Reflections

"Look at your feet. You are standing in the sky.

When we think of the sky we tend to look up,

 but the sky actually begins at the earth. "

(Diane Ackerman)

Sanctuary

I've renamed my webjournal today. Since I am now rarely able to follow many 'off the beaten paths' out-of-doors due to my ongoing illness and treatments, this change reflects much more than a moniker for this journal.  For years my domain name was 'dances with moths', and my deepest hope is that someday in the future I will once again have the ability to take my camera gear out into the darknes(Click for largers of night and spend time with those magical insects, as I've always been a creature of the night myself.  Not for recognition or any personal gain (even though the moth guide project that I was approached to take part in with a well known publisher would most certainly help offset the enormous costs of medical care) but it was something I did that gave me much joy and personal satisfaction. I've always been so deeply curious about the natural world and that fascination for all things wild is still very much alive and well.  But for now, that is just one of my many goals. This change certainly does not imply I've given up on participating in the many things I was once able to do just a short time ago, when I could explore the wilderness at will; rather I've come to a certain level of acceptance of how very much my life has been altered on every level over the past few years. That acceptance has often been a very hard pill to swallow, and relating that inner struggle to others is so very out of the realm of any written words, that I have simply stopped trying to find those words - words that would hold very little meaning or much understanding for anyone not travelling a simliar journey. 

I read a quote today that I found very profound-

 'To seek approval is to have no resting place, no sanctuary. Like all judgment, approval encourages a constant striving. It makes us uncertain of who we are and of our true value. Approval cannot be trusted. It can be withdrawn at any time no matter what our track record has been. It is as nourishing of real growth as cotton candy. Yet many of us spend our lives pursuing it.' (Rachel Naomi Remen)

So this journal has indeed evolved from a space where I once shared day to day thoughts and images, discoveries and personal experiences into one that has now become a refuge of sorts. A resting place where very few words are needed.  A quiet and healing reflecting pool.  A sanctuary.

Namaste.

Rites of Passage

waxing crescent moon

soft hoots from a distant tree

owls claiming the night

Adornments

I like to walk about among the beautiful things that adorn the world.(Click for larger image)

(George Santayana)

In Good Company

You ask of my companions.

(Click for larger image)

Hills, sir, and the sundown, and a dog as large as myself that my father bought me. 

They are better than human beings, because they know but do not tell. 

(Emily Dickinson )