Translating nature’s beauty is why I do what I do. The reason I do this is two fold. First, it is what makes my heart sing. Second, if I can help others see the beauty of nature perhaps it will inspire them be good stewards of our water planet.
The recent scattering of manatees from the warm water springs has given me an opportunity to capture the beauty of their watery home. I have paid closer attention to the subtle beauty of the underwater world of fresh water springs.
Previously, through cave diving, I’ve been into the earth and felt the strength of springs as they push the life-blood of the planet through limestone; however, I’ve never taken the time to explore the open water around the springs. The past two days have given me the opportunity to explore little ‘caverns’ of dark roots and the secrets they have shared touch my life gently. It’s as though the beauty here is shy, bashful. Manatees are the rock stars yet surrounding them is an amazing wonderland.
Perhaps when we are open, we find bliss in other ways than those expected. Communing with tiny fish hiding among roots created joy within me. As I floated perfectly still on the surface, camera extended in front of me, fish came over to say hello in their fishy way. Gaining the trust of wild animals, whether manatees or fish, creates such peace within me.
Instead of feeling disappointed by not seeing manatees, I feel profound peace. They are out feeding after a long, cold winter. I am exploring realms of water and light. There is something to be said for simply going with the flow and allowing the day to bring beauty.
The manatees have left ‘the building.’ Warm weather has given my marine mammal friends an opportunity to forage for food after resting and gathering in the warm springs during the long period of cold weather. I am so happy they are able to get out and eat…finally.
The first trip out this morning presented not one opportunity to swim with a manatee. My first time ever that has happened. When the boat docked after three hours of looking near and far for those beautiful creatures, I drove over to Hunter Spring and went snorkeling with my new camera housing and found myself completely in awe of it and how it gives me the ability to be creative underwater. After about half and hour in the water I was thrilled that I had invested the money in the new gear to house my Nikon D800.
Second trip out found me in Three Sister’s Springs. They have closed two large areas of the springs for manatees but there were none there so a volunteer paddled over and said it was okay to swim back into my favorite section of the springs. They call her the ‘ugly’ sister but she is magnificent.
It’s an area that is dark and full of twisted roots so many people dislike her but that particular spring is nature’s beauty at its rawest and most stunning. Textures, shapes, nooks, crannies are found there and today light beams made this a very magical place.
As I was adjusting the f-stop and shutter speed and glancing in the viewfinder I thought, these are some of the best photographs I’ve ever taken. The light coming through the twisty dark places made for rare beauty.
Our lives can be this beautiful as we allow light and love to shine in those dark inner places. It’s time we stop feeling bad about past mistakes and old behaviors and learn that we, like the tree roots, can drink from clear fountains of light that are always available.
When manatees are in the springs I’m focused on them so I am happy to have had an opportunity to embrace the beauty of the ‘ugly’ sister and to share her beauty with the world. And to receive the lesson she shared. Light, love makes everything beautiful.
Warm morning temperatures called me to the Gulf yesterday and within a few minutes of checking the ambient temperature–63 degrees–my feet were splashing through chilly water. I didn’t take my camera so I could simply lose myself in the wild beauty but sometimes an iPhone gets the idea across when it’s just too beautiful not to take a photograph.
Sunset Gulf Shores, Alabama 2014 with iPhone
I grew up on the Alabama Gulf Coast and loved it but moved away at various times of my life. The latest time living away from the beach was a span of almost 20 years. While I loved the mountains of North Carolina, I am most happy here, where my blood resonates with the salt of the sea…or maybe Bonaire which is my home away from home. I’ve been back home almost three years…is that POSSIBLE? It’s a great place to live but don’t tell anybody!
Sunset January 2015 at 30-A
The Gulf of Mexico is a wild body of water that can appear soft and gentle as well as wild in a crazed frenzy. Whatever the mood, I love this beautiful body of water that is part of the One Ocean and am happy that I can have my toes in wet sand with just a short drive.
Tropical Storm Isaac
The mountains are still dear to me and are a refuge for me, but the open horizon of the Gulf of Mexico and the system of waterways connected with it are magic for my wild self.
Today I wrote a friend, “I feel a nudge to fly off the cliff….my toes are hanging over the edge and I’m looking back…looking down at a faraway salt water Ocean realm….and a blue sky in front of me….and so I stand…trembling a little…excited….and grateful.”
It feels as if I’m at a huge turning point in my life that seems to have appeared suddenly but in truth it has been in process for decades. It began when I made a decision to clear out anything keeping me from doing whatever my ‘mission’ was. Sounds funny now but as a 25 year old, it was serious stuff.
