The Sea Beckons

/

Time To Say Arrgggh!

'Tis our illustrious Talk Like A Pirate Day!

Aye, on September 19, every year, ye best be sayin' Arrgggh and Ahoy. Toss in an Avast to get someone's attention!

Pirates And The Sea

When we invoke pirates, we call forth the sea and its magical allure. Siren songs float in the waves like driftwood. Mermaids coax us into the watery depths. 

What is the swirl of tides that echoes in our pulsing veins?

As the moon pushes and pulls at the shore, does the salty water in our own bodies long to join in the dance?

Wild Sea, She Be A-Callin'

A mesmerizing whisper in the lapping of waves at the shore's edge brings a primordial recognition. Sometimes, it's as if we see something out of the corner of our eye. Or, it's a sound we thought we heard behind us, but no one is there. 

Hello, did someone call me home? 

When the sun touches the water, our hearts leap. Our pulse quickens as we stare in wonder at the sparkling diamonds of sunlight. Precious jewels available to one and all.

Primordial Call

Could we crawl back into the sea and swim with the dolphins and whales? Not as separate humans, but as sea mammals, together, smiling knowingly at one another? We could whirl through the uncharted depths of liquid dark and light and open our hearts until they fill the entire ocean. 

Planet Water

Planet Earth should be called Planet Water given that it's much more water than earth. Our human-centric viewpoint defines everything through our own limited eyes, seldom stretching past our own awareness. But, sometimes, secrets from the sea are revealed and we wonder, might there be other perceptions of reality just as relevant as our own?

A Life At Sea

Let Talk Like A Pirate Day carry you away.

Imagine a life at sea. The odor of briny salt water swirls inside you as you sniff the air. Your sea legs know, without thinking, how to shift with the roll and swell of the waves.

It's a time when we traveled between distant lands on great, grand ships with our arms wide open instead of winding our way, huddled together, in security lines at airports.

Just for a day, indulge yourself and have a Pirate Heart that loves the sea and dreams of hidden treasure.

Lighthouse photo: James Peacock

Flowery Photos Of Agapanthus

/

Instead of flowery prose, we shall indulge in flowery photos of our tantalizing Agapanthus flowers.

It's a chance to enjoy photos from bud to blossom to seed pod without the interjection of chatty words.

Let's allow the flowers to speak for themselves.

 

As The Party Winds Down

/

Beginning With Flower Buds

In a previous post, I wrote about the Agapanthus flowers in my backyard and their riotous party. 

It all started innocently enough. Here, tight buds whisper among themselves about the explosion of color that will come from their blooms. 

Long stems stretch up and up into the sky, eager to show off their displays of blue-purple flowers.

Agapanthus buds make preparations for a blooming party.

Flowers Bloom

Flowers bloom with hearts wide open, tossing their colors across the yard.

The Sweet Calm Of Ripening

But, like all good times, the party has to wind down. After the wild blooming, the calm of ripening unfolds as blossoms give way to seed pods.

Here, a ripening pod plays peek-a-boo as it pushes its way out from flower petals.

Seed Pods

Agapanthus seed pods are no less rich and satisfying to behold in their fullness than the flowers themselves. Their long, green pods gleam in the sun, humming with the renewal of life. They tantalize with their shiny fruit.

Late Bloomers

They say there's always a late bloomer, and it proved no less true amongst these flowers. Below, a blossoming flower proudly sings its song even while the rest of the flowers have already turned into seed pods. 

Flowers Fill Our Hearts

Such abundance and love these flowers share, easily and freely. I am filled with a grateful smile that I could witness their beauty. 

As we say goodbye to this season's blossoms, it's a bittersweet farewell since I won't get to see them next year. I'll have to be "in touch" with them from the inner light that we shared.

A new family lives there now. I hope they'll appreciate these glorious flowers known as Agapanthus and won't mind their wild and crazy parties!

 

A Riotous Party Of Flowers

/

A Wild Celebration Of Purple

A cacophony of color has exploded in my backyard as Agapanthus flowers throw a party of riotous purple.

I'm usually not one for loud parties, but in this case, I have to smile every time I look out my window and behold the blaze of life-affirming color filling the yard. I never pick them. I let them live in all their beauty, anchored in the earth's thick clay.

