Tag: Nature’s Teachings
Frogs & Clouds–An Illuminating Experience

Frogs & Clouds–An Illuminating Experience

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In preparation for a yoga and cycling retreat in Ireland, I purchased a light system for my bicycle. So when I woke up at 4.30am the trails called. Not sunrise yet? No problem!

The waning moon offered light as did the stars but in order to avoid Mr. No-Shoulders and little amphibians I used my new headlight. It was an illuminating experience.

First, being on the trail an hour before sunrise gave me a glimpse into creatures that I rarely see. And mostly, it was frogs with an occasional toady. Some appeared to have springs in their legs as they leaped in a single bound across two bicycle lanes. Others stared me down and refused to move, their bright, beady eyes sparkling with greed at insects swarming over their moist, green heads.

When I got to the beach it was clouds that illuminated my mind and heart. Every shape and color seemed to shine in the pre-dawn light. Stars, planets and that waning moon all joined with the clouds and Gulf of Mexico to create a remarkable experience. I found it difficult to get back on my bicycle and turn my back to the spectacle.

But eventually I did and the entire ride was filled with clouds and colors and yes…more frogs–who seem to love the new boardwalks across the marsh. It was one of those epic rides that I wouldn’t have missed for anything.

Illumination….shining light where there was none. Funny how something I bought for road cycling safety in another country brought me into another realm of beauty this morning. All I had to do was say, Yes!
Weavers Unite

Weavers Unite

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Since I moved into my home over five years ago, I have given the Golden Silk Orb Weaver spiders free access to the exterior of the house and all shrubs. In fact, I make sure the bushes are trimmed prior to weaving season.

While there have been several who accepted my invitation in years past, this year they have created an amazing wrap of silk around my home. These females are so big and beautiful this year that I’ve started naming them.

For those with spider phobias it’s probably best to postpone your visit until the weather turns cooler here. My front door has two large webs that flex when the screen porch door opens and closes. And just today, I disturbed Maxine’s beautiful web but within moments she was re-weaving it without a complaint.

These colorful spiders are known for their impressive webs. Their genus name, Nephila, is from ancient Greek and means ‘fond of spinning.’ And they are amazing weavers.

When I do yoga on my front porch early in the morning, I watch them rest quietly in the early light of day. They wait for the wasp or fly or moth that wanders into their sticky trap. Today I saw a large, fat red wasp hanging in its death shroud. It was rather comforting to know it won’t be stinging me or my canine pal Buddy.

When they weave, the first spiral woven is non-sticky silk. Then the spider will add two to twenty inner spirals of sticky silk. Scientists think the outer non-sticky edge is so wind-blown leaves won’t get stuck or other spiders will feel it as a boundary. Vibrations along the strands are the dinner bells when an unsuspecting neighbor flies in for a meal….of which they are the star attraction.

The females are up to 10 times larger than the males. Today I caught a male tickling the belly of a female. That boy is one brave spider. I’m not sure if it was a precursor to mating but seeing spider foreplay was a first for me. The mamas will create a silk sac and attach it to bushes or the side of my home and within the sac 300 to 3000 tiny babies develop.

I’m the wild woman who is out photographing spiders with my macro lens…pushing my camera and nose within inches of their beautiful bodies and hairy legs. I refuse to spray around my house because these gals provide the safest insect control available. And besides that, they are endlessly fascinating to watch.

Weavers of the spider world unite! You are welcome to wrap my home in your lovely, golden webs. You protect me and my little family of cats and the wild dog. With no hesitation I claim you as friends.

Additionally, spiders are reminders to weave the life we want and create our lives as a work of art. Message received!

 
Stepping Through the Abyss

Stepping Through the Abyss

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Recently I wrote about deconstructing my past and future related to the path I had envisioned years ago. It was time to let go of the vision I held so that I can move forward.

One night I couldn’t sleep so I laid in bed imagining myself moving all stepping stones that led back ‘there’ and creating works of beauty…fountains, benches in the forest, other creations of beauty that stood free. It was better than counting sheep.

