If you’re wondering where the photos at the top of this website are from, they have all been taken during my daily walks with my dog Bodhi. We’ve hardly missed a day to spend time outdoors in some way. He needs it, and so do I. We savour the air, the movement, all of the expressions of life and landscape, and the beauty of sounds… If my to-do list gets too long, it seems to overlap with this much needed practice, so I try not to take on too much, since our walks are so important.
There is something about ‘Nature’ that reminds us of ourselves in a deeper way.
It’s easy to miss that this might be happening, as we might “chalk it up” to fresh air and beautiful surroundings, but something more profound might be at play. At this very moment, no matter how busy we may be… there is an aspect of ourselves that is as still as the trees and the rocks. No matter how technologically advanced we are, there is an aspect of ourselves right here and now that is as old and forever as the ancestors of the dragonflies.
While we go about our daily lives, we do so with the aspect of ourselves that is always Just Here. A quiet presence in which everything, including our busy minds arises in. I was shocked and relieved when I realized that in reality, I had never ever missed a thing. I was always here, even when my mind wasn’t. That part, that’s the part that is reflected in the trees. That’s the part of ourselves we can see looking out over the ocean with its seeming infinity of wavelike beauty. This aspect of ourselves connects and sees itself in and as the vast, open, accommodating sky.
At first glance, we may just feel good when we immerse ourselves in what we find beautiful. With prolonged appreciation and openness, we can find our true self in it.
This is where the photos come from. I hope you enjoy. Do you see yourself in the beauty of the world around you? If this is new to you, would you be willing to try?
Love, Mandee