Blog Archives
Soul Musings/Day 16: Reflect on Beauty
One of my favorite photographers, Dewitt Jones, has a gift of bringing beauty to the forefront in his “What Is Right With The World” daily photographic meditation.
This is not to say that there isn’t suffering, violence and great injustice occurring on our planet.
Rather it may be the beauty surrounding us, even in the smallest of ways, that holds the space for the courage to step into those places and make a difference.
Beauty brings us a reflection of our Soul as reminder that everything changes and is impermanent.
Not only does the beauty shift and change, but also the observer of the beauty and the one who is observing the observer. Like the sunset above.
The photographer witnesses the sunset through the observing of the lens.
Nature holds the space to behold….
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NATURAL PASSAGES CONSULTING
Inspiring New Possibilities, Living From the Soul of Life While Co-creating Well Being of Body, Being, Heart and Planet….One Breath At A Time
Soul Musings is a 31-day practice for the month of December immersed in deep listening to what is emerging and unfolding day by day. Eight sentences with occasional resources to explore more deeply.
Each post, invited by Soul, allows the words to emerge unscathed from prior planning, editing, or censorship. Dwelling in uncertainty and dipping a toe into mystery this union of words is an attempt to resonate within an innate way of Being…. returning “home”.
To receive daily posts simply sign up for this blog and you will be notified through e-mail. In addition there will be daily posts on the blogs below. Thank you for being part of this practice with me!
Gaye Abbott – http://www.GayeAbbott.com
OTHER BLOGS:
Give Us This Day Our Daily Breath Preview, Reviews and purchase links can be found here:
Soul Musings/Day 7: Widening Our Circle of Compassion
Embrace the whole of nature in it’s beauty. Photo: Dewitt Jones
“Widen our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” Albert Einstein
Humans daily separate themselves from the rest of creation.
Causing endless suffering in our monumental forgetfulness.
What if the beauty and mystery of nature ceased to exist?
And we found ourselves in a black and white world.
Our senses shrinking to nothing.
Left staring endlessly into a void.
Reminders of the coupling that brought us such beauty.
Illuminate the vibrant intimate structure of all life…..
……that without embracing we are nothing.
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NATURAL PASSAGES CONSULTING
Inspiring New Possibilities, Living From the Soul of Life While Co-creating Well Being of Body, Being, Heart and Planet….One Breath At A Time
Soul Musings is a 31-day practice for the month of December immersed in deep listening to what is emerging and unfolding day by day. Eight sentences with occasional resources to explore more deeply.
Each post, invited by Soul, allows the words to emerge unscathed from prior planning, editing, or censorship. Dwelling in uncertainty and dipping a toe into mystery this union of words is an attempt to resonate within an innate way of Being…. returning “home”.
To receive daily posts simply sign up for this blog and you will be notified through e-mail. In addition there will be daily posts on the blogs below. Thank you for being part of this practice with me!
Gaye Abbott – http://www.GayeAbbott.com
OTHER BLOGS:
Give Us This Day Our Daily Breath Preview, Reviews and purchase links can be found here:
Occupy Yourself – The Gift That Keeps On Giving
“When my photography is at it’s best, it takes me to a place of reverence. To that sense of eternity, to the place where the lines between me and the rest of the world, are not so rigid, where old boundaries and definitions begin to dissolve. That’s where I want to live, – both with my cameras and without them. To be there as the watcher, the appreciator, the celebrator, and eventually just the lover of the incredible beauty that I see on this earth. (iPhone photo) “Celebrate What’s Right with the World!” ~Dewitt Jones, Photojournalist
Dear Richard,
I start with this quote from Dewitt Jones and his almost ethereal picture taken on Molokai, HI. This is the time of year when I stop to be more than my usual everyday grateful and take on a reflective look at life.
There is something about the shorter daylight that invites me to slow down and notice Now. Taking time to appreciate, watch and celebrate what is around me every single moment possible enriches my life, breath, relationships and results in a willingness to let go of preconceived notions and simply be, like Dewitt says, the lover.
