Monday 21 May 2012

Contrasts and Textures...

I took this photograph on Agate beach in Northern California in 2009. It was an unlikely moment as the sea washed back to reveal a seabird's feather amongst stones.




And, just as such unusual sightings reveal the most unexpected beauty in unexpected places, so too, this last week has been a celebration of friends and company at such a transitional time for us all.


These last few days and weeks here in the UK are an opportunity for us to give thanks to all of our friends who have accompanied us on our journey so far... and to give thanks to all the changes that will come, with gratitude.


Two days ago I watched a pair of tadpoles flit about in the pond, not knowing if they would  grow or reach maturity...and today, I saw a baby blackbird fly for the first time to sit, by the pond, as if surprised by its own reflection. 


Nicholas


I know...I know...I don't tend to follow Nicholas' lead with the blog, but tonight the photos from Agate Beach were still open when I began to write and this image caught my eye...and my spirit...




These are the pieces of redwood, agate, basalt and granite that I spent hours searching for three years ago this autumn. They are the pieces I tucked in my shoes and socks and then into my suitcase on my return from San Francisco to London and now...they are the remnants that shall return to our hillside home in Dryden.


It is of interest to me that they look a lot like my treasures from Iona. 


It is of interest to me that I look for strong pieces of the natural world that have weathered storms and the assault of ages. I seek them out. They remind me that this is life, this beauty that is only possible with fully experiencing the sometimes painful process that is the oddly packaged gift of a life lived with abandon.


In seeing the uniqueness of an aged and distressed stone or piece of driftwood, I am reminded that the imprint of a life is, more often that not, formed by the most difficult and challenging moments.


Judy

No comments:

Post a Comment