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.

Morning Wind

The morning wind

spreads it fresh smell.

We must get up

and take that in,

That wind

that lets us live.

Breathe,

before it’s gone.

– Rumi –

Morning Has Broken

The Pier (C) by Debi Bradford

 

The sun rises every morning without fail regardless of weather or the politics of man.

We may or may not witness this miracle but it happens nonetheless.

I’d begun to take this miracle for granted.

Proximity creates familiarity.

How many sunrises have I photographed?

Lots.

How many sunrise images do I have on my hard drive?

Tons.

Recently, I would waken early but lie there thinking…..

Oh, it’s almost sunrise.  Do I NEED another sunrise image?

No.

So, I simply stopped going out to observe and photograph sunrises.

 

 

Shells (C) 2014 by Debi Bradford

 

I forgot.

Photographing sunrises wasn’t the point.

Witnessing sunrises was.

Witnessing sunrises has been my morning ritual, my morning meditation, my ocean-labyrinth walk.

Photography was only the side show.

Over time photographing and sharing the event began to overshadow the morning meditation.

 

Dancing Cloud (C) 2014 by Debi Bradford

 

I forgot.

There’s magic wherever you look on a morning beach.

Simply being on the beach is a blessing.

Sand between my toes is a balm.

A refreshing surf splashing on my legs is bliss.

Wind whipping my hair into knots brings laughter.

Gulls laughing overhead brings joy.

The sound of crashing waves drowns out the world.

It’s only me and the sea.

Salt air fills and cleanses my lungs.

Walking the beach strengthens my legs, my heart, my soul.

 

Sit a Spell (C) 2014 by Debi Bradford

 

I forgot.

So, I took very few images this morning.

Instead, I sat on a rental’s beach steps and watched the morning gently stretch and waken.

Walking back I stopped to rest on the boardwalk bench.

Life is good.

Lesson learned.

Practice Resurrection

All text excerpted from Wendell Berry’s “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front.”

Inspired by blog post How to Practice Resurrection and Earth Day Every Day, Through the Luminary Lens  by Bruce Thomas

Imitation is the truest form of flattery.  My friend Bo Mackison and I decided to honor Mr. Berry’s text and Mr. Thomas’s blog post with our personal interpretations of the same.  To see Bo’s blog post honoring the same go here.

 

Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.

 

Snowcones Copyright 2014 by Debi Bradford

 

When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.

 

Momentum Copyright 2013 by Debi Bradford

 

So, friends, every day do something
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.

 

Rosy Dawn Copyright 2007 by Debi Bradford

 

Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.

 

The Hidden Green Copyright 2007 by Debi Bradford

 

Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.

 

Ponderosa Pine Copyright 2012 by Debi Bradford

 

Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.

 

Sunset Buckeye Copyright 2008 by Debi Bradford

 

Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.

 

New Friend Copyright 2013 by Debi Bradford

 

Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.

 

Salt Marsh Copyright 2013 by Debi Bradford

 

Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.

 

Beach Tracks Copyright 2014 by Debi Bradford

Practice Resurrection

 

Spirituality

“You have to grow from the inside out.

None can teach you, none can make you spiritual.

There is no other teacher but your own soul.”

Swami Vivekananda

 

Today: Working on my Spirituality.

 

The ocean, its waves and winds and moods, have become a meditative labyrinth.

Here, I practice deep breathing and vanishing negative thoughts, focusing on positivity and good health.

Meditation

Coquina Rocks of Fort Fisher, North Carolina

 

“Meditation is the dissolution of thoughts

in Eternal awareness or Pure consciousness

without objectification,

knowing without thinking,

merging finitude with infinity.”

Voltaire

Voltaire

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/meditation.html#cEMMu6QuQWSHwDuv.99