I find the holidays challenging at times to just be this lover. Although meant to
be celebratory this is naturally the time of entering a cycle of “hibernation” when our bodies innate rhythms actually want to slow us down, rest deeply, read by the fire, and go on an inward journey. We are instead called out to shop, eat, drink and be merry.
As we enter the turning of the seasons this coming week on Winter Solstice I am asking the question – what truly has meaning in the small moments that make up the whole of our lives? The answers gestate in the darkness and in an instant of time can emerge into consciousness as if they have always been there.
Instead of wondering how to attain or attract certain things in our life that mind says we must have to be happy, what if we stated – If I am whole, peaceful, and happy now then I will attract__________ .
It is from that place of wholeness as the observer and appreciator of life that everything arises from, not the other way around. If I am in the guilt of the past or the fear of the future, then I am not present to celebrate this moment.
To notice the spider web sparkling in the sun, the smile of the man on the street holding his sign when I engage with him, the beauty of a tree blazing with color in December, the voice of my granddaughter on the phone, the feel of moving freely on the dance floor with others celebrating body and breath, laughing so hard that tears stream down my face…the opportunity to love another and to be the beloved.
Expanding further what if, like David Wilcox says in the video Occupy Yourself, the entire galaxy itself is an intelligent being. Could our mind be simply a cell within the mind of the galaxy?
If this is so, then every thought we have has the potential to change and shift the entire Universe. The ultimate dissolving of boundaries and boxed in definitions of what life is all about.
Occupying the pause between the next inhale and exhale has the potential for brilliant awakening. Will the pause be long enough to simply BE the lover of the moment?
This holiday season I am choosing to occupy myself just as I am so that others can be free to do the same. Reverence for the life I have been given. How about you?
With Love – Wishing All A Blessed Solstice and Holiday Season,
Gaye
WEBSITE: www.ResonanceWithLife.com
OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:
Free Flight
“There are times when wind is howling
and the ocean is roaring so loud
you can’t hear your own cries of delight.
When layer upon layer of beauty press on you with such force
that you barely have the courage to press the shutter.
– Dewitt Jones
This may seem like a strange response to your last post Richard, but Dewitt, who is a world-renowned photographer, has touched me with the beauty and depth of his photography and words so many, many times. This just so happened to be the e-mail photo and words of the day. I received it after the event I speak of below.
As I was driving home, just moments ago, from a great weight training and swim workout with music loud enough to make my body want to move some more, a very large hawk flew directly across my windshield in perfect timing for me to feel the free flight energy (versus the free fall!) and for her to give me the indisputable message – fly free as you become “gainfully unemployed”!
As Dewitt’s quote above reflects I was in absolute awe of this creature of nature and her message to me. I did cry out in delight, and it was challenging to hold all of the energy that flowed in within that particular moment in time.
Nature often brings us messages. In fact I would say it constantly brings us messages if we will open our eyes, ears, and heart to receive them. I was blessed to have received such a powerful message today as I start my very last week in a conventional job. (last day on 7/1!)
As nature brings us daily messages so does our body. Your 7 simple suggestions for health are a great reminder! You are correct in that I do all of them, but occasionally forget when I most need to remember! Just the simple return to increased water intake resolved much of my “crash and burn” syndrome at the end of the 10-hour work day.
That is not to say that this work environment is good for me over all, but at least I am able to finish out the last few days with simple gratitude for the energy I do possess. This is the life energy that will now go into creative livelihood, and I suspect it will skyrocket!
When we are doing what we love, and what “turns us on” I have learned that our bodies respond with increased energy and vital health. However, there are times when there is an imbalance present and we fall prey to some malady – hopefully minor like a headache or cold. Are there messages here as well?
So here I am drinking more water, and my attention is on “free flight” with the ability to touch down or change direction at any time I so desire. The “free fall” was perhaps more about letting go of control and served its purpose. Now at this point in the journey it feels good to see the texture, patterns, and lay of the land so to speak from a bird’s eye view, and have curiosity and my heart lead the way for the next stages of this journey.
Thank you for your presence in my life!
Always Love,
Gaye
OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:
