The Circle of Life

"Bringing to light what is right in the world" has been my motto for a while now, however, more and more often lately I've been allowing myself to get sucked into the turmoil that is going on in the world around us.  Every day it seems there is more to be concerned about, and it has begun to take a toll on my sense of well being.

I choose not to allow that to continue.

Once again I turned to my camera.  When I am open the Universe really can offer messages of well being through my lens.  If I can pull my focus in to just what is in front of me, which is all anyone can deal with at one time, then I do get to see the beauty and the balance.  Just like the four seasons except on a much larger scale, there is a period of new growth, maturity, gradual decline, then decay.  Some might say our society is in decay, but that isn't necessarily good or bad, it is just balance.  The decay then nourishes the new growth; that is the circle of life.

I choose to look for the signs of spring.

Spring bulbs.  So welcome!

The full flush of summer.  Butterflies and bees on wildflowers.

The glorious saturated colours of the late fall.

A dusting of snow heralds a winter's morning.

I'm  linking this to ABC Wednesday.  Please follow the link to more fun explorations of the letter 'C'.

Rare Experiences and Rapid Repairs

"Bringing to light what's right in the world" is the feeling that has inspired the creation of this blog.

Today those rays of light shone brightly in an unexpected area: Ultimate Motors in Yucca Valley! 

I am new here, and my older car, while usually very reliable, began reminding me it needed some attention to the radiator.  Knowing word of mouth is the best advertisement I canvased anyone I came across who's car, er, appeared to have long out lived it's manufacturer's warranty, and asked where they had it serviced.  The same name kept coming up so when my Camry started running a little too hot I gave Ultimate Motors a call.

I now have a new radiator and I'm radiantly happy and, no, it's not because I have money to throw away.  Nope, something a whole lot better. I had the rare luxury of a pleasant experience at an auto repair shop.  Those boys diagnosed the problem, gave me a reasonable estimate, and then....drum roll, please ... fixed another problem I'd not noticed, completed the work more rapidly than they'd anticipated and came in under the estimate!!

Yes, there is always some good to be found in this world and if I can spread it I will. 

Roxy is relieved to have her ride back.

I'm linking this to ABC Wednesday.
Follow the link to more R's.

Switching Trees

 "it's an ill wind that blows nobody good"

I've always prided myself on having loyalty and integrity.  It seems lately, though, I've really had to reconsider exactly what loyalty means to me. 

Being loyal to my family, my friends and my place of employment are codes of conduct I've embraced all my life.  Lately it has been dawning on my that perhaps I've been leaving out a very important part of the equation:  Loyalty to myself, my own inner promptings.

As I've been mulling over a situation in my life of late I have really made me aware of the contradictions in my belief system.  I was being challenged whether I was going to go with the conditioning of the tribe or the urgings of my heart - loyalty to the tribe or try something different.

Quite appropriately we've had a huge windstorm here a couple of days ago and it seemed my inner turmoil was matched only by the outer turmoil, and when the wind finally settled the answer came, as it usually does, from the World, through my Lens.

 Palm Springs Library taking a hit.

I drove around the neighbourhood, being re-routed on several occasions, noticing all those beautiful trees that had been blown down by the 70mph winds. Strong, robust, seemingly invincible eucalyptus, the aromatic pines and the luxurious English evergreens laying on their sides a-waiting the chainsaws.  The tall slender palms, however, had swayed their way through the worst of the winds and were still standing.

There was my answer.  I can stand strong and rigid in the face of adversity, like I've always done, and risk getting face planted like those trees, or try something different.  How about I stay grounded and be flexible to the breezes of life just like those palms?


Linking to:
ABC Wednesday - 'B' is for Blow, Breeze, Beautiful
 Nature Notes

Angel on the Mountain

On the west end of California's  Coachella Valley, gracing the steep slopes of Mount San Jacinto above Palm Springs, is the unique rock formation known as the Angel on the Mountain.  It is visible, when you know where to look, of course, from a great distance and adds credence to the belief of many that the Coachella Valley is a sacred and spiritual area.

Even the name, Coachella, has some spiritual history behind it.  Some believe the word is derived from the Spanish word, caracola, meaning conch shell.  After all, many years ago the valley was at the bottom of the Salton Sea and as the water receded conch shells were exposed.  Others believe the word predates the Spanish Explorers and is, in fact, an Indian word meaning hand of God.

No-one knows who first noticed the Angel, though I imagine the original inhabitants, the Cahuilla Indians, were aware of it, and the Spanish Explorers also.  At the turn of the twentieth century white settlers to the area were building their dwellings facing the Angel.  Perhaps for good reason as the Coachella Valley is also well known for have the infamous San Andreas Fault-line running the length of the valley.  Now that is a story for another day.

The stone formation of the angel with it's wings spread out it directly above the word 'Angel'.

I've added a closer up view.  Unfortunately the pictures aren't of the quality I'd like as the mountain is huge and my lens only moderate, so I've had to crop quite aggressively to be able to see the figure.

The figure is to the left of the word this time.

I'm linking this to ABC Wednesday.  Please click on the link to see more interesting ABC's.

And Nature Notes at Rambling Woods.  Happy blog birthday, Michelle!  Keep on blogging, I love what you have to say.

Gratitude in Little Ways

I recently saw this quote on a placard in a gift store and it has really stuck with me:


"What if you woke up in the morning and only had what you were grateful for yesterday"

That got me thinking in depth for a long time.  A lot of the most influential teachers of our time having been hammering the gratitude concept for a long time now.  Louise Hay and Oprah are two household names who really believe in being grateful for even the smallest things, and the quote above reminded me how deep gratitude can go. I have so much to be grateful for even when the World around seems to be dancing a different dance to what I am used to.

Most of my pondering happens when I'm out hiking with my dogs and camera.  It seems the World can speak to me through my Lens easier this way, the left brain steps back to let the right brain take over for a while. 

How ordinary and often overlooked is this little sparrow?  They are all over the world and they are survivors.  They don't have the pretty plumage of most other species and therefore really don't stand out in a crowd, unless they are in a crowd of their own dominating the bird feeders.  Then they are noticed with irritation for hogging all the feed and not allowing the 'prettier' birds a chance to eat.

White-crowned Sparrow

This little fellow posed for me in a Juniper bush and allowed to take two or three nice pictures before it departed.  What's more Sparrow was so close that I was almost too close to get a clear shot! After reading my quote and pondering it, I thought maybe my just-a-cute-little-sparrow may appreciate my giving it some importance:  officially this is White-crowned Sparrow (juvenile).
At least this is the title us humans have bestowed upon it.

So, little one, thank you for so graciously posing for me and making my day!

I'm linking this to ABC WEDNESDAY.  This week we're up to "W".  Follow the link to more ABC's.

I'm also linking this to Michelle's Nature Notes at the Rambling Woods blog.