Little did I know my journey would take me through really rough times. The more I resisted inner change, the harder it became. There came a point where everything fell apart. I lost basically everything. It was a true dark time in my life. But it was a time where I was able to clear out inner debris as well. I released fears and other crippling emotions as I worked on healing. As the darkness cleared, light was exposed.
The more I surrendered to my path, the clearer the direction became. Looking back I can see those turning points and the narrowing of direction clearly but at the time it was pretty intense. Support came for my work in many forms. My first book was published by an indie company. Making ten percent in royalties on my first book, after all the work, prompted me to publish my next two books. Another book co-authored was picked up by another indie house in Kentucky. Another book was co-authored and done in E-format. That may sound exciting and it is satisfying, but being a writer and photographer has yet to create a supportive income. But thankfully the support has come in other forms as I continue to surrender to the direction of my heart.
Recently another narrowing of focus and intention occurred through a series of events that I wrote about in an earlier blog. Now that I’m on the other side of the decision-making process it’s a bit scary. Other financial commitments arise as I further the work of my heart….marine education, volunteer researcher, underwater photography at a more professional level, more writing and publishing of books on marine animals. I went away for a week and came home with a list of things that will be the next steps in my life. And amazingly, support has begun to arrive for this next phase of my work. I feel grateful for the direction and the support.
I lit my candles this morning, after a unsettled night of wrestling fear and anxiety about the upcoming opportunities and projects. I asked to be given a specific sign….”Show me if I am going in the right direction.” Late this afternoon I had two signs happen within minutes of each other. Why do I need signs? Because I dream big at times and wonder if I’m sane. And yes…that’s a joke but I want to be headed in the direction that is true to my path of service. So yes, I asked for confirmation that the direction was correct. It’s like, “Yes I know I had all of those amazing events happen a couple weeks ago but was it real? Can I trust that I correctly interpreted the experiences? Can life be that amazing?”
Yes. It can be. And yes, I’m taking the leap. I haven’t worked this hard on my life’s path to suddenly give up because a bit of fear arose. I’m standing on that cliff. I’m looking around and down. I lift my arms and realize they are wings. A warm breeze rushes past. I rise and glide over the ocean. The direction is clear. It’s a fine day for flying.
******
There have been so many people that have been part of the warm breeze that lifts me up. The depth of support grows and adds strength to the wind. To each of you, I am deeply grateful.
Last week was one of the most powerful weeks of my life. After I got home I started counting up significant happenings and there were over a dozen. By following my intuition and listening to my heart, doors opened, messages were received and a huge shift occurred.
The details about the manatee part of the trip are in a previous post but I wanted to share an overall perspective of the signs that appeared during the week as they have pointed me in a very strong direction from which clarity is arising.
Mother manatee laid her head on my left shoulder. Juvenile rested on her back…I was in complete bliss… Lucky to have captured this image but I did flood my dry suit in the pretzel position I had to make of my body to get the shot.
Here’s a partial list: Rainbow appeared over left shoulder while driving and talking into my voice memo on my iPhone saying how I want to follow my creative dreams; pulled up to traffic signal while rainbow was still bright in the sky and the cross street was named, ‘Follow That Dream Parkway;’ manatees in greater numbers than I’ve ever seen and many friendly ones posed for photographs and video; met kindred spirits from Australia; shirts with Advice From a Manatee on them…same poem read by a young woman at the manatee memorial gathering; mother and juvenile manatee rested their heads on my left shoulder (rainbow over left shoulder); visited with Magnolia, our manatee friend healing at Sea World Rehab; on Saturday night songwriter Paul Cebar looked directly into my eyes while singing a line about making dreams come true; invited to go to Tonga to volunteer with humpback whale work; had the condo to myself Thursday night so I could process and write about the incredible encounters with manatees I had over three days; followed intuition to leave a very crowded concert venue and found a beautiful trail at Grayton Beach State Park and a sacred oak grove; instead of leaving Sunday morning I went to two songwriter workshops…and that’s where I’ll pick up the story.
Paul Cebar
After the above experiences and many more, the songwriter workshops brought the week to a powerful close. Paul, the guy that sang the line about making dreams come true, did the first workshop and sang the song again. Message received. Am I this dense, I wondered. I was sitting there listening to Paul thinking back to the powerful rainbow experience on my first travel day.
Will Kimbrough & Tommy Womack
Then Will Kimbrough and Tommy Womack did the second workshop and gave beautiful advice. It was striking a powerful chord (excuse the music pun) within me so I started taking notes on my phone. Here’s a bit of it:
Tommy: “Genius is remaining true to who you are. Go deep in your core. Be honest. Reveal yourself.” This is exactly what the entire week was about for me–honoring my path, listening to the inner voice, and being real in my work.
