September 09-A, 2022

Cove Hardwood 03 04/11/2014 Oil Paint Rendered — Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Chimney Tops Picnic Area, Gatlinburg, Tennessee
I cannot tell you anything
you don't already know.
I can only remind you of things you know
and have forgotten,
or have been pushed aside
by concerns for the affairs of life,
which are quite legitimate,
and must be tended.

For instance, there is the supreme importance
of knowing/realizing/honoring/reflecting/incarnating
what is deepest, best and truest about you
in the way you live your life.

These things are your original nature
and the innate virtues that are yours from conception.
They are heart-and-soul things.
Not to be forgotten, neglected or abandoned.
They are the essential things,
the things that are our guardians and guides,
the things that keep us centered upon
and grounded in 
who we are and what we are about.
The things from which we cannot be separated
by anything that comes our way.

Being and remaining true to these things
carry us through the heaving waves
and past the clashing rocks
to the bright light of the farther shore
where there is rest from our journey
and peace for our souls,
and the joy of oneness with all beings 
from everywhere everlasting.

And if there isn't,
there damn well should be.

–0–

September 08-C, 2022

Emerald Lake 02 09/28/2006 Oil Paint Rendered — Yoho National Park, British Columbia
It comes down to seeing what's happening,
knowing what's what
and doing what is called for in response to it
in each situation as it arises
all our life long.

This is true of landscape photography
and of life as a whole.

Seeing-Knowing-Doing-Seeing-Knowing-Doing... 
Forever.

There is no place here for thinking or believing.

It is just seeing-knowing-doing,
and being alert to that,
aware of it
and engaged with it,
here/now,
throughout time.

–0–

September 08-B, 2022

Biedler Forest 15 11/22/2019 Oil Paint Rendered — Audubon Four Hole Swamp Wildlife Refuge, Harleville, South Carolina
Our life moves at its own pace.
We cannot hurry it along
to some better place to be,
or slow it down to stay where we are
for a while.

Our role is to be sensitive
to the movement
and ride with the current
saying "Yes," and "No,"
at the proper times and places,
attuned to what is happening
and what needs to be done about it
in order to be in accord
with the Tao at work in the here/now,
and at one with the opening and closing
of the way through time and space.

It sounds absurd and stupid
to those who are not aware of the mystery
of life,
who don't understand that life
has a life of its own,
and that "there is a time
for everything under heaven."

And that the only thing worth knowing ever
is what time is it now
and what needs to be done about it,
in each situation as it arises,
all our life long.

–0–

September 08-A, 2022

Peggy’s Cove Cypress 02 05/03/2014 Oil Paint Rendered — Lake Marion, Santee, South Carolina
The Blue Heron stalks food every day.
As does every living thing.
How long could you make it
without resupplying your pantry?
It is less than a week for us,
and that is much higher than
the Third World average,
and it is a daily chore
for the rest of the world.

Life lives close to the edge.
"The wolf," as they say,
"is never far from the door."

Most of us live immune 
to the full impact of that reality.
Burgers and pizza are within easy reach
of a large segment First Word populations.
Yet, the reality is that can disappear
like that (Snaps fingers).

We live closer to the edge
than we let ourselves think.

We need a mentality that stabilizes us
on the edge.

And a confidence in our ability to live
in any situation that arises
connected to our original nature
and the innate virtues that 
are ours to rely on
as "a very present help in time of trouble."

Dealing with meager resources 
is one of the things we do best.
Remember the Serengeti?
The birth place of the species?
We come from there!
Our ancestors figured it out there!
We can figure it out here!
Not on our terms, to be sure,
but on terms we are capable of adapting to
and working with 
in doing what needs to be done
wherever, whenever, however we are.

It's what we do,
and have done
throughout our time on the earth!

–0–

September 07-C, 2022

Left Mitten Sunset 09/25/2007 Oil Paint Rendered — Arches National Park, Moab, Utah
We can trust ourselves to know
when to stop pouring--
and we have no idea of what we are doing.

We have to know
that we can trust ourselves
to that which knows within,
and step into the completely unknown.

