Tag: Nature Photography
The Flute

The Flute

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Inspired from an autumnal trip to Ireland and Irish music, I ordered an Irish flute from a Dublin music store and anxiously awaited its arrival. I had already secured a bodhran over a year ago and have enjoyed playing it and a brass whistle so the flute felt like the next step in Celtic music appreciation and cultivation.

I’ve played native flutes for many years so didn’t think it would much of an adjustment but the first time I attempted a note on the Irish flute, the wildlife in my home scattered. My dog Buddy ran to the door of the room and begged to go out. (Sigh).

Many things come easy for me so a growing edge in life is to stick with something that challenges me, makes me dig deep. Enter this new aggravation….I mean challenge…the Irish flute.

My musical expressions are a prelude to daily meditation. The first day I played the new flute I took my frustration into the silence. What have I done? Why would I bring something into my life that makes me so frustrated?

A memory surfaced. I was standing at the top of a very high cliff at the Atlantic Ocean in Ireland. A strong wind was blowing and there were free-standing metal pipes with holes drilled in them. I stood between the pipes and listened as the wind danced through them. Otherworldly harmonies sang out the celebration of life.

After the elemental concert, I sat in deep, fluffy, green grass and wrote in my journal. As I walked up the steep hill, to the ancient fortification, all of my walls crumbled and I became an open channel for Spirit to move through–a flute for the Winds of Heaven to play and bring forth beautiful music to the world.

In the stillness of meditation I remembered so clearly the feeling of being a clear instrument through which the Universe can play melodies that heal, delight, make glad. The Irish flute is a teacher to help me remember to be open and receptive to being a clear channel for love and compassion, power and strength. The new flute and other flutes and whistles are to help me bridge the physical realm and the realm of Spirit.

My playing, in just a few days, has very much improved. As I carefully sound the notes and move my fingers, I imagine myself as a living flute. The notes are the voice of Spirit moving through me. It has become not just a prelude, but an important part of my meditative practice.

All of us can be instruments if we open to the possibility. We can create stillness and space within to allow the music of the spheres to arise within and come forth as beauty we share with the world.
Finding Peace

Finding Peace

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As the year winds down reflection is a normal part of our process before the new year begins. This year I find myself wanting to tie up loose ends that tend to entangle my best intentions.

When our thoughts get stuck and the chemical groove in our brains deepens with repeated rumination, it can be difficult to step out of old patterns. As humans we tend to chew our thoughts like cows chew cud but we really get no nourishment from our thought-grinding efforts.

This morning I set the intention of trust and peace for my yoga practice. Over the past couple of weeks this theme has arisen often. Clarity came today like a divine bell ringing in my mind and heart. What if everything is exactly as its supposed to be? 

What if everything we spend so much energy and effort and time replaying in our minds does nothing to further our growth and development. What if everything really is exactly as its supposed to be for our soul’s growth….what if!

The choices we make to leave, move, begin again….to write the book we dream of writing, take the photograph we long to take, write the letter we yearn to write or share the poem we wrote….all begin with an urging from within us. Rather than spend years questioning and fretting, what if we accept these parts of our journey as exactly what needs to happen to open other doors?

So share your art, your writing, the poem you wrote. Move to a new place if you feel led to do so. Downsize and clear out if that’s what you feel prompted to do. Write a friend you haven’t heard from in years. Follow the push from within and trust the guidance constantly whispering to us, even when we don’t hear it.

Perhaps finding peace is as simple as accepting that everything is exactly as it is supposed to be for our soul’s growth. With that acceptance comes the opening of unlimited potential.

What is it that calls you? What does your heart long to do or say? Where do you long to travel? Pay attention to what calls you and let it guide the way.

 

 
All is Well…at the Center

All is Well…at the Center

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No news reports are broadcast in my home or on the computer or any electronic device and yet it trickles in through word of mouth and social media. If I search out news, it’s from sources I trust…proven journalists that research their stories and refuse to report what has commonly become known as fake news.

Even with these protocols in place, it is impossible not to notice that the poop is hitting the proverbial fan in our country. Assaults on the environment, the middle class, wildlife, domesticated animals, children, women, those with different sexual orientations, people of any color other than white, those who fall in the 99% of wealth, rivers, oceans, sacred places….there is not one dimension of life in our country that isn’t being assaulted or threatened.

The struggles we have already been through over hundreds of years are happening again and they are compressed into one place in time. It gets overwhelming on a daily basis. I cannot imagine how it must feel for those actually watching news broadcasts and having those fights and negative voices echo through the sacred walls of their homes.

It is challenging to stay informed and stay sane.

I refuse to be uninformed and uninvolved although the temptation is certainly there. It’s much easier to numb-out, be in the world asleep. But I can’t do that. Yet….there has to be balance. Too many angry emoticons on FaceBook makes Simone a withered shell of a person.

Recently we experienced several days of rain and cold weather so cycling was not an option. I continued being outside in nature doing three mile walks even when it was pouring rain and cold. It was my grasp at sanity. I wasn’t able to pound on the pedals and whirl away 20 miles of crazy for a week, so I had to adapt.

Never before have I felt the hollowness of living alone so acutely and painfully. Missing the companionship, friendship and love of an understanding man has prompted me to spend more time outdoors seeking the stillness and quiet of the forests, beaches and open spaces.

Standing in a small forest of trees with soft, pine needles underfoot and rain drops bouncing off my rain parka, I found balance. Walking by the headwaters of the Magnolia River with fog rising from its slow-moving water, I found peace. Walking my canine friend in the snow…his first ever….and watching his reaction, I found laughter. Walking bundled in winter clothes on the beach with a friend, I found companionship. It took work, but I found balance amidst the chaos….or as close as I can get given the circumstances.

I’ve always loved nature, but if you’re reading this you probably know this about me. My life is dedicated to sharing the beauty of the planet. However, lately I have found it absolutely necessary to step away from screens and be outside. Even if it’s sitting on my porch and watching it rain or walking in the neighborhood….nature gifts me with healing and balance in an ever-challenging world.

Nature responds to our reaching out. Be still, listen. Open your mind and heart. In the deepest place of silence, all is well.