Agapanthus Flowers Celebrate Life

Agapanthus flowers celebrate life with wild abandon as they stretch their purple colors up to a sky of blue. They welcome buzzing pollinators with joy. 

These flowers are nature's fireworks – bursts of purple streaks held in sunbeams, suspended in time for us to behold. 

Flowery Fireworks

No fear of fires started or damaged property, Agapanthus spreads loving blooms of color with everyone. 

No loud and scary explosions, the flowers erupt into gentle petals and delicious nectar that honey bees can't resist.

Yes, this is my favorite sort of celebration and fireworks. A riotous party of pure nature.

Communing With Nature

Students of The Radiance Technique® (TRT®) can dance with all the parties of nature. With TRT® hands-on, you can commune with flowers. You can place your hands on the flowers themselves, getting in touch with the fire of life in their petals. 

You can also spend time in the garden with the flowers and apply TRT® hands-on for yourself in various positions. Expand your awareness of the wholeness within nature and our deep inner-connection with the life force of our planet.

Front Position #1, in the heart, is wonderful to expand your loving connection with nature.

You Deserve The Gift Of Flowers

There's no unwritten rule that someone else should bring you flowers. You can treat yourself to flowers whenever you desire.

“Don’t wait for someone to bring you flowers.
Plant your own garden and decorate your own soul.”
 

Perhaps there are certain flowers that touch your heart. You can find them in a backyard, a park, or in a local flower shop.

You don't even have to pick them, just let them bloom in your heart.

 

 

 

Winter Storms And Healthcare Personnel

/

Winter Storm Blasts East Coast

One of the biggest winter storms on record came rumbling into the East Coast in January 2016. Although we only had some "sympathy rain" in California – watching the intense news coverage made me feel like I should stay home, if nothing else, as a show of solidarity. Actually, that sounded good to me.

Any excuse to bake, prepare nourishing soups and catch up on reading. The to-do list also included practical things like sorting through drawers, but whoever does practical things at times like this?

Winter Soups

Soups in winter nourish and warm our hearts. It harkens back to the collective memory of an ancient hearth with wide bubbling pots hanging on iron hooks over a crackling fire. Homemade soups I prepared were Roasted Beet/Garlic Soup and Pasta e Fagioli (pasta and bean soup).

Essential Personnel

One thing I didn't miss was being identified as "essential personnel." Over many years I have been essential personnel; the folks who don't get to hunker down and stay home during a storm. Nurses and healthcare workers who provide direct patient care still have to get to work.

While elective surgeries can be cancelled and rescheduled, patients in hospital units still require round-the-clock, skilled medical care. Wound dressings need to be changed, tracheal tubes must be suctioned, and medications still need to be delivered on time.

Travel Bans

The news media went wild trying to fill up over 24 hours of constant video of the storm. There are only so many falling snowflakes that you can watch. With 24/7 coverage, I was hoping to see some stories on how they were manning hospitals, especially when New York City called for a travel ban.

“Road travel ban in effect in New York City starting at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Anyone not authorized to be on the roads will be subject to arrest, and their car will be towed.”
 

Alas, despite my tweet suggesting the story line to CNN and ABC, I didn't see any in-depth reporting on it. Oh well, so much for the suggestions of the little people.

Working In The Storm

When I lived in Maryland, I was a Registered Nurse at Johns Hopkins Hospital on the Pediatric unit. A winter storm careened into the area, it was the December 1992 nor'easter. Perhaps not as large as the recent one, but, it was a storm that, nonetheless, would shut down the area.

I was scheduled to work several 12-hour night shifts during the storm. Plans were coordinated for personnel to sleep over at the hospital between shifts, if they desired, as it was not at all certain one could make it home or back again. Abandoning fellow workers and forcing them to carry on past their already completed 12-hour shifts was simply not an option.

Get To The Hospital

I packed a small bag and prepared a lunchbox to help tide me over the long 36 hours. Volunteers in the community with 4-wheel drive vehicles offered to transport healthcare workers to and from the hospital. I hitched a ride with a local driver and we chatted aimlessly as we inched our way along snowy roads. 

