Eyes & Beauty

"If eyes were made for seeing, then beauty is its own excuse for being." Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), USA

This is Spouting Horn on the island of Kuaui. It's a beautiful spot and these picture shows a little different perspective than what you'd usually see. As is often the case with nature photography, particularly seascapes, I don't think you could ever get two pictures alike at this location. The waves are constantly changing & the horn spouts indiscremently and unpredictably. In situations like this, you have to focus and shoot right before you think the water is going to shoot up; otherwise you won't get the shot. Nature photography can be challenging but, in my opinion, it's definitely worth the time and effort.

Beauty of the Sea

"I asked the earth, I asked the sea and the deeps, among the living animals, the things that creep. I asked the winds that blow, I asked the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars and all the things that stand at the doors of my flesh ....

My question was the gaze I turned to them

Their answer was their beauty."

St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430), North Africa

The beauty of the sea is boundless. When we were in Hawaii recently, I could have spent days just gazing at the sea, each wave being different from the one before. Whether or not I took pictures was irrelevant, because it was the beauty of the sea that was important. I did, however, take as many pictures as I could, because I wanted to document the beauty & share it with those who weren't there to experience it.

Which Wolf Will Win?

A Native American was talking to his grandson about how he felt.

He said,

"I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart.

One wolf is the vengeful, angry, violent one.

The other wolf is the loving, compassionate one."

The grandson asked him,

"Which wolf will win the fight in your heart?"

The grandfather answered,

"The one I feed."

Native American parable

Isn't this true with all of us? We have two sides - one which wants to do good and serve humanity and the other which is self-serving and maybe a little bad (dare I say evil). We can choose which force to listen to and control which personality wins out. The future success of our great country depends on those who listen to their "good side". So, feed your good wolf & let the bad wolf starve.

Control

"Not to have control over the senses is like sailing in a rudderless ship, bound to break to pieces on coming in contact with the very first rock." Mahatma Gandi (1869-1948) India

Calmness or chaos is something you can control. Take control of your life today & improve your chances for achieving success.

The Strength of Water

"Nothing in the world is more flexible than water. Yet when it attacks the firm and the strong, none can withstand it, because they have no way to change it. So the flexible overcome the adamant, the yielding overcome the forceful. Everyone knows this, but no one can do it."Lao Tzu (c.604 - c.53/BCE), from the Tao Te Ching, China

Have you ever tried walking across a river? My husband's a fly fisherman and, a few years ago, he decided that we needed to cross the Madison River, in Yellowstone, so we could fish & picnic on the other side. So, we both started out with our walking staffs, hoping they would tame the wild water & allow us to cross. My knuckles were white, not only from hanging onto the walking stick, but from fear as we made our way carefully across the river. There were many times when I thought I was going to fall, be rushed downstream & slammed into a large rock. Lukily, although the water was powerful, it wasn't deep, so we did make it across, but I have a very healthy respect for rushing water & hope to avoid crossing another river. I'll just fish & picnic on the "safe" side of the river.

Have you tried paddling out to catch a wave when the surf is coming in? Have you tried swimming

against the tide? Water is stronger than we are. We cannot conquer it. We may be able to channel its' strength at times but, when it comes right down to it, we have to change our actions in order to work with.

Remember the Reason

I was watching Sunday Morning a few minutes ago as Ben Stein did a tribute to Independence Day. His message was that our founding fathers developed a document in 1776, The Declaration of Independence, which epitomized the aspirations of the human heart - freedom and diginity.

We should all remember the reason for this holiday as we have our picnics, light our fireworks and gather with family and friends. Many people have died, and are dying, to protect the freedoms that we have today. I hope you'll join me in giving thanks to God, and to the brave men and women who are, and who have been, fighting for the freedoms we have today, and pray that we never lose the freedoms that we treasure.

I wish you all a safe and happy 4th of July.

The Moods of the Sea

"I have seen the sea when it is stormy and wild, when it is quiet and serene, when it is dark and moody. And, in all its' moods, I see myself." Martin Buxbaum (1912-1991), USA

I thought this was a nice quote. If you think about it, the sea does seem to have moods, just as we do. If you follow that form of reasoning, though, I guess that means that Mother Nature has moods too. Sometimes she's calm & easy to be around and other times, you just want to hide from her. Do you know anyone who's like that - easy to be around some days & terrible on others? Interesting analogy.