I stood, softly whistling my best beautiful-tiny-yellow-song bird impression while the golden, feathered songsters perched in the tree cocking their heads, watching me. Such sweet answers they gave me. Such joy they evoked within me. Tears of delight filled my eyes as I opened myself to the day.
Minutes before, my eyes absorbed turquoise and indigo, a direct line to my soul. Whooshing sounds of waves pushing against the coral rocks echoed within. Warm, sunrise-infused air hugged me and played with my hair.
I would not trade this moment for anything I know. Alone but not alone. Never alone.
The wind whips my hair as I stand gazing into the ocean. The hot sun feels as if it is baking exposed skin. But the layers of blue and green call to me and I surrender my mind to the elemental forces.
Perhaps it is the fierce wind that constantly molds trees and shore that speaks to me. Or maybe the indigo-turquoise salty liquid feeds me. Or the cactus that accentuates the rugged, rocky landscape. Surely it is a combination of these wild elements that calls me back again and again.
The diving is wonderful but there are many places where diving is excellent. No, my friends it is much more that beckons me to return. My soul finds a home here amid the dry, barren landscape that is filled with life…..and under the sea frolicking with eagle rays and mantas, dolphins and squid.
Perhaps the thing I love about this island is that it provides a perfect mirror to my inner world and gives me a glimpse into the tenacity of life and the unboundedness of beauty.
Rumor had it that there was a rogue manta ray swimming around dive sites in Bonaire. The ocean is a big place though so I laughed about the possibility while secretly wishing it would happen. Mantas are pelagic animals–deep sea creatures so what were the odds of one hanging out the exact week I am here?
So imagine my surprise, when driving down the narrow, water-hugging road, to glance at the brilliant turquoise water and see the small dorsal fin and wing tips of the phantom manta.
After a quick u-turn we parked the truck and grabbed our fins and masks. Still in wetsuits from the last dive, we ran to the water and carefully stepped over reef, that fringes the shores, into the salty realm.
One of our group got a face-to-face with our new best buddy. The other two of us were not as lucky. So on we drove to our next dive site. Our compensation for missing a close encounter of the manta ray kind was three eagle rays feeding on the sandy bottom. I was close enough to see the smile of contentment on ones face after finding an especially tasty morsel.
After surfacing and finally peeling out of our wetsuits we headed for a very late lunch. We were happy….four squid, three eagle rays, huge grouper, tiny spotted drum, eels, blue water…salt…relaxed dive team. How could it get better?
But then there he was again! Like a flash we peeled out out of the truck. The guy who had already had his moment with our rock star manta stayed with the truck while the two of us who it still wanted an audience with him grabbed boots, fins and masks and headed out.
We were not disappointed. Each of us had our moment of delight.
Beauty of motion, flow, grace, hugeness gliding through the water in a most amazing dance of ocean greatness.
Where are the photographs you ask? The viz hasn’t been that great so the camera was back in the condo–sleeping. My heart was wide open even though my lens was not. And in case you are wondering….it isn’t a fish story. This really happened.
My manfrotto tripod has allowed me to capture images in low light situations as well as images of myself when there’s nobody around to squeeze the shutter and I want to remember that I WAS HERE! In Cornwall, Great Britain
My old Manfrotto tripod has been with me in mountain streams, in the Gulf of Mexico, to Bonaire, the Pacific Northwest, Mexico, in Mobile Bay, Cornwall, Glastonbury….and places in between. During my travels it has supported my camera in low light situations and thus supported the work I do.
Sunset at Gulf of Mexico…the salt water and quartz sand just about finished my poor Manfrotto off….(sigh)
Last summer nearly destroyed my work-horse tripod. I was using it in the Gulf taking photographs of the sunset. Sand and salt water got into every crevice until the legs sounded like a pepper grinder with glass in it when I attempted to adjust them. I took it apart after rinsing it and cleaned it but it has given notice that its days are numbered. Too much irritation from those pesky granules of white quartz sand. One too many trips in checked luggage handled by gorillas who work in the baggage handling black hole of airports (remember those commercials?).
So after much gnashing of teeth I have invested in a Really Right Stuff ball head carbon fiber tripod. Or I have ordered it. New support system on the way! The thing about these tripods is they are the best support you can purchase for cameras….or so they claim. Strong, durable, made in the USA! And with their support, the Nikon D 800 can almost turn flips panning to get those shots I’ve never been able to get before…just because of the incredible support provided.
A good support system allows a photographer to capture images that she can be in…where she doesn’t want to forget the company or the place. This was taken at Observatory Beach on the western peninsula of Washington
Support. Isn’t it amazing to receive. The definition of support includes words like sustain, hold up, bear, serve as foundation for, maintain by supplying necessities. Throughout my life there have been definite supporters–believers in my work, my path. Yes…they have even believed in me when I haven’t. When I doubted.
My mother is such a support…a “tripod” in my life that has witnessed my first breath and lived through my cave diving, solo travel abroad and other exploits that have pushed her fear buttons. I really appreciate her. (And no mom, I don’t think of you as the old Manfrotto…smile).
There have been many others as well. And maybe there are taboos on writing about a former husband but I’ve never been one to follow rules. The support that Ray gave me throughout our time together was solid. He was a foundation for helping me gather myself up from a time, many years ago, when I had lost nearly everything. From the beginning he believed in what I came to the planet to do, even when I felt smothered in self-doubt. When my first book was published he gave me a framed copy with the words Dreams Do Come True printed beneath the book. I keep it hanging over my desk as a reminder.
Without support, this image wouldn’t have been possible. Ray gazing into the night sky on the Blue Ridge Parkway
While the winds of change blew us apart physically, I know without a doubt that his support over a decade ago, and throughout our relationship, is what made the difference in my life. That is truly the really right stuff. And I remain deeply grateful.
The dictionary defines beauty as– “the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc), a meaningful design or pattern, or something else (as a personality in which spiritual qualities are manifest).”
Intense pleasure or deep satisfaction.
Virgin tulip tree in Great Smoky Mountain National Park
Can we experience beauty if we are not open to it?
What might keep us from being open to intense pleasure or deep satisfaction?
Waterfall near Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina
For me it was trauma and grief due to environmental destruction….a “broken heart”….but it could be anything.
What keeps you from experiencing intense pleasure or deep satisfaction? What keeps you from being fully open to Beauty?
Wandering horse in desert. Bonaire, N.A.
It is worth exploring these questions. All of us could benefit from a daily practice of seeking Beauty and identifying our level Beauty Tolerance.
