“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” ~ Albert Einstein
“I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, "This is what it is to be happy.” ~ Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar
“Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.” ~ John Lubbock
“We need the tonic of wildness...At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.” ~ Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods
It's just been that kind of weekend, summer in fact. Flying with the slight of whim, scheduling and canceling plans at the last minute, some hours just lazing by with a little bit of reading, a little bit of crafting, a little bit of banjo, and a whole lotta polaroids. Friendship was a theme this weekend, and I clung to the laughter, the conversations, the sharing of food and drink. And with every single beat, I'm watching my kids change, my husband change, the season's change, my life moving as quickly as the hummingbird's wings. I linger, I hover, all the while praying that somehow, somewhere, my memories are storing what my film cannot.
The blog world feels like it's changing (or is it me)? From the wanderings I make, and even from my own time or lack there of that I spend in these spaces, something is different. I visit old friends and still peek at new ones, but I sense we are shifting, some moving on, some transforming into something new. Me? I'm just hanging on to the day to day. Not the kind of cliffhanger hanging on, where I feel like I'm going to fall at any minute, but the "enjoying the view" kind of hanging on. The kind where I just want to remember why I am even here in this space. To wonder and question, remember, and honor the life I've been given, and to navigate and discover the inner marriage between the 2 parts of me: the human and the soul.
I guess that is why I write what I write. The longer I am out here, the more I see how much we all have so much in common, how we have battled similar battles, questioned similar questions, struggled similar struggles. In the end, we all just want to remember why we are here, to notice the things we don't want to miss, and to record the things that make us beautiful and resilient, no matter how fast our days move, just like the hummingbird's wings.
I've been chasing light. Bathing in it actually, and watching it mingle in the girl's hair. I read something recently reminding me that we are light. And we are, of course. We give energy, create energy, give life, create life. And we can take it all back too, sadly. We have more power than I think most of us remember. We stifle it under stacks of fear, of resentment and anger, of possessions, of the past and future, and of distractions from our daily living requirements. We forget what we are because we somehow manage under the weight of our human consumption, and we think that the more control we exert over our light, the better and more useful we are. Ego pats us on the back for our own cleverness.
The light I see in children, in art, in photography, in dance, and in watching people in their passions, this is unharnessed light. The kind of essence that just radiates to all those nearby, infecting us with inspiration, with creativity, with ideas, encouraging us to recognize and reveal our own beautiful light. I think this is why I like to spend my time chasing it. I remember to see my own when I find it in others...
Wishing you a wonderful weekend chasing light or remembering your own...
xoxox
ps. I've been having a great time this week at 'Roid Week 2013 on Flickr. So much light there :)...
Fit it in, fit it all in, even when it seems it might drive you mad. Every blink, every bird call, every bite, every book, every thought, every word we write, every piece of creativity we pour from our minds through our tools, marks a magical moment from our one treasured life.
If I can remember that everything counts, everything, then nothing is wasted.
I am stretching and extending, risking comfort to see where courage may lead me. Taking Pixie's class next week is one of those things that scares me. Something tells me that this kind of anticipation is a good thing, like a contraction before a new expansion. I am ready, and maybe you are too?
The Autumn Soul Lodge session is sold out, except for this one spot I am giving away... I hope to see you there...
Things come full circle more often than I can notice. And yet when I do remember to look for them, the symbols that signify the completeness of our present life are everywhere. In a bright, swollen, full moon, in a lone blooming rose, an empty birdbath brimming with sunshine, and even a foamy cup of mocha...slight but ever present things that I can lose and find myself in. In these eloquent circles, I remember that life is good, oh so good.
My mother and brother flew in from FL this past weekend. To have the closest of my family see where we live and how satisfying our lives have been since we moved from FL, gave me a sense that another circle has come to a close. An easiness comes with the special people that have known us our entire lives. This is something I will always miss about not being near my own tiny family. Regardless of how much we change, the ones we grew up with remember us in ways that no one else ever will. We can look at each other knowingly and marvel at how we have grown. We can look at each other fondly and recount memories that seem to surface only in each other's presence. Thank you Mom and Brian, for your love and laughter, and for seeing me in ways I forget to see myself.
And there is one more reason to celebrate coming full circle. This week is Wander Wonder Discover's 2nd anniversary. My deepest gratitude goes to you this week, for seeing me, encouraging me, and gifting me with your presence in these pages and in yours. Because of you, I have sought and found the fearlessness needed to live a creative, passionate and abundant life. To write what I need to write, temper what I need to temper, and to reflect carefully and honestly, on my forever, sometimes wandering, search for meaning in "Self". With heart, mind and soul, I thank you.
"The watery West and lunar Panther have aligned to help us:
Infuse our spirits with the Moon's feminine energies
Honor our intuition and the subtler aspects of the heroic quest
Acknowledge the innate seer within
Release confining, restrictive models and patterns born of repression
Reclaim power lost during childhood wounding
Connect with the Thunderbeings- the Spirits of the Storms, to embrace the necessary polarity of light and dark
Transmute negative energy: re-membering the positive in all that lies underneath the light of consciousness
Allow shadow to become a Fertile Well of Creativity
Special guests will be sharing tools for diving into the darker aspects with grace and support by your side."
I will be taking this course as well and would love for you to join me. If you are interested in entering, please leave me a comment telling me what has come full circle for you recently. I will randomly choose and announce a winner this Friday, October 5th.
Welcome beautiful October and much love to all of you my friends
xoxo
p.s. I have been listening to the new Mumford and Sons' Babel, over and over again...If you haven't heard it yet, here is a sliver....