The next day, I was in meditation and found myself at the stepping off point some of us call the Abyss. In Tree of Life studies it’s a path leading to a sphere of knowledge on the Tree. I’ve participated in deep discussions at workshops about this mystical ‘place.’ Always before in meditations I’ve felt held back from progressing forward.

But that day the only thing I ‘heard’ was if I step through, there’s no going back. Everything now goes forward with complete trust even though there is no visible path. I would no longer have the option of going back the way I had come.

It’s like that scene in Indiana Jones where he has to cross an abyss and have complete and total faith–when he steps out there will be a path even though he cannot see it. So my meditation was very close to that memorable scene.

Since then, when my mind wanders or gets into hyper-drive, I have been envisioning myself gently and with great love and compassion, moving all the stepping stones that created a path and creating bird baths, fountains, stone works of art…an inner urban renewal of sorts.

I realized, while cycling this morning, that the mental exercises I’ve been doing and the meditation are connected. I used to think a well-planned vision for life was necessary for successful completion of goals. What I failed to realize is a vision is an ever-evolving and living part of my life that requires complete and total surrender to stay present and not get stuck in the past or the future.

There are many surrenders that happen as we move through different phases of life’s journey yet so often we cling to the familiar even when it chooses to walk away from us. What if every morning we envision an abyss like Indiana Jones faced and see something we want to create across it. Then, with complete surrender and faith, step toward it. How might that change our lives?

What it’s done for me is bring me into the present moment, where life is actually happening. When I think of that person from my past, no longer in my life, I simply begin lovingly removing the stepping stones that lead back there and re-form them into something beautiful. Then I return from the mind-work and feel more free, more present with life now. When I worry about the future I imagine the path I made so many years ago is gently broken up with my hands and the soil is planted with seeds of grasses and wildflowers. Then I bring myself back to the present moment.

By building a beautiful present moment, it feels like I am creating a garden of my life with no worn or paved pathways. I trust Nature to be my working partner, to show me where I can assist, where I can lend my skills to help create a better world for all life.

May every day bring successful navigation of the unknown as we step out with courage and yield to our heart’s callings.
Vision of the Path

Vision of the Path

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It’s easy to write about beauty and adventures into underwater places. That’s my happy place…the blissful realm where I feel more myself than when walking on two legs and land-bound. But when I find myself feeling consistently stuck, it’s not so easy to put into words the experience of knowing the gifts I have to give are not being fully utilized, especially when our society needs more expression of beauty and especially more expression of Ocean beauty. After all, the Ocean is our life-source.

Recently I read an article where photographer and writer Cristina Mittermeier was interviewed. She said, “But I think the thing that I was most afraid of was becoming the most mediocre version of myself.”  I realized that’s where I’m stuck….in this mediocre me. And this terrifies me because I see the incredible need our planet has for everyone that feels the call to help, to step forward…to leap forward and give the best of themselves.

It’s interesting to share the feeling of being stuck with friends. Most want to talk me out of my feelings, convince me otherwise by listing what I do. In a conversation with one of my precious friends last night, she was listing my accomplishments and I felt anger….I know what I do….but I feel stuck! Her beautiful supportive words cannot erase my experience, my knowing that I can do so much more…the feeling of being not quite where I know I can be is very challenging to wrestle with and I expect many of us feel this way.

I want to help! I want to show the world the beauty of the Ocean! The fragility of it. The delicate balance we dance when we ignore the warning signs. So where are the open doors? And why am I stuck? Finally….understanding is dawning.

Years ago I met a guy. We ‘clicked’ and the vision of my path included him…in a very powerful way. We went on dive trips, shared cycling adventures, and he was the biggest believer in my path and work I had ever known. He saw me and the work I felt called to do like no other. The path, the vision I held so strongly, was us moving forward together.

