Insects humming and chirping outside the window tonight remind me of the cycles of life. Outrageous blooms at the Festival of Flowers in Mobile created within me a welcoming embrace of new life, a celebration of crazy colors and shapes that even now, two days later, make me smile.
I wrote a several days ago about the intelligence of flowers. Today their beauty simply reminds me to celebrate the cycles of my life–all of them. And to drink in the beauty found everywhere.
From the east comes the light and rebirth and the fresh air of spring.
From the south comes warmth and the fire of summer and growth.
From the west comes deepening and the maturity of autumn and diving into the watery realms of the subconscious.
From the north comes wisdom and quiet and deep stillness of winter.
When the weather doesn’t cooperate with my exercise plans I use the elliptical trainer. I’ve been watching TED talks while working out–specifically the series on the Ocean. One of the presenters referred to the Ocean as being the ‘blue heart of the planet’ so on this first day of spring, I wanted to celebrate the Ocean….the one massive Ocean that covers 71% of the Earth’s surface and contains 97% of the planet’s water (NOAA).
We know that the Ocean is the lungs of our planet. Although estimates vary, somewhere between 70 and 80% of Earth’s oxygen is produced by phytoplankton in the ocean. Rain forests and trees are very important and provide the other 20% to 30% of vital oxygen.
Dr. Sylvia Earle reported in one TED Talk that 90% of the Ocean’s big fish are gone. Ninety percent….gone. This is directly the result of overfishing…taking fish faster than they can reproduce.
I was thinking about the interconnection of the Ocean and all life on the planet. Truly, if the Ocean dies, humans will die…unless we learn to breath a mixture of less than 21% oxygen. Divers know better, so do scientists….and physicians. We simply cannot survive on less oxygen…at least not for any length of time.
After watching the TED talks, two stories came to my attention that broke my heart. First, over 200 manatees have died this year due to red tide or an algae bloom in Florida waters. Red tide is caused by a combination of factors that can include warm Ocean temperatures, high nutrient content (from fertilizers and sewage effluent) and low salinity (that might happen after heavy rain). Manatees are endangered and their recovery was looking very good so this is a major setback. You might not care about manatees so why should it concern you? The algae associated with red tide can cause respiratory distress in humans and can make people sick if they eat shellfish or fish that have eaten or been exposed to the algae. That interconnected idea…it’s for real!
The other news was especially difficult to hear and even though it doesn’t involve ocean animals directly, it is a species genetically related to manatees. A story on NPR told of how poachers are killing African elephants in numbers so great that their numbers have been reduced 62% in ten years. A reporter told of witnessing 100 men on horseback rounding up herds of elephants and using assault rifles and grenade launchers to kill elephants for the ivory trade in China. Diplomatic jets from China transport the ivory back where the growing middle class and upper class pay over $1300 a kilo (2.2 pounds).
Overlay image of dolphin necropsy taken from a baby dolphin in Key West
Can you imagine our planet without elephants? Or manatees? Can you imagine humans capable of murdering innocent animals such as elephants…or dolphins like they do in Japan? Innocent creatures.
The heart of our planet is in danger and not just the blue heart. It seems as though the collective human soul is filled with violence and greed. While listening to the elephant story I sobbed and screamed….I am so angry about human arrogance and greed. We are capable of such love and beauty and at the same time capable of unspeakable acts of violence and aggression.
One of the TED talk scientists spoke of how easy it is to become overwhelmed with all of the horrible things happening on our planet. His suggestion was to do everything you can in your own life and then choose one place or one animal on the planet and call that your project of hope. Support it, educate people about it, study it. If we focus on everything that’s wrong we get depressed, angry…we become ineffective. But if we work on our home life and that one special project of hope, we can continue to be an advocate for positive change in the world.
Now is not the time to give up. It’s not too late. As Sylvia Earle said, “The good news is there’s still 10% of the big fish left on the planet.”
May our hearts join together in support of the blue heart of the planet and may there be a collective awakening of love and light. Nothing else will create the change that is necessary for planetary health…of which humans are an important part.
This past winter I traveled from my home in coastal Alabama to Crystal River, Florida to visit manatee friends and connect with the beautiful energy of the clear springs. Along the way I passed several places I remembered from cave diving trips in years past. Such great times learning to cave dive in the crystal water of the Florida springs.
I reflect back on my first cave dive in Peacock Springs and remember writing about it being an underwater cathedral. It was like being in the bloodstream of Mother Earth. These experiences came after the first few times of cave diving. It’s not that pleasant to go back and remember the very first attempt or dives where equipment malfunctioned….like my old dry suit value getting stuck open just as I entered the Eye at Ginnie Springs and having to unhook the hose and flood my suit to empty the air that had filled it. That was unpleasant. Or the time my chest strap broke and I didn’t know it and every time I pulled forward through the cave it felt like my backplate and wings were lifting off my back (which they WERE) and it was hindering any progress I was making. Trying to communicate this underwater to my dive partner didn’t work. In frustration I called the dive. The next day when I went to put my gear together I saw what had happened. But I digress. I wanted to write about the springs and clarity.
