Beyond Duality

Looking at the sky early this morning while standing out on the bluff I wondered what the day would be like. The sky looked like it had a hard time making up its mind. The clear division of sunshine on one side and dark heavy clouds on the other made me laugh reminding me no matter what, that I have choice through which lens I want to see the world and meet what life brings me.

As it turned out it was a mixed bag all day, quickly changing from sunny to cloudy… back and forth. However the flowers on my deck still wet from the gentle rain last night and shining vibrantly despite the cloudiness were calling me to take a picture of them. Perhaps it was the greyness of the moment that made their beauty even more pronounced.

I love taking pictures after a rainfall. Each glistening drop sparkling, containing and reflecting the mystery of life to all who care to take a closer look, just as each flower speaks to us of a beauty far deeper than what can be seen by the eye. Perhaps that is why gardening is so deeply satisfying as it allows us to enter and commune with both the very tactile grounded earthiness and the mystery contained in each seed planted. I do not have a garden here as I literally live on a rock, but the planters on my deck filled with herbs, greens and a few flowers gift me with the joy of being connected with the cycle of life and feed me in so many ways.

As the summer is deepening I allow myself to slow down and take in the gifts of the season… it’s scents, colours and delights. The Humpback whales have been hanging out nearby and I can’t describe how deeply it moves me to hear them breathe and speak to each other and perhaps even speaking to me and my friend as we sat under the starry night listening and watching stars fly through the sky. Neither of us had ever heard whales speak. Such incredible magic!

Yesterday the whales were slapping their fins and breaching for a long while. What a magnificent sight that is! It made me long for a better camera, as I kept missing those perfect moments. However I know I did not really miss anything as I allowed myself to take in the joy and exuberance that was being offered with my whole being.

I feel so blessed to have a place to call home and not just any place, but such a special one. And I get to share this gem with others who find their way here for a session or come for a cup of tea and hang out in the magic with me. Each moment is so precious and I love the gentle relaxation after a crazy busy spring, just being, still healing and enjoying this incredible beauty, the abundance all around me and the many fun and heart connecting community gatherings.

Yet just as sunshine and dark clouds meet in the sky and the whales dive again deep into the depths of the ocean I am aware of the duality we live in, which contains it all: birth, life, death, joy and grief… and the pearl that can be found in all of it: the love which takes us beyond duality.

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May Offerings

The month of May has always been my favourite time of the year. Perhaps having been born in the fifth month makes me a little partial to it. This year May has been much cooler and wetter than I can remember. Still it does not take away from it’s special beauty. The birds are singing wholeheartedly while Mother and Father Goose are cautiously showing off their three little offsprings for the first time, yet almost to the exact day every year.

After a restless night I could feel my body was more than ready to get out of bed this morning and release some of the aches and stiffness. As I slowly rose, the first thing I noticed was the water in the bay shimmering emerald green with the sun about to rise above the tree tops. I got quickly dressed in order to get in the kayak and be part of the magical moment when the sun bathes everything in its golden light. Well, I made it out in time, but the clouds had quickly covered up the sun, hiding it’s magical rays behind them.

It did not matter! It was so sweet to just be gliding through the clear water that had looked so green from a distance. I headed towards the channel between the little islands that protect Reflection Cove and create a sheltered lagoon. Noticing the pink hues on the little island closest to me, I had to stop and investigate. Soon finding myself totally enthralled by the abundance of wildflowers covering the islands. Everything was bursting in full bloom and many colours from a sea of pinks with sprinkles of whites and yellows to the mysterious checker lily that completely stopped me in my tracks with its unusual beauty.

Every step I took there was more to be discovered. Even the things that looked dead surprised me, like the skeleton of a small Arbutus tree with it’s haunting beauty. Yet on closer inspection it had one shoot coming from it’s root that was very much alive. Life and death seem to be intimately entwined on these little islands where the harsh winter storms show little mercy to the plant beings that are brave enough to live there.

Suddenly the powerful call of a loon rang through the silence. I rose from where I had been captivated by the pink flowers growing in the midst of a young juniper bush beside a much larger one that had not survived the winter. My eyes searched the sea for the lonely caller. There it was! The Loon was keeping a safe distance from the little island, but kept me company till it was time for me to leave the little paradise I had found.

