Making Ourselves Anew
How shall we reinvent ourselves when life’s troubles surround and engulf us?
Splash in a wild mountain stream, caress your soul beneath the stars on a desert plateau, wander amongst the aspen with the wind drifting among the leaves golden and fluttering, search for the flitting yellow swallowtail butterflies in meadows lush,
and behold the setting sun across the water.
The glow of wild places inspires profoundly.
Bridal Veil Fall in Yosemite, California
September cools the Colorado Rockies and with the daytime temperatures and nighttime breezes, the aspen also. When autumn dresses the slopes in all her full regalia, the delicate aspen leaves, ceaselessly kissed by the breeze, shimmer like so many fluttering tints of gold. The forest floor receives the aspen leaves, one by one, arranging a carpet of gold that transforms the path we walk.
Near Aspen, Colorado
Our immortal souls search amid the aspen and the path beneath them in holy embrace, for those elements that transform. Nature teaches us to consider that change is frequent and inevitable. A change in life’s circumstances reminds us, like the cool temperatures of autumn nights among the aspen, of those places in the soul waiting to be manifest. Like the genetic code that turns the autumn aspen gold, we carry in our souls an arrangement of maturation that unfolds at moments when soul growth is most needed. When we grow, the soul glows brighter. When the soul glows brighter, we grow in our awareness of who we are. As we become more aware of who we are, our path shines brighter.
The Meadow in Yosemite, California
Trying to catch a butterfly is like trying to catch the wind or trying to catch the notes of a song. Some things in life can only be grasped by knowing the rhythm or pattern that lies at the heart or essence of the experience. So much of our fast paced world consists of emblazoning upon our minds images from one screen or another in often seemingly disconnected threads of experience, hoping enough of it will stick to make sense of the world. Mother Nature, however, is dancing to a different drumbeat: in the wild we are swept along in a plethora of related images, experiences that collectively define her essence. The dance of a butterfly caught my eye one springtime in the meadow across the valley from Yosemite Falls. A feast of milkweed was attracting the yellow swallowtails who alighted there. The day was warm, and the sun was bright. Cheerful breezes played among the butterflies, the photographers, waving meadow grasses, and two deer who were making their way to the river. A clean hum of springtime insects played in the background. The dance of the butterflies was playing in the meadow accompanied by a choreography conducted by the whims of the breeze. A vast chorus of chirping insects, the rush that ushered from the voice of the river singing the last notes of the thundering falls, the feathering whisper of leaves in the breeze, and a faint and endless drumbeat of the waterfalls in the distance played the music for the dance. If you want to capture butterflies, see and hear and feel the whole ballet.
The Meadow in Yosemite, California
Once upon a mountain magic we bared our toes and plunged them into a stream near our campsite. The icy snowmelt wicked away all semblance of feeling in short order. Still we waded deeper, exhilarated, refreshed, joyous. When we had had our fill, we clambered about the smooth pebbles and flung ourselves upon the sand, ecstatic. Our reddened toes notwithstanding, we were obliged to laugh at ourselves. Nature challenges us. We weather her extremes, climb a mountain because it is there, challenge our minds to find ways to outwit her, rub shoulders and feet and hands with places out of our comfort zone, spare no effort or expense recreating in ways that imperil our bodies and sometimes our lives, and given the chance to do it all over again, we say yes! Reinventing ourselves means trying something we have not done before, going a step beyond ourselves. Going into the wild makes us look first at our environment and then at ourselves with new eyes.
Oahu, north shore, Hawaii
I never tire of photographing sunsets. And sunsets over water are my favorite. No two sunsets are alike. So too, sunsets over water. The changing light in the sky is mirrored by changes dancing upon the waves and shore. Silver skies beget silvered waters, and the deepening of reds, crimson, and gold in the sky sends these hues upon the water. Sunset mesmerizes, beckons, and inspires us. It deepens our connection with nature, with the cycle of the day, with the cycle of seasons. It reminds us of how profoundly beautiful our world can be. Sunsets end each day and help us let go of each day’s trials. Today may have been difficult, but then something beautiful showed up: perhaps tomorrow will be better. The gateway to hope, a sunset is nature’s gift inspiring hope.
Beneath the starry skies of the Modoc Plateau, we are treated to the quiet passage of our Milky Way on its nightly path from nightfall to dawn. We are greeted by an incomprehensible number of stars, a humbling reminder of our smallness in the bigger picture. We are reminded time and again that we are but a part of something much greater than ourselves. We are also given a gift: we touch the eternal. So when the troubles of everyday life overwhelm us, the stars of heaven remind us that our troubles are ephemeral while our touchstone is eternal. When we need to reinvent ourselves, the stars remind us that real change is found in the soul, the eternal part of ourselves. Looking up at the dome of the heavens on a high plateau, where stars extend from one horizon to another, ignites a passionate search in the depths of the soul among its treasures for perspective, a greater wisdom, a longing, grace, and what matters most. We are cradled at these moments in astounding joy!
The northern end of the Milky Way, from Likely, California on the Modoc Plateau
have you explored what makes you anew?
Where are you most inspired? What helps you reinvent yourself? What puts you most in touch with your soul? When was the last time you saw the stars?
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