We made it through the storm, patients were cared for and my shifts completed. I managed to get some sleep despite the odd circumstances and I was happy to return home once the storm had passed.

Thank You To Those Who Serve

Police, fire, medical personnel look out for us. In this recent storm, the National Guard were also called up as well as municipal workers.

I often think of those who quietly provide our healthcare and public services. They work nights while we snuggle in sleep and they cover 3-day weekends that the rest of us enjoy. They care for us in the background while we carry on in our daily lives of sturm und drang. I deeply appreciate them, especially now that I can stay home during storms.

Thank you for your service.

 

Man walking in snow: Carlos Barria/Reuters
Shoveling snow: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
Umbrellas in snow: Joshua Roberts/Reuters

The Beauty Of Dawn

/

The Quiet Beauty Of Dawn

Early to rise, the lingering darkness of night surrounds you. A faint lightening of the horizon tells you dawn is on its way.

A hush is felt with this awakening, you whisper so as not to disturb small creatures as they begin to stir. No need to holler or yell, anticipation tucks its paws under and quietly waits.

A Poem By Rumi

You're grateful to be awake so early this morning and even more pleased that you're up and outside already. This rarefied moment rolls within you as if the beginning of time is calling your name.

It brings to mind the poem by Rumi. You have no desire to go back to sleep. The words play silently on your lips. Don't go back to sleep. 

No, sleep is out of the question. Not because you can't, but because you don't want to sleep. Not now, not while you stand witness to an awakening.

Dawn Spills Across The Sky

Gathering momentum, dawn spills across the sky scattering pigments across miles of space. It's the promise of a sun that has come to warm us, to bring us to life.

A sun upon which we are utterly dependent. When the sun snuffs out, the Earth will expire with it.

Today, however, such thoughts are whisked away on threads of pink clouds and evaporate in a brightening sky.

Let’s lift our hearts in the wonder of our fragile existence and in the strength of our courage to face another day. For this day we have been given.

Let’s savor the gift.

Today is here. Today is now. Today we rejoice at another dawn.

Sometimes It's In Your Backyard

/

Photography Near Your Home

Sometimes you don't have to go any further than your own backyard to enjoy little moments with nature. Even if you don't have a backyard, there is usually a park nearby where you can take a peek inside your local greenery.

Observe the details around you. Especially in winter, the weather is often inclement and longer trips may not be possible, so the greenery of nature that is right next to you becomes a source of inspiration.

Macro Photography

Taking macro photos with an iPhone is tricky. There is a tiny place where it is in focus.

In fact, we think nature holds rather still, that is, until you're trying to get a macro photo. Things must be absolutely still for a perfect focus. Suddenly you notice just how much plants are swaying in the wind.

I have to smile as I wait for a breeze to pass. "Patience, little one," I say to myself.

One day, I struggled with a photo of a mushroom. The ground was soaking wet from the recent rains for which we were grateful, by the way, in our parched California. I needed to maneuver closer to it.

I had recycled the metal frame from a broken umbrella and saved the waterproof material shell, thinking it might come in handy to sit on. 

Sure enough, here was the moment. I pulled it out to sit on the grass so as better to see a mushroom that proudly displayed its brown cap.

The neighbor kitty popped over the fence and dropped into my backyard. 

"Whatcha doing down here?" she asked, my own backyard feline wildlife.

"Sitting on a tarp on wet grass, trying to get a photo of a mushroom," I replied.

Create Like No One Is Watching

We're staying with the theme of creating like no one is watching, without being self-conscious and without immediate judgment. Let creativity stretch. Look at things in a different light. For some that is painting, art journaling, and yes, photography.

What nature is sharing with us? Is the air crisp? Is the wind moving? The invisible parts of nature are speaking to us.

My Raggedy Mushroom

The mushroom picture I tried to get was quite a challenge. The depth of focus in macro photography is very short, meaning only a portion of my complex mushroom would come into focus. 

I had watched this mushroom when it first appeared in my backyard, smooth and round initially. Then, it opened its lower gills and all the edges frayed and split creating mystical dimensions of undulating mushroom flesh.

I never really got the photo I wanted of this mushroom... but that, too, is part of the process. Knowing that I still had an interaction with nature was fulfilling. Let’s keep creating.