So Far Away

CLOUDS

"Let It Rain"

"Offshore Rain"

"My Foolish Heart"

Low tide

स्वाधिष्ठान

Feels Like Home

Ocean Meditation

My Love

Delighting me with its mysteries, the ocean is a lover I will never tire of.  The sheer beauty of a reflected sunset or the glittery trail of the full moon on its surface. Waves that thrill and slightly terrify me. 

It never fails to deliver precious gifts in the form of smooth stones, colourful shells, and creatures beyond my imagination. A sardine-like fish washes up on the shore. Its silvery skin glimmers in the morning light. Its eyes plead with me. I gently pick it up and hold it in wonder for a moment before tossing it back to safety.

Ceaselessly, waves approach the shore sounding like distant thunder and recede in an effervescent fizz. Its rhythm soothes and heals my sensitive soul. With a mix of fear and excitement, I wait to feel the push of the wave on my surfboard. By an act of grace or pure luck, I pop up to my feet the first time I try and take a short euphoric ride. Adrenaline and endorphins prevent me from feeling the sting of sand scraping my knees when I fall off. It’s not until later that I see the scratches and deep purple that stains my bruised and tender knees.

Even still, my muscles ache pleasantly. Satiated, my body hums with warmth. At times I am overwhelmed by your beauty and can’t hold back tears. All too soon it’s time to leave and I wonder how I will manage. Must I live out my days knowing that our time together will be, at best, intermittent?

Now that I am gone, do you miss my delicate feet wading in your depths; my loving touch as my fingertips skim your shimmering surface? Do you long for my adoring gaze? Does your heart ache with the loss of my presence? My Love, please tell me, why must we be apart?

Beauty Is an Ache

“Beauty is an ache, a presage.

A glimpse, a longing, and a

bewildering ecstasy.”

~ Beth Powning

There Is No End

Photo: Bernard Solco

There is no end.

There is no

beginning.

There is only

the passion

of life.

~ Federico Fellini

I'm Still Learning

So I’ve been pondering my desire to get away from it all. My yearning to live on a remote beach has reached a fever pitch. I talk about it to anyone that will listen. My sister-in-law and I send images of Kauai and New Zealand to each other in enthusiastic e-mail messages. Images of pristine beaches and breath-taking ocean views with not a living soul in sight.

Photo: Graeme Huntr

After walking the shore of a local (lake) beach recently, I was overwhelmed by the crowds and the amount of carelessly discarded garbage—plastic bags, water bottles, coffee cup lids. I wondered, would it be different anywhere else?

What I think it boils down to is resistance to the way things are. Many of us find ourselves in an environment of strip malls, dollar stores, Tim Hortons, and Starbucks. It’s a sea of ugliness. Ranting about it and loathing it is futile though and it only brings negativity to our lives and to those we interact with. We are not at peace.

Sometimes things have to get really bad before they get better. Maybe things are exactly as they need to be for us to wake up spiritually. To remember who and what we truly are. To feel without ceasing the life energy that animates and interconnects us with every living thing on this planet and beyond.

Although it’s true that we can’t get rid of our thoughts/feelings, we can observe them with compassion. Our thoughts and feelings are not who we are. They are like any other function our amazing bodies perform. Just as the lungs breathe and the heart beats, the brain thinks and we feel things according to how we interpret those thoughts. Is this reality? Or are we each creating a world in our own minds?

Perhaps for the first time in my life, my desire to see through this collective illusion is stronger than my despair over the destruction of our planet. With a hopeful heart, I seek the Truth of our existence beyond conventional reason.