Tag: BEAUTY

Yes, You!

Yes, You!

_TSL6602I have struggled for a very long time with acknowledging the value of the work coming through me. People say, “Wow…love your work!” and I’m like….What work? 

Over the past ten years I haven’t held a regular job…you know where I punch a clock and sit at a desk and fade until Friday. Since young adulthood I promised that if circumstance allowed, I would give myself completely to the work that wanted to come through me. I would do it and forgo the ‘security’ of a regular paycheck. And then it happened.

Simone Lipscomb 6352A land sale gave me the opportunity and I leapt into the Unknown, following up on that promise. Yet I have struggled with the value of the efforts put forth. There’s not a lot of financial payoff and so I find myself stumbling with it at times. But not always. There are moments of complete clarity and I release the fear and ego’s cynical voice and surrender…and walk forward….fly forward on wings of light.

We are so conditioned in our culture to assign value to work based on money. It has been a struggle to continue creating books, photographs and paintings, not because I don’t want to but I wonder….am I wasting resources by following my wild heart? Many other questions arise that lead me to doubt the Vision that calls me forward in perfect trust and love. Sometimes there’s doubt. Other times….those wings of light grow bigger.

Simone Lipscomb 6354Today a story popped up on my Facebook feed from my friend Christiane Pelmas. She so eloquently writes about value of who we are and what we bring to this wounded world. Here’s a bit of what she shared:

“How do we become people who perceive a greater story unfolding, of which we are an inextricable part? In order to see the web of wholeness and healing, we must have the capacity to acknowledge our value. If we cannot, or do not, acknowledge our value, we walk around like the living dead…..We all must know our value, our important and humble place in the order of things. We must know that we matter to a larger story. If we do not acknowledge that we matter, we throw a wrench in the whole extraordinary process, that relies, so very simply, on the fact that all things exists, and thrive, in healthy relation and relevance to each other.” Christiane Pelmas.

_TSL6139The next time you wonder if you make a difference on this planet, stop and know….You! Yes, YOU! are part of the greater whole and like Christiane reminds us, “we thrive in healthy relation and relevance to each other.”

YES!

 

Go Gently

Go Gently


So great is the darkness the only way I can see the hatchlings is to rest on my hands and knees. The moist sand, illuminated with phosphorescence, mirrors bright stars overhead.

The waves are rolling long. Just as two baby loggerheads find water, a wave washes far, far on to the beach and envelopes me with warm, salty water. I freeze, watching carefully for the tiny beings, small dark spots on this dark night. They find their way to the sea and I relax and feel myself connected….with all life.

Working with sea turtles brings me back to rhythms of sea and shore, light and darkness. They challenge me to find balance within myself, with nature…the cosmos.

Go gently little ones….go gently.

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Ridiculous Beauty of the Dawn

Ridiculous Beauty of the Dawn

_TSL6583Take a chance. Risk the extra burden. So what if the sand is soft and your burden is more difficult to bear. It’s time.

Take the leap. Never mind the excuses or reasons to fear. Do it.

Oh, but it’s heavy. What if it rains? What if it lightnings and I have to make a run for it? What if? What if? What if?

Take a chance. Risk moving beyond fear.

_TSL6600Okay. I’m ready…but….

The sand is soft. Walking isn’t easy. It begins to sprinkle. It’s lightning off shore.

Something has shifted. I feel surrendered to the Path. I laugh and keep moving….it’s okay.

Until….

_TSL6616The light begins to paint the clouds…the layers and layers of clouds. I stop. I cannot move. The light pierces my disbelief….my doubting…my fears.

Look at me, it says. Look….at….me.

Tears kiss my cheeks. Laughter erupts from my toes…up and up and up through my belly….through my heart….my mouth and finally my eyes laugh at the beauty….unable to hold back. Not wanting to.

I lift my hands to the sky. My fingers play with orange, yellow and golden light. My heart shines through dancing fingertips.

My camera whispers, Pick me up, love. 

_TSL6634My creative heart dances with glass and metal and electronics. The shutter clunks, the LED screen illuminates beauty that makes me gasp for breath.

At the end of suffering and pain, after the trials and storms, there is beauty waiting. It’s here. Now. Look up…with your heart.

The challenges and trials of the summer created a place of choice. Do I move deeper? Do I walk away in frustration?

My life coach has held my hand from afar and encouraged me to move deeper, to move beyond the obstacles within me reflected in the outer world. He has encouraged me to reach high and deep for love. And to not allow anything to keep my feet from the Path.

_TSL6639As I walk in the Sacred Temple of the Seashore I hear through the particles of light, This is what awaits the hard work of transformation. This beauty, beyond anything you have known, is what awaits those who remain true to the Path to which their soul calls.

Well, that does it. I leap and shout for joy! Why try to contain it? My open heart sings and salty tears flow to the sea. And I am made new.

_TSL6663So much has happened in the past twenty-four hours to open my eyes to the possibilities when I make as a mantra these words, I am willing.

He writes this morning, “Let your light shine in every corner of the world!” Everyone needs a life coach….a beloved friend who sees what we sometimes cannot see.

_TSL6638My gratitude list grows as I dance in the ridiculous beauty of the dawn.

Magic of Life

Magic of Life

_TSL6262I’ve often said that photography is my ‘excuse’ to connect with nature. When looking through my artist eyes I go beyond what’s in front of me to the essence of life expressing itself…through a sunset, a sunrise, whale eye….dolphin smile. When I compose an image its as if something from out there calls me to expose the magic of life through a photograph.

_TSL6282When I allow my mind and heart to be open, connect with life around me and approach it with a spirit of playfulness, the connection happens effortlessly. I lose myself in an experience of oneness and feel a part of life.

_TSL6332Several years ago a group of us took a weekend to photograph the Smoky Mountains. On the final day I was standing with my friends photographing the sunset. A guy walked up to me and asked what my settings were. I shoot with manual settings of aperture and shutter speed but I couldn’t tell him without looking at my camera because I don’t work with a formula or figure it out with my left brain. I play with the settings, beginning where I suspect the exposure will create the feeling I want. After the initial shot, adjustments are made according to the mood I want to capture.

_TSL6362Nature calls me to connect for my own balance and healing. I show up, connect with an open heart and simply play in hope that in some way I can translate the magic of life.

_TSL6376

Reflections

Reflections

_TSL4760Thunderheads were building in the distance as I walked down to the beach with my tripod and camera gear. After awakening far too early, I decided to leave the house and photograph the sunrise. With good cloud potential, expectations for some interesting shots motivated me. I had to go anyway for sea turtle track patrol so why not just go early?

_TSL4744Conditions were near perfect. There was enough wave action to produce the desired result of a silky Gulf, with time exposures, and the clouds were big and lovely. The unexpected surprise was tidal pools that created reflections.

_TSL4791As I stood waiting for the camera to tick the seconds on the longer exposures…. 8….13….15…the idea of reflections bounced around in my head. Are we reflections of a greater wisdom? We act as mirrors for others in our lives. We can celebrate the amazing truth of that….and know we are not alone.

_TSL4879-2I turned around on the beach today and found the reflection behind me was mind-blowing. It reminded me of the wonderful experiences I’ve had, that are behind me, and the people I shared them with…beautiful.

_TSL4865While thoughts did come to mind as I photographed the sunrise, it was mostly a time of communing with beauty that made me laugh out loud and utter words to the sea and the sun…grateful….thank you….love.

_TSL4906The next time you see a reflection…whether it’s in a tidal pool, on the surface of a large body of water or in a mirror where you look into your own eyes…think of those lovely souls who have spent time with you and reflected back to you your own beauty.