Ginnie Springs, Florida
Cypress trees, duck weed, alligators, turtles, mullet in the open water. And strange, small creatures back in the caves. I still have mud balls gifted to me by my partner from a dive he did further back in the cave. I marvel at their perfect roundness formed by the constant, intense flow of freshwater from the underground aquifer. I suppose constant pressure can make you more beautiful or dissolve you. I’m hoping to become like the mud balls–little treasures of beauty but a bit rough around the edges.
My SUP board and I floated in Three Sisters Springs
While on the second trip to Crystal River, a few weeks ago, I floated on my SUP board in Three Sisters Springs. It was quiet and calm with only a couple other folks in the area. Such a lovely place, a sacred place. And to be able to commune with nature there, uninterrupted, was heavenly….blissful. It felt as if my soul was unwinding, healing from the clarity of the water.
Photo by Ed Jackson in Akumal cave…I forget which cave
I’ve missed cave diving a lot.–the limestone tunnels of north Florida and especially the intensely decorated caves of Akumal, Mexico. YOLO…You only live once, as ‘they’ say, so I’m headed back into the magical tunnels of clear water. Soon in north Florida and during late October in Akumal. Where else would I want to spend Halloween than in an underwater cave in Mexico?!?
Nahoch Nah Chich cave in Mexico
Until then I’ll be brushing up on my training and skills and dreaming of being submerged underground in crystal clear water. Maybe some of the clarity will ‘rub’ off on me.
“When a woman awakens to the beauty/power within her she will bloom as a flower she has always been and always will be.” Sharon McErlane wrote this quote as a message to women across our planet. Her words touch my heart and resonate with intuitive nudges I’ve been receiving.
We currently see discourses that are gridlocked. The US Congress shows us what no longer works. Trying to push and shove our way, shout our way or use anger to influence decisions is an outdated way to interact. We absolutely must find a new way–not just in our government but worldwide…beginning with ourselves.
During the past several months my journey has made me see my use of angry, aggressive out-of-balance masculine or yang energy. Wanting to heal and move forward in my life’s work, I found myself acting aggressively in my healing process. In anger I attempted to close my heart and mind with ‘pull and jerk’ moves. I actually thought I could force myself to heal by ignoring my heart, ignoring unconditional love patting me on my granite head…tapping at my heart.
A strange series of events knocked me out of my usual mode of operation and I tired of ricocheting against my self-imposed walls. I finally became conscious and saw how totally ineffective the old way was. It was the exact opposite of how I want to live.
Attempting to heal in an aggressive manner goes against the very idea of healing (shaking head, rolling eyes, laughing).
When my heart was given the space to open, I recognized the gentle yet consistent pushes I’ve been getting–focus on beauty;allow my heart to open, to flower; cultivate compassion, gentleness and softness. I couldn’t move forward with my work in the world until my inflexible, ineffective patterns were broken and released…then healed.
I believe people across our planet are awakening to yin energy. We are in dire need of it. Yin energy is receptive, strong, balanced, compassionate and is a container for love, a holding vessel.
Using balanced feminine energy doesn’t make a person weak and it isn’t manipulative like unbalanced feminine energy can be. And it’s not only about women. We all contain both masculine and feminine energy within us. We simply need to balance our fast-paced, active, aggressive lives with this softer energy. We need time to reflect and enter into a friendlier relationship with ourselves and others.
Flowers reflect the essence of feminine or yin energy in their blooming and unfolding. They are strong and have an amazing capacity to bring healing energy to any situation. Flowers make us feel better. So I’m focusing on one of nature’s expressions of the feminine to remind me to stay open, stay soft yet strong.
Balanced feminine energy holds the earth and cradles all life. This is what I wish to strengthen on the planet and within my own life.
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.
Insects humming and chirping outside the window tonight remind me of the cycles of life. Outrageous blooms at the Festival of Flowers in Mobile created within me a welcoming embrace of new life, a celebration of crazy colors and shapes that even now, two days later, make me smile.
I wrote a several days ago about the intelligence of flowers. Today their beauty simply reminds me to celebrate the cycles of my life–all of them. And to drink in the beauty found everywhere.
From the east comes the light and rebirth and the fresh air of spring.
From the south comes warmth and the fire of summer and growth.
From the north comes wisdom and quiet and deep stillness of winter.
Through all seasons may joy and beauty guide us.
