Ever since I’ve had a choice, I’ve lived in the wild. My body, tethered to a mind that wanders, needs constant affirmation of its place in the earthly scheme of things. Without this physical contact, my spirit years too much for that nameless home in the sea of pure consciousness. When I feel like a spring onion bobbing about in primordial soup, earth grounds me to this precious life.
Perhaps the grace in drawing breath is the rare gift of knowing I can be, for a time, differentiated into I. What joy in perceiving the miracle of Other – this dance of light and darkness, variety, color and form! The divine drops into matter to experience itself in a sentient universe, and how thrilling to realize I already have a part in the play!
That I might remember this with every breath, earth herself virtually assures. But the mind grows bored and restless, forgetting and distracting in endless repetition. Thus I choose to live where it’s easier not to overlook the miraculous embedded in the mundane, in a place so beautiful that, should my head stray too far, I can actually hear my heart ticking off minutes of mortality, bringing me back to what is essential in the splendor of sea and sky, in wind rustling branches and hissing through grasses.
If I listen very carefully, I can even hear grains of soil separating themselves, and I experience the alchemy of temporality to my borrowed bones. I know what is real and what is merely a figment of my forgetfulness.
Beautiful country
Yes, indeedy!
“A figment of my forgetfulness?” I would like to borrow that line, if you don’t mind. I love it!
Ha-ha Ronnie, you can quote me anytime! 😉 That line just popped out – glad it caught your eye.
Beautiful country indeed. To be able to see miracles in mundanities is a gift! Do not let go of it! Or that gorgeous tree.
Thanks, Priya! And yes, thankfully my vision and insight have redeemed me in this sometimes-confusing life. Nature is such a balm for me. Take care, little mother!
I too, think the miracles lie in the mundane. Thanks 🙂
I just know you do, VivianLea. Thanks for affirming it 😉
Hi Bela,
Your pictures for once have matched your powerful word images. As I read your post, I get this feeling that as we reach out to mother Earth and notice its treasures for our body and soul, we also gain an insight to delve deeper into our own minds. Does this have something to do with the primal connection we have with our environment? An aspect we have increasingly got divorced from as we get more and more into the cocoon created by the increasing artificiality of our lives and circumstances.
Loved the post, Bela, at once so dreamy and real.
Shakti
As always Shakti, I truly enjoy your perspective and comments. Thank you. I certainly believe our *bodies* have a primal connection with our physical environs as they are what we don when we enter this life and shed when we leave. Living so much in our heads in this technological world, we forget this, perhaps at our peril, for bodies are getting sicker and minds are becoming increasingly confused. It helps me to live close to nature’s bones where I cannot feel separate from them no matter how cerebral or ethereal I might, at times, become. And I agree that recognizing the gifts earth offers prompts me, in any event, to delve deeper into my mind to discover adequate words to express the feelings that arise. At the same time, I thank whatever Force infuses all of Creation with magic; thus my body, mind and spirit fall into alignment.
Your words and pictures just took me to another planet, Bela. Beautiful. These words and pictures just tell the importance of “pause” in that restless life we are all living. I too love to spend time with the nature, appreciating its each offerings. But somehow I find it difficult to balance between what I need to do and what I enjoy doing. Loved this post, Bela. Beautiful work!
Arindam, I’m glad you are aware of this dichotomy while still young. It will serve you well to bear it in mind as you age and grow. Nature is such an amazing healer! In fact, its importance in our collective healing is becoming more and more apparent.
Cheers, and thanks for coming by and for your kind and thoughtful words!