Ripples of Light

 

Ripples of Light, Lanikai Beach, HI, May 2020, iPhone 11 Pro © Steven Crisp

Take a moment to watch the video above, it’s less than 2 minutes long

This video gives you a glimpse
of how the Earth and its Oceans and Islands are made
Indeed, how the Cosmos itself was formed
And what makes up the some-body each of us think we are

And what do you see?
Ripples of Light - on the surface
Vibrations of Waves - on the ocean
Undulations of Quanta - on the sandy bottom

It also gives you a glimpse, and a metaphor, if you will
for the interplay of the Cosmos and of Life itself
The manifest dynamic pattern is an unfathomable Wholeness
And no part can be isolated for ease of analysis or exploitation

This is the Wisdom we need at this time — Right Now
To recognize and explicitly value our dependance on this One Earth
And to see our neighbor, and even our so-called enemy, as ourself
Made of the same stuff, we are kith and kin; we're all in this together

There is more, of course, once you begin to see these Ripples of Light
You start noticing them everywhere ... Seeing the shadow dances
Feeling your subtle body sensations as they come and go, 
Watch them simply arise and then pass; this is the Life process itself

All of this is impermanent, is transitory, except, perhaps, 
the awareness that is aware of these “sense”-sations
Science has yet to find the ultimate building blocks of Nature
But many before us have lit candles in this darkness

The common instruction of this exploration is to look within
Hold that candle of awareness, and look deeply into all
that you might think “you” are, and see, that you are not that
No unchanging “self” can be found; nothing fixed anywhere

It may seem unsettling at first, but actually it is such a relief
To be able to drop one’s opinions and beliefs, and replace them 
with curiosity and awe and not-knowing — it’s so liberating
to simply live Life, as it Unfolds, in this Moment, Here and Now

Day 41: Black and blue

Black and Blue, Disney World, Orlando, FL,  March 2008,

Nikon D40, 35mm focal length equiv. 46mm, Exposure 1/125 sec @ f4.5, ISO 200, no flash, exposure bias -2/3,

post-processed in iPhoto, © Steven Crisp [Click on the photo to enlarge]

Well, I've pretty much recovered from my running accident in Tel Aviv.  Cuts have healed and bruises are gone.  The human body is truly a thing of wonder.

So let's re-interpret "black and blue" to a different meaning -- in this case, the play of light on the geodesic dome at Disney World.  I just love the "texture" of that dome, and how the light turns all different shades depending on the angle of the reflective surface.

How many surfaces do you expose?  Will you react differently to the same information coming at you, depending perhaps, on your mood?  Or the situation?  Or what you had for breakfast?

Just goes to show, like the light from above, a thing is neither good nor bad, except in how we view it.  That judgment lies entirely within us.  And it is our choice on what color we will see.  If you don't like what you are seeing, try putting a different "face" forward to the world.

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." -- Shakespeare, Hamlet

• Donation:  Australia Red Cross, for clean water, as being raised by this amazing endurance athelete, running from the North Pole to the South Pole in less than a year (which means the equivalent of two marathons per day, every day -- ouch!)
• Exercise:  TBD

Heavenly Light

Heavenly Light, Inyo Mountains, CA, August 2007, Nikon D40 with 18-200mm VR lens, Focal length 26mm, Exposure 1/30 sec @ f22, ISO 500, no flash, circular polarizing filter © Steven Crisp [Click on the photo to enlarge]

We completed our summer vacation this week. We visited my brother-in-law in Los Angeles, who took us camping up in the Ancient Bristle Cone Pine forest located in the White Mountains of California. It was a great trip, with many, many photos taken, and some great hiking to some very remote areas. After I go through them all, I’m sure more will show up here.

In the meantime, while driving back to LA, I noticed this pillar of light out the window and snapped a photo from his moving truck. And it made me think of this inspirational poem by the 12th century Sufi mystic, Rumi. I hope you enjoy his words along with this photo. Namaste.

Looking For Your Face, by Jelauddin Rumi

From the beginning of my life
I have been looking for your face
but today I have seen it.

Today I have seen
the charm, the beauty,
the unfathomable grace
of the face
that I was looking for.

Today I have found you
and those that laughed
and scorned me yesterday
are sorry that they were not looking
as I did.

I am bewildered by the magnificence
of your beauty
and wish to see you with a hundred eyes.

My heart has burned with passion
and has searched forever
for this wondrous beauty
that I now behold.

I am ashamed
to call this love human
and afraid of God
to call it divine.

Your fragrant breath
like the morning breeze
has come to the stillness of the garden
You have breathed new life into me
I have become your sunshine
and also your shadow.

My soul is screaming in ecstasy
Every fiber of my being
is in love with you

Your effulgence
has lit a fire in my heart
and you have made radiant
for me
the earth and sky.

My arrow of love
has arrived at the target
I am in the house of mercy
and my heart
is a place of prayer.