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It's cold and clear here today. When I looked out early this morning I saw that Scudder Pond froze overnight. I haven't seen the Pacific Ocean since 2008 and may not see it again, but can hear it if I pay attention to my breathing.
Bellingham is located on the Salish Sea, which meets the Pacific Ocean about 100 miles to the west of here, as the crow flies. There is no quick and easy way to get to there from here. The journey begins with a 1.5-hour drive, mostly on 2-lane country roads, to a 30-minute ferry ride and then more than 4 hours, again on 2-lane country roads, before arriving on treacherous bluffs that overlook the Pacific Ocean.
I'm grateful for the nearby presence of salt water, lakes, rivers, creeks, ponds, marshes, forests, and the rain that is so much a part of life in Western Washington. I dream of visiting the Pacific Ocean again, but it seems more and more unlikely for various reasons due to my life circumstances. And yet, who knows what the future will bring?
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Here is what Morelle wrote from the Scottish Borders today:
Walking by the river the other day I realised that the solstice is more than a moment or a day marked on the calendar. It felt as if I entered a different place with a different atmosphere, one that side-stepped the framework of time. A stillness, a peacefulness, a pause, a sense of intimacy with the bare trees, the river, and the overcast sky with its range of subtle greys. This solstice zone.
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6 comments:
Very thoughtful words to consider. Hope you can visit the ocean again someday but you do have your memories.
"Who knows what the future might bring?" Good thought for the Winter Solstice. I live in hope.
I "can hear it [Pacific Ocean] if I pay attention to my breathing." This reminds me of what I heard the other day at yoga [by Annabel Laity]
"Breathe and you know that you are alive.
Breathe and you know that all is helping you.
Breathe and you know that you are the world."
It's true we don't know what will happen in the future & I hope you see the Pacific again, in your physical body or in your dream body perhaps.
Sending joy at the solstice. M
I wish I lived in a lusher area with rivers and creeks and woods with a nice understorey without poison ivy but I don't. So I just try and bloom where I am planted.
It is raining here as I type this, and yet we had the most spectacular sunrise. It was replaced by darkness so quickly it was crazy. Soon the earth will tilt more to the sun. The light will return. We celebrate Solstice.
We listen to George Winston quite often. Love his mellow music.
Happy Holidays to you, am.
A stillness, a peacefulness, a pause, a sense of intimacy with the bare trees, the river, and the overcast sky with its range of subtle greys.
Thank you for those words.
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