Being mindful of the sources of our water . . .

"Water is life's mater and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water."

Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
Hungarian biochemist

"In an age when man has forgotten his origins and is blind even to his most essential needs for survival, water along with other resources has become the victim of his indifference."

Rachel Carson
American marine biologist

Whenever I'm hiking or backpacking in the mountains near my home - especially in June during Spring snowmelt - I enjoy making a practice of contemplating the source of the very blood that flows through my veins. This past weekend, for example, I hiked - postholing much of the time - through acres of softening snowfields, slogged through innumerable marshes filled with wildflowers, forded raging streams, and filtered water from pristine subalpine lakes. I savored the fact that much of this water eventually reaches my faucet at home and then nourishes my capacity to think, to feel, to communicate, and to do spiritual practice. This means that all of the beautiful places I love best are flowing right within my body! Perhaps all of us can take some time each day to contemplate the amazing landscapes where our water comes from :)

Photos: (Top) Globeflowers proliferating in a subalpine marsh, Snowy Range, WY; (Middle) Big Creek Falls, Park Range, CO; (Bottom) Medicine Bow Peak and Lake Marie, Snowy Range, CO. These photos were taken on June 19-21, 2015

Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.

"Those who dwell . .. among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life. Whatever the vexations or concerns of their personal lives, their thoughts can find paths that lead to inner contentment and to renewed excitement in living. Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts."

Rachel Carson

Photo: Bellvue Dome and an ice-decorated Watson Lake, Bellvue, CO, February 23, 2015

The Beauty of Tidepools

"Down on the shore we have savored the smell of low tide - that marvelous evocation combined of many separate odors, of the world of seaweeds and fishes and creatures of bizarre shape and habit, of tides rising and falling on their appointed schedule, of exposed mud flats and salt rime drying on the rocks. I hope my nephew will later experience, as I do, the rush of remembered delight that comes with the first breath of that scent, drawn into one's nostrils as one returns to the sea after a long absence."

Rachel Carson

What pleasure can compare to exploring tide pools at low tide . . .

and finding all sorts of creatures who are hidden the rest of the day?

Photos: Indian Paintbrush, a crab (with green anemones), kelp backlit by the setting sun, and a starfish; Palmer Point Beach, Patrick's Point State Park, CA; July 30, 2014

Wonder is an unfailing antidote against the boredom and disenchantment of later years.

 

"If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life, as an unfailing antidote against the boredom and disenchantments of later years, the sterile preoccupation with things artificial, the alienation from the sources of our strength."

Rachel Carson

The hike up Professor Creek Canyon is filled with wondrous surprises! On this particular hike, I encountered several large frogs living in the canyon. Then, of course, is the 35-foot fall that roars over a chockstone at the end of the canyon, where the walls narrow to 15 feet and the rock glows hot orange above.

 

Photos: (Top) Desert Frog, and (Bottom) Professor Creek Falls, near Moab, UT; May 31, 2014

A Sense of Wonder

"If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life, as an unfailing antidote against the boredom and disenchantments of later years, the sterile preoccupation with things artificial, the alienation from the sources of our strength."

Rachel Carson   

Photo: See Stack and breaking waves, Rialto Beach, Olympic National Park, WA; July 26, 2013

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Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.

"Those who dwell . . . among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.  Whatever the vexations or concerns of their personal lives, their thoughts can find paths that lead to inner contentment and to renewed excitement in living. Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts."

Rachel Carson

Photo: The Quillayute Needles and First Beach, Quillayute Reservation, La Push, WA; July 26, 2013