Will: “Don’t beat yourself for not writing all the time. You have to go out and gather experiences and then write.” One of the major self-criticisms in my life is that I’m not always producing. I constantly have to ward off the idea that if I’m not busy writing or photographing or ‘working’ that I’m failing.
Tommy…or Will: “Do what you enjoy.” It has been my intention to follow my bliss in life and during the week I had a realization that if I opened my heart to my path, the doors–that are already open and waiting for me–will be revealed.
Manatee rolling in green water
Here’s the Joseph Campbell quote about following your bliss:
“Follow your bliss. If you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while waiting for you, and the life you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that you begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss, and they open the doors to you. I say follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be. If you follow your bliss, doors will open for you that wouldn’t have opened for anyone else.”
In summary, it was a Joseph Campbell Follow-Your-Bliss week. I decided to go back and review the recording from the rainbow experience that seemed to jump-start it all. I was talking into my voice memo app after listening to John O’Donahue recordings that prompted realizations when the rainbow appeared. It’s an unedited version of what was happening. Here’s an excerpt:
I had no idea where my workhorse D800 was so I grabbed my phone and took this…
I want to float in Oneness and allow my true self to shine. My creativity…OH MY GOD! There’s a rainbow! AH!! It’s so beautiful. AMAZING! Oh, my GOD! Right as I was about to say this realization about creativity…Oh, my GOD! It’s a double rainbow!! WOO HOO! ……… I have based my creativity on what I think others want in order to be successful in what I’m creating. My creativity, what wants to come through me, doesn’t have to look like anybody else’s…OH!!! HOLY CRAP!…The rainbow is a complete and total arch!!… (expletive)…That’s the most intense rainbow I have ever seen in my life! It was a double rainbow and the inside at one point…all the clouds became intense golden in color and the rainbow was rain-bowing inside itself….Ok….To be really successful just in my own heart and creative self, mind and soul is creating something that’s totally me and not about creating to sell or earn a living…bringing through to the material realm whatever it is that wants to be brought through….unbelievable! Oh…this is SO BEAUTIFUL! (I should stop and get out). It’s like the whole sky….(laughter) is a complete beautiful…Oh, my GOD! I’m at Follow That Dream Parkway…That’s actually a sign on County Road 40 in Inglis, Florida. This is like spiritually crazy-good! Follow that dream baby! And create…Follow your dream! You can do this! It’s good, it’s good, it’s GOOD! This is a good day!
Listening to the recording took me into that moment of beautiful realization. It felt as if John O’Donahue must have been smiling down upon me and Joseph Campbell had the follow-up punch that brought the week to a close by the reminder from Tommy or Will to do what I enjoy…follow my bliss.
Photograph of me and juvenile manatee by Richard Wylie…THANK YOU!!
The truth Campbell wrote about speaks to the fact that we bring skills and gifts with us into this life. If we do what we truly love we will succeed….the kind of success that goes beyond money or notoriety….the soul’s journey being successful. John and Joseph, thank you! Paul, Tommy and Will, thank you! Manatees…rainbows….street signs…thank you!
It feels as if I am the arrow in the bow of my life and I’m drawn back and ready to be shot forth into the world. I can’t exactly say what set off the incredible series of events but I know how powerful it feels. The hard, inner work is now beginning to set a powerful direction for me and as a friend wrote yesterday, Awesome Adventures Await!
Follow That Dream. Message received, noted….. and YES!
Translating nature’s beauty is why I do what I do. The reason I do this is two fold. First, it is what makes my heart sing. Second, if I can help others see the beauty of nature perhaps it will inspire them be good stewards of our water planet.
The recent scattering of manatees from the warm water springs has given me an opportunity to capture the beauty of their watery home. I have paid closer attention to the subtle beauty of the underwater world of fresh water springs.
Previously, through cave diving, I’ve been into the earth and felt the strength of springs as they push the life-blood of the planet through limestone; however, I’ve never taken the time to explore the open water around the springs. The past two days have given me the opportunity to explore little ‘caverns’ of dark roots and the secrets they have shared touch my life gently. It’s as though the beauty here is shy, bashful. Manatees are the rock stars yet surrounding them is an amazing wonderland.
Perhaps when we are open, we find bliss in other ways than those expected. Communing with tiny fish hiding among roots created joy within me. As I floated perfectly still on the surface, camera extended in front of me, fish came over to say hello in their fishy way. Gaining the trust of wild animals, whether manatees or fish, creates such peace within me.
Instead of feeling disappointed by not seeing manatees, I feel profound peace. They are out feeding after a long, cold winter. I am exploring realms of water and light. There is something to be said for simply going with the flow and allowing the day to bring beauty.
Open mind. Open heart. Bliss.
