Unexpected Gifts

Another birthday is about to roll by.
But I have already received a few unexpected gifts.
One was from a friend who anticipated a need before I did.
My spouse gave me two early gifts I love that are almost exclusively about shape and texture rather than function.
And this week when I was working at the Artists’ Collective in Elk,
a young woman came in —
a stranger —
and she immediately walked up to my artwork, which is nearly hidden on a stairwell wall.
I told her the art was mine and she asked me lots of questions.
We shared a Catholic past
and she was especially intrigued by a Madonna-themed piece that was a bit tongue-in-cheek, but she didn’t seem to mind.
“The nuns I grew up around had a sense of humor,” she said.
Not only did she purchase the piece, but she reminded me of the gift of humor bestowed upon so many of my friends, nuns included.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Dew Transcendence

The morning was dew kissed.
Beads of water clung to flowers,
leaves and grass, magnifying what lay underneath.
Waves crashed and clamored up steep rocks.
Down at my feet I spied subtle movement. A centipede was carrying another centipede, deceased, over hill and dale, twig and leaf. Its meal? Its comrade? Both?
As I continued on I noted the sun and wind were already drying the dew.
It seemed impossible that the drops were disappearing into thin air, but that’s exactly what was happening.
The particles were now swirling around me: I was breathing them.
I felt the pull of oneness.
Whenever I feel alone
I know that I am not.
I am breathing in creation. My shadow is touching something I cannot reach.
My spirit is melding with The Source.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Building Cairns

Cairns help guide us along a path that leads to a destination already known to at least one person.
Or, as in this case, they can simply be an artistic presentation of interesting rocks that wandering beachgoers may not otherwise notice.
I was at Glass Beach in Fort Bragg, California
with my visiting niece, Heather, who was helping me find stones and glass to create cairns.
We were both searching for flat, stackable, intriguing specimens.
The beach did not disappoint.
We tried different combinations
until we created an acceptable stack.
Making cairns was a nice quiet way to be together — a shared silence.
A beachcomber walking by said: thank you for making beauty.
Perhaps beauty was the destination and making cairns was the path to it.
At least one person already knew this.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Photo Beachcombing

I often go photo beachcombing.
It’s quite similar to ordinary beachcombing except nothing physical is removed from the shoreline.
An ephemeral image is tucked inside a micro card in ways I don’t quite understand.
As with all photography, a moment in time is captured. That moment will never repeat. 
The sky will change.
A wave may suck my carefully composed picture out to sea.

Wind may blow a precariously balanced arrangement awry.
Even stalwart stones look different with every change of light.
Living in the moment is to “take in” what is around us right now, in grateful appreciation.
This shell, for instance, which I mistook for a fish.
Am I really living in the moment if I’m looking through the lens of a camera?
I believe so. I think of the camera as a pair of eyeglasses that enable me to see more clearly what is right in front of me by filtering out distractive peripheral vision. Which is why I often go photo beachcombing.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Insights

There is beauty in the ordinary.
The ordinary is extraordinary.
Wonder is all around us.
The simplest things are not simple at all.
Design is inherent in all things.
Nothing is ugly if viewed with an open mind.
Imagination is a gift to be practiced.
Life is more intricate than we suppose.
We are never truly alone.
These are just a few of the insights given to me during my meditative walks. I believe them to be true because I have leaned into their weightiness and felt the reverberations of their integrity.
What insights do you hold dear?

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Letting Go to Grow

This New Year’s Eve I’m contemplating what I can leave behind.
What am I clinging to that no longer serves me?
What happens if I let go?
Will I feel adrift?
Like a piece removed from the whole?
I have quite a few negative habits that need to be dropped.
I would benefit greatly by leaving them behind.
Yet they’ve become so ingrained, it’s hard to imagine life without them.
Some of these behaviors are like tattered baby blankets that elicit a form of security in my mind.
Yet, when I let go I may feel as solid as a rock.
Or as light as a feather.
I may feel more connected.
Entwined.
Less like a misfit
and more like an oddly shaped piece that makes a puzzle complete.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my most recent daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Alone or Lonely?

Do you ever feel lonely?
Adrift?
A tangled mess
on the road to nowhere?
I like solitude,
but solitude evokes a different quality than lonesomeness does.
Wanting to be alone is a choice, feeling lonely isn’t.
Then I remember I have a mate,
family,
friends so wonderful we feel uber-close —
connected.
And then there’s God. I feel enveloped by God – held, yet free.
And that makes me smile.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my most recent daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Cairns

Cairns have been used for so long it’s difficult to trace their roots. Many cultures throughout the world have used (and still use) piles of rocks to mark trails.
Spiritually, cairns represent balance and patience, and can even be made as a form of worship.
Artistically, cairns can just be expressions of beauty.
Choosing the right stone
and figuring out how that stone will look when combined with other rocks is visually satisfying.
Sometimes the simplest pairing will make a strong aesthetic statement. 
When I notice manipulated stones, I know a human has been where I am now standing and has wanted to leave a trace of themselves behind for others to see.
Is it wrong to want to be acknowledged in a society where one can feel lonely and lost in a sea of people?
I think not.
Because cairns are all about connecting people; about helping the lost find their way.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my most recent daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Beach Cove Questions

Many of the beaches in northern California are small rocky coves that can be walked end to end in several minutes — if one doesn’t get sidetracked by globular sea jellies
interesting stones
or debris from battered boats.
Which, of course, I do.
How could I not stop when I pass a large stone with two perfectly round holes in it? What made the holes?
Or crouch down to inspect a jellyfish pillow tucked into a crevice? Do sea jellies think and feel? And if so, what do they think about? How do they feel?
When I’m this close to the ground wonders multiply. Sea palm roots mix with ribbon seaweed, smooth stones and wet feathers. Every world contains another world. How many worlds do I contain?
The stones come in so many sizes. What type of stone am I? Cumbersome and hard to roll? Oblong and palm-sized? Smooth and pocket-ready to soothe away worry? Or am I an idiosyncratic conglomerate patched together to become whole?
When I climb the path back up from the beach, I see three deer looking at me. How do they see me? As a threatening, benign or friendly presence? How do I want to appear?
On my way back to the car I also pass a rock engulfed in lichen. To grow, must I sacrifice part of myself? And as I grow deeper into God, does my old self recede and transform into something new? I hope so.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my most recent daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.

Being Part of the Whole

There are as many mysteries in life as there are in the sea. What do I do when I feel parts of me have been torn away?
A mussel lying on the pebbly beach had a whole new world growing upon its back. Although I want to change, what if this new growth threatens to overtake me and I forget who I was?
I looked up to see a plant emerging from the rock above me. It was sending its energy in three directions at once. How do I decide which way to go when I am being pulled equally in multiple directions?
As I bent close to the “sand” two bits of seaweed caught my eye. They seemed strong and resilient to the touch, but they were both hollow. I knew when they dried out, they would be brittle and easily breakable. How do I hold on to resilience as I age, as I come to grips with this new reality?
When I stood up I saw a larger picture — so many different pieces created just a tiny patch of beach. And there are umpteen beaches ringing this one ocean. And there are many oceans. Every torn piece is still part of the whole.
I climbed back up the cliff, a smile forming slowly on my lips. A carved whale echoed my sentiments as it looked out to sea. There’s a whole world out there, and I am part of it.

Photos © Sondra Sula.

Take a walk with me by reading my most recent daily devotional book, Meditations on Mendocino by Sondra Sula. Available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle versions.

If you’d prefer a daily river walk, Reflections on the Fox River and Beyond by Sondra Sula, might just be the book for you.