This is stepping into the Mystery,
trusting ourselves to the completely unknown
"Knower" within,
and doing what we "know" needs to be done,
when, where and how it needs to be done,
even though we don't know how we know
or even what makes us think we know.

We have to bear the agony of not-knowing
that we know what we are doing,
and do, anyway, nevertheless, even so,
what we "know" needs to be done.

We live at the mercy of what we know-not
all of the time.

"The spirit is like the wind
that blows where it will,"
means neither the spirit nor the wind
know what they are doing,
but they both do what they "know" needs to be done,
anyway, nevertheless, even so.

We do not have a clue.
We cannot explain, defend, justify, excuse
any choice we make
in "knowing" what needs to be done.

We live "on faith" in ourselves,
in our ability to "know" when to quit pouring,
and when to do what, where and how,
and step into the day,
and into each situation as it arises
throughout the day,
every day,
for the rest of our life.

Bearing the agony of knowing that we know-not,
and refusing to allow that to stop us
or even slow us down,
trusting ourselves to what we do not know
all the way.

If we can live like that,
we have it made.

–0–

September 07-B, 2022

Beidler Forest 16 11/22/2019 Oil Paint Rendered — Audubon Four Hole Swamp Wildlife Refuge, Harleyville, South Carolina
We all trust ourselves 
to know when to stop pouring.

No one has to tell us that.

If we can trust ourselves 
to know when to stop pouring,
we can trust ourselves to know
all we need to know
to know what needs to be done
in each situation as it arises,
and to know what does not need to be done.

The question then becomes,
"Do we have what it takes 
to do what we know needs to be done,
and to not do what does not need to be done?"

Can we bear the pain?

Bearing the right kind of pain--
that would be the legitimate pain
of being alive
and doing what needs to be done
in response to--
in responsibility for--
the experience of being alive.

Can we bear the pain of being fully alive?

Too many of us can't bear the pain
of making Daddy/Momma
(Or whomever the authority figure
we must please) unhappy with us
to live our own life in response to--
in responsibility for--
the experience of being alive.

When we live to make someone happy with us
(Even though they have been dead for 26 years),
we live the life we think they 
would have us live,
and forego any possibility
of living a life of our own.

We have to live so as to make our little heart sing
and our little toes dance--
in other words, to know when to stop pouring--
and bear the pain of our choices
in each situation as it arises.

We have to be tough enough to take it,
to take what living well requires,
in order to do what needs to be done
regardless of the consequences,
letting "the chips fall where they may,"
in an "Oh, well," kind of way.

–0–

September 07-A, 2022

Palm Tree Oil Paint Rendered
What do you do with all your heart?

The quality of the remainder of your life,
and its value to you and everyone else,
hinges on how much time you devote to the things
you do with all your heart.

We are not here to just pass the time.

We are here to invest ourselves in our life,
in the time spent in living.

We are not invested in what we are doing
if our heart isn't in it.

Where is our heart?
If it isn't in what we are doing,
where is it?

Our work is to compel our heart
to come join us in what we are doing
by doing the things that have heart for us,
the things our heart loves to do.
the things our heart is waiting for us to do
so that it might join us in the joy of doing them.

We have lived without heart for what we are doing
for long enough.
It is time we started doing the things 
that our heart loves--
and to spend all the time we can devote to doing
those things
in the time left for living.

If you can't do it with all your heart,
why do it?
If you can do it with all your heart,
why not do it?

The quality of our life in what's left of it
hinges on how we answer these questions.

–0–

September 06-C, 2022

Geese on the Wing 11/04/1999 — Down East North Carolina
It is all in how we react/respond 
to what happens
that tells the tale--
the tale we are here to tell
by the way we live our life,
which comes down to what we do about
each situation as it arises
all our life long.

We do not know what to do.
We do not live out of our head,
knowing and doing what should be done.

Forget what should be done!
What is called for?
What is necessary?
What is needed?

We cannot think our way there,
to the right answers to these questions.

We have to live our way there,
and we do not live out of our head,
but out of our heart.
Out of our stomach.
Out of our body.
We feel our way to what needs to be done.
We know what that is in our bones,
in our whole being,
the way we know if the coffee
is worth drinking,
or if this is the best ice cream
we have ever had.

