The Irony and the Ecstasy of Still Water Time

I took a photograph of this egret on a glorious day in Point Lobos. One of those days that a mysterious combination of the Divine and Nature reveals a magnificent sense of well being. A sense of well being that comes from the Still Water Time in my life.

A Still Water Time defines our inward journey when it becomes the dominant energy in our lives. It is the settling place for the emotional waters brought forth by a junction in our spiritual journey that demands all the tools we have acquired so far to re-evaluate, redress, discard and acquire the necessary new tools for the next part of our journey. Still Water Time is the culmination of our darkest hours transformed into the realization, that it was , in reality, one of our shining moments.

I reflect upon my own Still Water Time. And, like the Egret that stands still and eats his prey whole, in a similar way I receive whatever life offers me, wholeheartedly. The major difference between the Egret and my self is that his still waters is a constant offering or denial to his survival. His survival imprint is simple and direct, the rules are encoded in his DNA and the relationship between the Egret and the water is predetermined.

My Still Water Time rules are not imprinted in my DNA. In order for me to recognize a Still Water Time, I know I have to allow it the space and time for the spirit within to stretch. I usually have to get there by forcing it through avoidance and ignoring the restless spiritual nudges within me. I read somewhere that in those times when I judge my self most harshly and I feel I have let my self down are the moments that enrich my spirit the most.

I look at the photo and step into the place of the Egret, taking a zen like stance and staring into the stillness, allowing Paul Russell's words wash over me as the stillness flutters and settles itself around me:

" I realize that meditation was not about chasing states of consciousness or
following a path but about letting go of the path, it's a long journey to realize
there's no path."

In the end, someone or something will throw a pebble or two in those still waters, causing circles to widen and disappear. That is the irony and ecstasy of a Still Water Time.

Sophia Michele Cusimano

This was the full moon in all its glory which appeared on August 6, 2009. It is a fertile and shining light beamed upon a certain womb containing the power of eons of feminine secrets and mysteries, beckoning her guest's arrival a week early. The August Moon has always held a magical and meaningful hold on me and now I know why . It is the Summer Moon pregnant with life's profusion of her gardens, sea shores, and playful spirits, and raised above it all, in its purest meaning of joy filled delight, a baby girl named Sophia Michele.

Slipping in on a beam, Sophia Michele heard the call of this Full Moon and began her entry . Its details are a deluge of words, phrases, linked thoughts, rushing streams of adrenaline, anticipation, excitement, disbelief, apprehension, all flowing onto an invisible warm blanket of love ready to be wrapped unconditionally. Strangers met with a common genetic code melded into the DNA of Sophia and became guardians of our common love for our son and daughter, the soon parents to be.

Two mothers witnessed their babies having babies. Alethea's mother being lovingly vigilant of her daughter's discomfort and progress. My witnessing the unfolding of my son, Nick, a man in love, as a full partner overseeing his wife's comfort and making sure she had what she needed. I saw a man intuitive to his wife's pain when he looked into her eyes and let her know he was there for her. Two mothers, strangers until then, bonded over their concern for each child of hers.

Two fathers, each showing their love and support in their own way. Alethea's father sat until midnight and came back the next day for her birth. Nick's Dad cooked his special Italian breaded chicken and pasta salad for all of us waiting in the birthing room. That was his way to show his love. He came to welcome Sophia when she was born.

Witnessing Sophia Michele's entrance onto her stage of life is witnessing every generation that flows through her veins going back to the very beginning of all our being. The very beginning unknown of its identification but carried in her blood pumping through a brand new heart. The miracle within the miracle beyond all miracles. That is the organic nature of progeny.

And so I am now a grandmother for the first time. My feet carry a lighter step. I hear a tune in my head over and over and it makes me giggle at 57. The tune is from West Side Story, " The most beautiful sound I have ever heard." Sophia, Sophia, I just met a baby named Sophia ..."and suddenly I found how wonderful a sound can be..say it loud and there's music playing..." . I recall reading somewhere of becoming aware of the heart space within and the song that emanates from it. My heart space has expanded beyond space and time!

Sophia Michele, you have captured my heart completely and irrevocably. An abundance of gratitude surrounds me, rich with the healing powers of reconciliation, unconditional love and revealing mystery of life.

The Art Of Life is A Little to the Left

Fluid blue of water. Music notes reveal their melodious messages . The verdant green lies amidst a few bent Pussy Willows. A limp bird, wings listless at its side, becomes one with the image of the lady of the water against the colors of yellow and orange.

When I create a collage, I let the messenger within articulate the state of my inner landscape without censorship. In this landscape I melded into the background the colors of orange and yellow.

Warm, energetic, flamboyant orange is about change and transition. You find orange in the changing leaves of fall, the exposure and the intimate burst of skin revealing the meat of citrus fruit. It is the glorious transitional mediator between the heat of summer and the cool of winter. In this collage an inner voice guided the voice within to communicate transition and a bridge between two opposing natures.

Happy, cheerful, hope filled yellow often is associated with sunshine and happy daffodils . A source of warm, bright, and intoxicating rays of awareness. Contrary yellow is present ; on the one hand it denotes happiness and joy and on the other it denotes cowardice and deceit. It warns us with its high visibility used in hazard signs and emergency vehicles. In the color world of duality it works best as a companion to other colors. Mellow Yellow.

Why did this collage become a message of, "The art of life is A little to the left"? Life imitates collage. The collage relays the existence of duality and our desire for oneness or harmony. Present is a a feeling of life's equanimity. Happiness and sadness; judgment and non-judgment; love and hate, once poured into a body of water, they become indistinguishable. What is evident is what has flourished from its life experience. Like the limp bird we must often bend into a space where any loss, betrayal, or hurt can soften itself into another form of life. Dealing with life's challenges and heart breaks is the foundation of what will make the inner heart of lightness , life's art, a little off balance, a little to the left .
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(After reading , click on the link below, close your eyes and allow your inner landscape speak to you in whatever images or words it translates itself to you. )

Faure: Pavane for Clarinet Ensemble

Source: www.youtube.com

Empire Reeds Clarinet Ensemble play Faure's Pavane at Kaohsiung in Taiwan on 31th January, 2007.