Hands

“I feel a thousand capacities spring up in me.

I am arch, gay, languid, melancholy by turns.

I am rooted, but I flow.”

(Virginia Woolf, The Waves)

My hands are becoming busier now that Spring has settled in.

Gardening. Soil underneath my nails I carefully clean pots that have set out all winter. Huge planters must be emptied, cleaned, oiled and prepared for this year’s flowers and herbs. I’ll do a few outdoor tasks then come inside to clean up, carefully washing my hands, digging soil out from beneath fingernails and applying lotion or cream or oil. Rest up, hydrate, talk to my husband. Then, it’s time to put my hands back to work chopping, mixing, preparing the evening meal. One hand holds a glass of wine while the other stirs vegetables in a cast iron skillet. We eat what was prepared and talk about our day. Then, time to clean up, hands dipped into hot, soapy water. A final grand show of their abilities – washing, rinsing, drying and putting away. Clean the counters.

Hands are such wonders, aren’t they? I am rooted, but I flow daily with Gratitude for my hands.

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Hearts Above

 

 

“The superior man understands what is right;

the inferior man understands what will sell.”

Confucius

 

Confucius so got it.  It’s amazing to me how we have all learned so much yet nothing seems to change.  Or, Bill Watterson says something like this – Day to day it seems nothing changes, but suddenly one day everything  is different.  I’m unhappy about today’s politics and am ready for that “suddenly one day everything is different” thing.

YES, I will be voting.  I vote every year, every election…even the midterms.  But there’s something fundamentally wrong with Washington DC.   I believe it’s when Citizen’s United was passed by the Supreme Court.  And the gerrymandering.  Now, we are an Oligarchy.  Clearly we are no longer a Democracy.  I love my country but barely recognize it these days.  What do you think?

Silent Sunday

 

Pause

 

 

Pause to reflect on the goodness of Life.

 

The Shrimp Boat

 

Shrimp Boat 2017

I went to the beach not knowing what to expect.  My purpose was simple – take photos.  I’ve been in a creative slump for quite some time now.  Over a year.  So I MADE myself go out and MADE myself take the camera,  The good one – not my phone.

The light was so odd, which for me is a blessing as I love odd light anywhere.  Especially at the beach because a sunny beach is frankly pretty boring.  I’m not a sunny beach girl.  I’m a moody beach girl.  So the beach was moody.

And sort of calm.  Waves were symmetrical and long, rolling in in regular fashion like a string of pearls.  I notice flocks of gulls to the north, which usually means a boat.  A shrimp boat comes into view.  It’s closer than they normally are and the light threw it into silhouette.  That odd steel blue sky, the silhouetted shrimp boat and gulls and that oddly yellow green sea was very calming.

A Pure and Peaceful Mind

 

Sunrise 2017

“Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth,

so virtue appears from good deeds,

and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind.

To walk safely through the maze of human life,

one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.”

(Buddha)

Every morning resetting goals is the “new normal.” Remembering goals, maybe, would be a better phrase. Meditation, concentration, opening my heart and mind to the Now. Accepting the Present, practicing breathing, working on posture, smoothing brow and gut. Being calm. Breathe in, breathe out.

Wild, Wild Sea

 

Stormy beach 2016

Give me a wild sea with boiling clouds, wind that lifts my hair and shuffles the birds around willy nilly.  Give me a wild sea with chocolate waves, briny foam and pelicans diving between large waves.  Give me a wild sea in the middle of winter and an empty space where I can breathe.  Give me a wild sea where salty air is forced into my nostrils, down into my lungs cleansing my body.  Give me a wild sea.

Change

 

Sunrise – August 2, 2017

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes.

Don’t resist them – that only creates sorrow.

Let reality be reality.

Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”

Lao Tzu

 

* Working on accepting change whether I like it or not. *

Silence

 

June 10, 2018

Sunrise

 

“The sea does not reward those who are too anxious,

too greedy, or too impatient.

‘One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach –

waiting for a gift from the sea.”

(Anne Morrow Lindbergh)