We know all of the things that matter
without thinking about them at all.

Live to know what you know
and to do what needs to be done about it.
That is the way that is the way--
the way that tells the tale.

–0–

September 06-B, 2022

Monument Valley Sunrise 02 Oil Paint Rendered — Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Arizona
Balance and harmony
flow from mindful awareness
of absolutely everything.

Fatigue, for instance.
Hydration.
Nutrition.

We have to take care of the basics.

What are we taking for granted?
Assuming?
Ignoring?
Overlooking?

Awareness requires us to be aware
of absolutely everything.
That means emptiness.
Silence.
Stillness.
Routinely.
Regularly.

How many times do you call time out
during a day?

And sit still.
Be quiet.
And empty--
of all things?

Sit still and quiet
and empty yourself
of everything that comes to mind.
Just breathe.
Fill your awareness with breathing.

How many times do you do that
in a day?

Practice doing it walking,
talking,
driving,
eating...

Your balance and harmony
will improve like that
(Snaps fingers).
Just being aware of imbalance
and disharmony
will move us spontaneously,
automatically,
(AUMtomatically),
naturally
toward balance and harmony.

We are built for A-U-M...

And live best out of an
A-U-M... state of mind.

That is the state of mind
which allows the wind,
and the spirit,
to blow where it will.

And that transforms all things.
Spontaneously.
Automatically.
Naturally.

–0–

September 06-A, 2022

Biedler Forest 17 02/19/2017 Oil Paint Rendered — Audubon Four Hole Swamp Wildlife Preserve, Harleyville, South Carolina
The world as we know it
is on a shoddy foundation.
It is based on getting/having/amassing/
owning/possessing/controlling/forcing/
compelling/and on and on like that.

It is based on having the power
to make happen what we want to happen,
and to keep someone else from having
power equal to ours.

This is the basis of capitalism and fascism.
Which are at complete odds
with democracy
and the idea of liberty and justice for all.
And Truth, Equality, Justice, Freedom!

People need the right to be true to themselves
in ways that do not interfere
with their neighbors' right to be true to themselves.

Equity has never been a highly esteemed value
across all economic levels of society.

Any society beyond primitive tribal societies.

I'm sorry about that. Grief-filled, actually.
It is our loss as a species
that we have failed to protect
all members of the species,
and help one another to a life
that was authentic/genuine/real/true,
and not the means
to someone else's gain.

I think it will take a life-form
quite different from ours
to pull that off.

Something, say, on the order of Humpback Whales,
or Giant Sequoias.

–0–

September 05-D, 2022

Sinkhole Slough Panorama 05/02/2014 Oil Paint Rendered — Santee State Park, Santee, South Carolina
The history of the world--
the complete history of the world--
is little more than
the history of war.

I am disgusted that we put so much into 
having our way and pushing it onto 
all others--
across the board,
around the table,
throughout history,
from the first day we killed somebody
because they pissed us off
until now--
and so little into getting along
at the expense of our way
in the service of the good of the whole.

We are children fighting over toys
in the sandbox
for as long as we live.

I do so hope that this is an anomaly,
and that through the infinite expanse
of the afterlife,
there is nothing but congeniality
and mutual concern for, 
and assistance with,
helping one another find our life 
and live it
as far as the eye can see.

How can that be too much to ask?

We are FAMILY!!!

–0–

September 05-C, 2022

Hay in the Field 02 07/05/2019 Panorama Oil Paint Rendered — Rembert, South Carolina
What are the forces 
of destabilization in your life?
How do you counteract them?

When we are able to deal with
what faces us in our life
like a gyroscope turning 
out of its own center,
we are grounded upon
our original nature
and the innate virtues
that are ours from birth,
and living with integrity
and sincerity,
trusting ourselves to respond
spontaneously to each situation
as it arises
in light of what is called for here/now--
offering us the flexibility
to dance with the moment,
without fear, dread or anxiety,
free to be ourselves
in the time and place of our living.

And that is the most precious
kind of freedom there is.

–0–