Five years have passed since we last saw each other and there have been Ocean adventures with humpback whales, sea lions, whale sharks, dolphins…incredible encounters…and these experiences have led to books and presentations and the work going out into the world. And that’s awesome! But the feeling of being stuck continued until last night when I realized I had not updated the vision of my path. In some way I was attempting to live now with an outdated script.

It’s like operating your computer with an old operating system. The new input can’t work in the old system. At some point you have to remember to update the OS and reboot. Then all the new information coming in can work smoothly, effortlessly.

I wonder how many of us operate with old visions of what we want for our lives. When something works and we feel the power of it and set the course for our lives energy rushes in to fill the dream with power. Sometimes…and perhaps many times….we forget to update our vision, our dreams, when circumstances change. We forget to update the operating system. And then the ‘computer’ freezes.

One of my favorite writers said if you believe what you are doing is really powerful, the thought forms you construct will come clear and be highly dynamic. If you have no real faith in what you are doing, your thought forms will have no clear outline. Dion Fortune wrote this during World War II when meditation groups joined together to keep Hitler from invading England….before quantum physics told us that our thoughts are impulses of energy that affect our lives in a powerful way.

Perhaps I depended on my best friend, husband, partner and dive buddy to keep me on track by his incredible support. When that was gone I was lost. And that’s exactly how my path has felt….like I was space-walking with no gravity to pull me toward a destination.

The solution? First, realize that I needed a new vision. Then, commit fully to what I believe in and believe in myself and the vision of my life….the new vision I am creating. What about you? What is the vision for your life? When is the last time you uploaded a newer version and rebooted your life? Let’s do it and get on with the work at hand. We’ve got a lot to do.
Sea Turtle Magic

Sea Turtle Magic

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The first dive was amazing. We were winding through the coral caves of Palencar Reef. Sponges and corals were pristine. The arches, alive with color, were surrounded by blue…ocean blue…the color that seems to run through my veins

As I was meandering through exquisite passageways I thought it was most likely the most beautiful dive I’ve ever done. Over 600 dives in magnificent caves of the Yucatan, reefs of the Caribbean, the Pacific kelp forests….none were as deeply beautiful as this colorful swim through winding tunnels of reef.

The surface interval was relaxed and fun and then the second dive….”Duck in a canyon to get out of the current,” he said. It was Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride with current that wasn’t bashful. But that’s not what I remember so much. It’s the three hawksbill sea turtles that were casually munching along the top of the reef….where the current was ripping.

The first one had two friends greedily watching for tiny creatures uprooted with the amazingly strong foraging jaws of the turtle. In order to stop and take video and photographs I had to touch the sand….and thankfully with gentle kicking I was able to stay within inches of the huge turtle and capture the best video of my life. Not to mention the absolute thrill of being within inches of the strong jaws of the turtle….who completely ignored me.

The gray angelfish kept blocking the camera, swishing their tails against my mask and hands. What a problem to have…right? Photobombing fish.

The third hawksbill was massive in size. When I swung around to face the current the turtle walked on the bottom just beneath me. I could sense the sea turtle’s energy even though we never touched. My belly hovered just inches above her massive back as she munched on a sponge.

Hours later I still feel it, the strength and fortitude this being has. To survive from a golf-ball sized egg to this size took wits, strength and perhaps a lot of luck. But I’m the one that feels lucky….so amazingly lucky.

After spending five years as a sea turtle volunteer working mostly with unhatched nests and hatchlings as they crawl to water, this was a special treat. And while I’ve had nice encounters with sea turtles while diving, none have come close to any of the three connections I had today.

My mask was inches from the back of the largest turtle and the colors and details of the plates on the shell were incredible. The spotted skin of the head and flippers was brilliant and the eyes looked at me with unconcern…which made me so happy. I was an accepted part of their world, not something to be feared.

Most of what I experienced was visceral and so I reach for words that don’t seem to be there. Somehow I came away feeling the strength of these sea turtles had been shared and my bones now know a little bit more about what being a sea turtle is all about and I carry a little more of their magic in my heart.