the firmament. The heavens. I need to be reminded that there is an immense Universe and we are simply one tiny dot in it.
While everything socially breaks down, the stars remind me that they still move through the night sky, there is still a point of stillness in Polaris, and the Milky Way…our home galaxy…paints the night sky with its grandeur.
Last night, dressed in a micro fleece shirt, down vest, heavy down jacket, wool hat, wool socks, boots I was still chilly from the strong wind. I placed a towel on the ground and laid down while my Nikon was doing its star trail duty, programmed through the remote, to take 25 second exposures until I stopped it and the little SeeStar telescope was gathering photons from a distant nebula. Feeling the thick grass beneath the towel, I went deeper and felt the Earth, the grounding presence of our home planet. I gazed as stars shared their light. Finally, I felt at home again.
It seemed perfect to be under the cosmic sea last night as my album Cosmic Sea released yesterday. It was a perfect way to celebrate not only beauty and light, but also the work of my heart as it launched into the ether and all streaming platforms.
Elk Photography: Safety First!
I do a lot of wildlife photography and saw some people being really stupid today…approaching sparring elk within 20 feet! The rule is 50 yards! So….I added some hopefully helpful commentary for anyone wishing to photograph or video the elk here in the Smokies.
There’s some pretty cool footage of sparring elk here that I took ‘legally’ following the rules of the park. The still images at the end are taken from inside my car. So get out and enjoy the beauty….but please stay safe and DRIVE SLOW through the park when elk are present and always drive within the speed limits posted. Speeding has become a major issue in the park and already this year 6 elk have been killed. SO…..chill out and enjoy Nature!
How Love Heals
Last night I dreamed I met a man that caused my heart to open and feel…deeply feel. In the dream he left because he couldn’t open his heart and trust. I woke up sad, knowing that what we had was profound and he walked away, unwilling to take a risk on love.
I laid in the dark, listening to welcomed rain and thought of Buddy, my best friend, who died almost three weeks ago. He came into my life three years after my last relationship with a man ended. My heart was so closed and I was so wounded. Buddy changed that.
He came in as a four-month-old, black and white, bundle of zoomies. Probably a mixture of boxer and Staffordshire terrier, he was the healer I needed to risk opening my heart.
Buddy climbed trees, much to my horror. But like any good parent, I supported his love of flying. He loved to ride with me, go on walks, chase squirrels, snuggle, and be an amazing cat brother. And eventually, after moving back to the Smokies, a dog brother.
We were best friends from the beginning.
Immediately after he passed, I was relieved he wasn’t in pain or suffering, so that eased my sadness and grief. His illness was very short and intense. But then, after the trauma of that was processed, the deep grief is left. And I’ve been feeling his loss intensely.
Yesterday, his river stone memorial marker arrived. As did the flute I ordered when he was so sick. I had always wanted a flute from JP Gomez in Sedona, so I decided to order the flute as a memorial to Buddy and his love of my flute playing.
So tears again came as Vern and I placed Buddy’s stone over his grave and as I played the flute. And this morning, I had the dream and realized my heart had healed because of Buddy. Even his passing helped open my heart even more. I determined to stay conscious during his illness and dying. To really be present with the process of living, dying, and death. And with that, Buddy finished his work with me and was free to move on to his next ‘assignment.’
My friend Kristine wrote yesterday about how to claim your sovereign heart. Usually, our minds and hearts are synced so it’s no real surprise that her writing and my process are aligned. Here’s a link to her article: The Real Rea.son You Feel Disconnected and How to Reclaim Your Sovereign Heart.
Love opens us. When we surrender to it, it opens our hearts. When the being, that we are in relationship with, physically leaves–in whatever way they leave–it is incredibly painful…probably because we associate the love with the physical. But love transcends the physical/material realm and helps us connect with Source. It opens us to the Infinite. We expand spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically through love.
Buddy’s transition from being by my side physically to being a Spirit Dog has helped me understand love more and how love survives and continues. Long after the body has turned to dust…love remains. And heals us if we keep opening and breathing and feeling the profound Infinite touching us through every breath, through every heartbeat.
Happy Tails, Buddy! You healer dog, you!
