The Inevitability of Spring

Spring never happens in a straight line.

It begins, but inevitably, at some point, there is a step back.

In that moment, the world dozes off for a while.

This is pause without defeat. 

An inbreath. 

Year after year, nature always finds her way to spring.

Regardless of how many steps back she encounters along the way.

Spring will not be denied.

It persists and it will always win.

Every year. 

No matter how deep the spring snow. 

In a world of flux and change and shifting ground, spring is inevitable.

And it will never let you down.
You can rely on it.

The Meditation of Blue

Blue is the language of the sky. 

Blue is what waits for us, on the other side of clouds.

Quiet. Peace. Endless expanse.

All you need to do is look up. 

The Planet Speaks

This begins with a question:

if the planet we live on had something to tell us....how would she say it?

Spring has a voice: the sound of birdsong, the colour green that erupts from every crevice.

But what if the planet herself had something to say.

Something she wanted us to hear. 

How would she say it?

It is a large leap of imagination to imagine that the virus we are currently facing could be the planet trying to tell us something. 

What if, instead of reacting in fear, we just pause for a moment and listen:

Here are some ideas of what she might be trying to say:

Slow down.

Turn inward.

Focus on what is really important: your health, your community, your loved ones. 

Your mental well being and creativity are sacrosanct.

Reprioritize your life based on these things.

Put other people's safety ahead of your frivilous enjoyment.

Care for your vulnerable.

Protect your weak.

Your own basic needs are simple: food, water, shelter. 

Tend to those and then open yourself to the vast richness of time and space:

Let your mind free to take you to new and unknown places.

Tap into the depth of who you are and what you can do.

Imagine, if only for a moment, that the planet we live on allows our continuance because she wants us here. That she works diligently to maintain the necessary balances to support our life and the continuance of our species. 

What if she has our best interests at heart?
Always.

It's worth imagining. 

TheTenacity of Roots

The things that hold us firm.

The things that ground us.

That sustain and feed us. 

When everything else falls away.

And even when they are pulled up from the soil

They are the things we return to.

Again and again. 

Adaptation

You don't have to go very far in nature to see examples of how it adapts.

Things change and accomodations are made. 

We can't always see what was being accomodated, but what we can see is that nature is fluid:

willing to stop, change direction, work around and continue.

When things break in nature they don't get discarded. 

They often get repurposed or become homes for other things, but they remain.

The cracks and twists tell their own story.

There is an inherent beauty in these ravages. 

The Individuality of Trees

Trees are a tribe.

A collection of individuals connected through their roots.

Living side by side through the seasons. Weathering all manner of storms.

Their legacy is air, food, shade and shelter. 

Their bark is like skin: weathered, worn, individual.

Most trees are scarred and torn. Their branches are often twisted and pulled.

They resist perfection. 

And yet, each one is perfect. 

No two are alike.

I find myself wanting to know their stories. 

Their history. It is written in the texture of their bark, but I do not yet know the language of trees.

All of these trees co-exist quietly together in the same forest.

We have a lot to learn from trees.

The Lanuguage of Spring

Spring speaks by the breaking of ice.

And through the colour green.

And puddles. So many puddles. 

Thought

"To perceive the world is also to perceive the world perceiving you"

I wonder how mushrooms view the world?

Meditation

I am starting to prepare work on a new series.
This series will be about nature: her language, our perceptions, making connections.
In this early stage I am researching different ways to connect with nature.  Nature meditations.
I believe there must be a thousand ways to meditate....

This morning I walked into the forest with my camera. The ground is still covered with a thick layer of crunching snow so it gives the feeling of walking above the earth. I went in with a question: what do you want me to see?

Here were the answers she gave:

light

shadow

fragility

interconnection

curves

how things hang upon other things

simplicity

context

edges and texture

layers

the beginning of change

Not pictured here: an animal passed by just barely in my sight. It looked like a cat....a large cat. I had no idea that anything cat like passed through this forest. Mystery.