Moving Forward

It's spring and my mind is going to thoughts of traveling, taking classes and workshops. Life is calling me to expand and move forward. I feel the need to replenish, to divorce myself from he long hours I spend sitting in front of the computer. I notice my neck and shoulders beginning to hunch forward from the act of always leaning into the screen.I want to be outside in the open air without an agenda, to dawdle in the freshness of life and fill my own cup.

The quote of Joseph Campbell's: "When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be," resonates with me. We are born anew each morning, always changing and evolving. I am in the mood to release myself from self appointed obligations -- from Face Book and this blog, (even as dear as it it to me), and numerous other tasks and pursuits which I have already been detaching from. In my eyes, this life only rolls around once. And here it is before me, sparkling, inviting and begging me for quality time.

The only way I see to find this quality time, is to prioritize. Given that so many of my tasks are tasks I love, this decision is especially daunting. Nevertheless, I must let go of some of them -- at least for a period of time.

My plan is to take a year off from this blog. If I find myself bursting to make a post, I shall. And those of you who are followers of this blog, will receive an automatic notification when I do. What I will be doing is akin to going back to school, enrolling myself in the college of life, improvising, exploring and appreciating.

I adore you all in so many ways, and am regularly astonished and enlightened by your brilliance. I am and have been honored by your presence and attention; and for this, I am infinitely grateful. I hope and trust we will connect again.

Until then, blessings to each and every one of you. Arvoir, arrivederci, wishing you sparkling and richly rewarding hours and days.


Heart, heart, heart

~   Anitra

Heart

** All photographs and text in this blog are copyrighted by Anitra Ford

Stearn's Warf After the Rain

Some places guarantee magic, one of them is Stearn's Warf. I went there chasing a rainbow, but when I arrived, it was gone. Instead, I was greeted by frigid wind that whipped my hair and spun me into a dizzying swirl. It wasn't just the wind that spun me, it was also all of the life unfolding around me. There at the end of the Warf, surrounded by ocean on three sides, I found people, birds, clouds, waves, surfers, boats, and more, much more, all moving and changing second by second. And in that, I snapped photo after photo as if in a trance.

I dove into the images head on, participating in what I've come to know as the "sport" of photography. And as it goes, when one becomes so engaged, time disappears. It wasn't until my hands became so cold that I could no longer bend my fingers, that I realized I had been out there for two hours. Even though my hands and face were frozen, my mood had not contracted -- I was exhilarated. Too cold now to continue taking pictures (or even click the shutter!), I retreated to my car. There, I rubbed my hands trying to thaw them out. When that didn't happen quickly, I reluctantly decided, it was time to go.

Gripping the wheel with lobster claws instead of hands, I started the engine and began to back out of my parking place -- that's when it appeared, a partial rainbow, glowing over the mountains. It felt like an affirmation. As if nature was bestowing a gift. "You brought yourself here, Aneet, searching for a rainbow, you immersed yourself completely in everything around you. Just to let you know your ardor didn't go unnoticed, here, accept this reward, this nod to acknowledge the needle eye of your attention."

PS: Just to let you know, if you're on a computer, you can have a nice slide show by clicking on an image (preferably the first one), and then going to the film strip that appears. By clicking on a photo on the film strip, you can stay in the frame and continue clicking to receive a full show of large images.

Two Haiku for the New Year

Practicing Newness

on this first day

of twenty-sixteen

***

Sunbirds flutter

around nyjer seed sock

a Mozart ballet

It's lovely to see you all here in this New Year.

I plan to return with a new post on March 15th.

Until then, wishing you a sparkling New Year.

Blessings, Peace and Love,

~   Anitra