Beauty is the harvest of presence

Beauty is the harvest of presence. – David Whyte

I never know what I’m going to write here until the last minute. The “beauty” quote comes first, then the photos. I simply sit with them on the page to see what flows through.  Beauty is the harvest of presence, and presence requires slowing down. To really see, to revel in the feast all around us, we need more than a glance. Stopping to quiet our mind to access our inner stillness opens us to a deeper way of looking, an embodied sense of seeing, of feeling…

I approach photography by receiving what shimmers through all my senses, while listening with my heart and intuition to what is asking to be revealed. At first, I’m struck by the beauty of the soft autumn color palette; taupes, silvery grays and greens punctuated by whites. Upon deeper noticing, I’m haunted by what messages begin to arise. The best questions I’ve come to ask so far are, “How is this image reflecting this moment in my life? What is Spirit asking me to pay attention to?”

All our more-than-human relatives on land, in the air and waters are impacted by global warming. Behaviors are changing; migration routes, birthing patterns, and flowering seasons. In seven decades, I’ve only ever seen one rattle snake. This year, four have graced my path. Two weeks ago we followed a lone 8-point buck meandering happily on the beach. Sadly, this past week there were dead sea birds along the beaches. All the elements are activated as El Nino ramps up. Every day I’m noticing in the local inlets that the tides are higher than usual, foretelling bigger coastal flooding when the winter rains arrive.

And still there is beauty to be found if only we take time to notice. In the photos below, how many shades of taupe can you find in Sculpted Sand Dunes or the Baby Rattler? How many grays in White Egrets in Fog? Does the Egret recognize his reflection? What mystery is unfolding between repeating lines. For me, the beauty in this collection of images is our world pleading with us to pay attention, to be curious while also on guard, to not look away. As always, I invite you to contemplate the images I offer and have your own experience with them. How do they make you feel? What messages are you receiving?

Beauty-as-Medicine™ Gallery    (Click on any image for a larger view)

My Upcoming Workshops and Retreats
Annual Retreat: October 29 – November 1 – Sisters of Upasana, Fort Bragg, CA

Stay tuned for 2027 dates!