The Wild Woman on Peace

Every time

the Wild Woman

pulls into

the driveway,

her peace rock

greets her:

Peace.

It bespeaks

peace

in her home,

in her yard,

in her heart,

in her being,

in this life

she has made.

It reminds her

of decades

when she sought

only peace,

and was

surrounded by

people of

discord,

violence,

addiction,

and upheaval.

When she finally

grew tired

of the clamor,

and stripped away

everything

that was not peaceful,

she was left alone,

with a beautiful

big black dog.

In solitude,

she found

the peace

she had
always been

seeking.

This peace rock

called to her

on the shore

of a nearby lake.

She planted it

under the rose bush
in the last house,

and watered it well.

It moved with her,

and found its  spot

at the base of the fence,

by the driveway,

a statement:

peace to all

who enter here.

Her haven

at times

has been a shelter

for others,

who needed

her quiet and her peace,

especially

children,

tumbled about

as she herself

had been.

She knew
just what they

most needed.

This rock will move

with her,

soon,
again,

across the road,

along with

 the clematis vine,

now getting ready to bloom

its purple flowers.

They will

each find

their new and

perfect spot
beside the stairs.

For this
is a small

           tale of Peace..........

   to be continued.

Wickanninish Beach

Hey, kids, I made a fast run to the beach today, after checking in with my doctor in Ucluelet.

I had been keening for it all winter, and I felt my entire spirit lift up joyously as I hit the junction.

The smell of the air, all salt and cedar! Four eagles windsurfing the air currents above the main intersection.

And, when I got to the beach, that sound: the melodic, heartbeat-paced resonance of the waves coming in, going out, in endless refrain. The home of my spirit, where I most belong on this planet. Too bad it's too expensive for poor people to live there any more. But I made a hopeful and pro-active proclamation to the universe, and purchased a one year parking pass,  since I am determined to get there oftener this coming year.

I bought myself a very special treat: a soft fleecey with wolves all over it, so all next winter I can be wrapped cosily in wolf energy. It's like wrapping Pup's arms around me, when I put it on.

It was a lot of driving, an hour and a half each way, so by the time I was finished at the doctor's, I was too tired to walk on the beach. I LOOKED at it, though, reassured that it is still there, and took some photos for you. The waves were mild and calm today.

I had planned to go to South Beach, a short walk from Wickanninish. The rocks and cliffs there are amazing, great for photos, and the waves thunder marvellously into the small curved bay (a great place to storm watch in winter!) But the area was closed off.

Since I first moved there in 1989, every  spring a mama bear beds down in some bushes along the trail, and has her babies there. In earlier years, when there werent so many tourists and things were a lot more laid back, I sometimes tiptoed past. Once she had twin babies alongside the trail, and let it be known she did not appreciate visitors walking by - we ran back to the beach and waited till she had moved on, before returning to our cars.

The park people must be more cautious now. They closed the area completely. The trail likely wont open till fall, after berry season, when Mama and baby move deeper into the woods to find their winter shelter.

I then tried Florencia Bay, where the clipper Florencia shipwrecked many years ago in a winter storm,

all souls lost.

But the canopy has grown so high since I last was there that you can no longer look down the beach from the lookout, and I was too tired to walk all the way down the trail.

I took a couple of shots of trees for you instead:)

A good but tiring day. Early to bed tonight for this old gray-headed, wobbly-legged creature!

Inner Shaman

[Art by Susan Seddon Boulet]

Today

there was a full moon

just before dawn.

Wild Woman

walks

with a foot

in both worlds:

the practical

and the intuitive.

She recognizes

forces are

working

cooperatively,

within

and without,

striving for

the balance

and harmony

that has been

lacking.

She looks

within,

seeking the place

of love and compassion.

She looks

without,

knowing

she must practice

forgiveness

for what needs

forgiving.

She is being told

this is an

essential preparation

for what is

yet to come.

Today

Wild Woman

will walk by the sea

and reflect

on forgiveness.

She will release

pain and broken trust

over the waves

and watch them

fly away

like seabirds.

She will walk away

older, wiser,

lighter,

and

restored

to herself.

And she will

begin

again.

Oceana

[Sea Goddess painting by Dusan at paintingsilove.com]

Oceana

is in love

with the sea.

Her heart swells

with the

rising tide,

and lets go

as the combers

break

upon the shore,

her breath

in cadence

with

their eternal

ebb and flow.

Salt spray

and spindrift

curl her hair

and keep fresh

her vision.

She cannot

breathe

away from

the smell

of the sea.

She dines

richly on

fiddlehead greens

and sea urchin,

set out on

plates made of

kelp.

Sometimes

a bright-eyed otter

joins her

at her repast,

while,

a ways offshore,

seals with curious

gazes

wonder

what's for dinner.

Oceana

sings

an evening song

as the sun slips down

behind the horizon

and the sky

is suffused

with crimson

and scattered stars.

Then she curls up

in her

driftwood shelter

and is

lulled to sleep

by the

hypnotic breaking

of the waves,

the surging, 

steady rhythmic

sursurration

of the sea,

pulsing like

a giant

maternal heart;

the sea goddess

of the underworld

feeds her

every

midnight

 dream.

Traveler By the River

[photograph by Albert J. Valentino at pbase.com]

Traveler

has not yet

finished

traveling.

She is as

weary

as the path

is long.

She'd like to

sit on

the soft moss

at the base

of this tree

beside the river,

and simply

listen

to the water's

flow.

But that is

not the

way of

traveling.

There might be

something

around

the next bend

she needs

to see.

There may be

some truth

that she has

yet to learn.

Hoping there

is time, yet,

before nightfall,

she hoists

her pack

once more,

and

journeys on.

Spring Solstice

[image from crystallinks.com]

For some time, now,

Traveler has been

watching the days lengthen,

welcoming the

extra light,

morning and evening,

putting

behind her

the difficult winter,

which has birthed

the beginning

of her next journey.

Now comes

the putting away

of the old

and

the welcoming

of the new.

Now comes

increased ease,

and Possibility.

What gestated

all winter,

bathed

in her tears,

now brings

to fruition

all that was

making its

difficult passage.

Traveler

sets aside

what no longer

serves her.

She prepares

herself

with hope

and relief

for  renewal,

a lightening

of spirit.

She flows

with the emergence

of a new cycle

with trust,

with grace,

and enormous

gratitude,

knowing that

all is

as it

should be,

a time of

letting go,

a time of

stripping down,

a time of

being true

to one's own spirit

and its needs.

Test Video

Hey kids, just practicing posting this - found a fun clip
that took me WAY back. Oh that beat was fun to dance to
back then!