As I turned around towards home I looked upon my beloved bluff where I often sit and where Sea, Earth and Sky meet. From there I often admire the snowy white peaks of the mountains rising up into the heavenly blues and on a few rare occasions whales or dolphins can be seen. Now looking at the bluff from this different viewpoint made it appear so much bigger, more real, yet mystical at the same time. It made me wonder how often I look at something through the narrow lens of a certain perspective. What would it be like to see something from many different perspectives and viewpoints? I have a feeling a whole new world could open up for me as it did for me on those little islands today. Everywhere I turned another gift was waiting for me. It brought back many memories of exploring as a child, lying on my belly in some field to see something really close up or climbing on cliffs because something was calling to be discovered at the top or perhaps on the other side. I remembered that May for me has always been a month of delight and discoveries, where the natural world is bursting forth with so many colours and scents and without holding anything back, celebrating new life in the most magnificent ways.

When I arrived back to where I started out from, I sat for a while looking out at the familiar view of the islands that I had just visited. Somehow they didn’t look the same anymore. After exploring them in much greater detail and having found so many treasures that delighted the senses to no end, I know I see them differently now. They have come to life for me in a whole new way, just like the wildflowers in their undisguised wild beauty. Two hours had passed there as if there was no time at all. As I began writing about my experiences, the faintest scent caught my attention. I looked up immediately, my whole being becoming alert. Instantly something in me recognized this scent, yet not in the way that I could say it came from a certain plant or the sea. Instead it triggered a memory of beingness that I experienced on my first visit to the Big Island of Hawaii, where I had the magical experience of feeling completely free to just be me, where for the first time I completely trusted and felt so loved and taken care of by the Universe. It is this freedom, innocence and trust that was awakened once again in me on my magical journey to the little islands so close to home at my favourite time of the year, when the lilacs bloom, Beltane is celebrated and people still weave ribbons in dances around the Maypole. It is the month where we celebrate and honour our Mothers, who have given us life, and for me it is the month that I came to be here. There is so much to be grateful for on this May day.

 

 

 

 

Red Pearl

 

The wind has a different plan for me today. I work part-time at a Natural Food Co-op here on Cortes Island and on Friday mornings we usually get our deliveries. However due to stormy conditions the ferry is not running, which translates into no delivery truck coming over from Quadra Island till the sea gives her permission and allows for traffic to flow once again.

I’ve been wanting to write a new post all week, but something was in the way. I am still not sure what it is, but todays intervention by the wind felt like a sign: it is time to sit down and write regardless of creative blocks or lack of ideas.

It feels good to sit at my desk with my old dog Frodo sleeping peacefully on the round rug behind me, as I watch the trees dance in the wind. Even our normally very quiet bay is restless. I don’t know why, but this movement, this churning, this dance mirrors the sense that something inside of me is moving as well.

All week a book called “Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat Pray Love, has asked me to pick it up and give it my attention. The book is divided into six parts: Courage, Enchantment, Permission, Persistence, Trust and Divinity. Each part has many short stories, many about Elizabeth’s own experiences and wisdom gained in her exploration in “Creative Living Beyond Fear”.

I love her incredible persistence and beautiful dedication to living a creative life. Her words speak to a part in me that has wanted to give myself this permission for a very long time. The book has found it’s way to me at the perfect time of my life where many things are shifting, as the slow process of birthing my crone Self is unfolding. Creativity is one of the vehicles for me to fully express this journey and all the hidden gems inside of me. It is time for me to shed old beliefs and habits, just as fir and pine are shedding their dead needles.

I love Elizbeth’s frank words that cut through the old voices, expectations and fears. A feeling of aliveness is spreading through my body as my whole being comes alive when I break through the walls and follow that wild call into unknown territory. Just imagining the freedom to explore and create without any fears or holding back gives me tingles. Creativity, when it flows, is so exciting.

Lately on my walks the wild has been calling me to step off the known path and explore the places beyond the familiar. I discovered beautiful new bluffs as I scrambled up and down the coastline and through the forest following an inner voice and inner knowing. Often feeling lost but somehow trusting and each time surprised where it took me and how much this wild beauty touched my heart.

This little red Arbutus berry found in a nest of white lichen on one of those excursions seems such a vibrant symbol of what can be discovered when we step out of the known.

The red pearl is the beautiful seed from this magnificent coastal tree who sheds it’s bark to stand naked and vulnerable as the wind blows away all which is not true. For me the red pearl symbolizes what is waiting to be discovered both on the inside and outside. It is a symbol of hope and renewal and choosing to live a life of vibrant aliveness. It is the seed of creativity that is waiting for each of us to give it our full attention and unique expression.

As a young bald eagle glides effortlessly in a spiral over Reflection Cove, there is so much to be grateful for: the power of the wind, beauty, creativity, life and the “Big Magic” contained in one red pearl and in each of us.