The waves are swollen with the incoming tide.
Tall Sea Oats backlit by the pale exhale of sunset sway in a coastal breeze.
In a clearing between the dunes and the path through the woods back to my retreat house a pair of rabbits nibble on grass. They let me watch for a time.
At the edge of the woods Live Oaks extend their gnarled branches like I do when I reach for my son’s hand. They too are cast in an impossible shower of light.
The path through the trees is sandy and wet from rain. Moss grows here though I did not stop to take a picture like I did earlier in the day when the humidity was high and I visited the salt marsh on the other side of the island. Two Snowy Egrets and a Great Blue Heron wade through the reeds hunting for food or perhaps enjoying an unhurried existence.
The plant identification AI on my phone tells me the moss at the marsh is Leucobryum glaucum, Pincushion moss. I am reading Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer. It is plant kin I ask to see.
Back at the field with the rabbits, I notice a tiny, low growing yellow flower. It looks like a Buttercup. AI tells me it’s Oenothera Laciniata, Cutleaf Evening Primrose. I almost missed it. As I watch the rabbits eat their evening meal my senses become soft and heightened and I see Oenothera laciniata everywhere in the field.
We have to cultivate the ability to see.
It is night now. I am in bed. There is too much cloud cover to see stars but the whitecaps shine even as the horizon folds itself into darkness.
Overnight I dream there is no light pollution and millions of stars are visible above the deep. In the morning I wake to the sound of the ocean. Gradients of blue fade into the shoreline as the sun burns through clouds and the sea reflects my longing for the wild.
Creative Invitation
If you are able, take a walk and let your gaze wander over the landscape. Go slow and allow your senses to soften and take you out of the loop of thought and expectation. Notice what you notice. Or perhaps, pick an aspect of nature you know is there but tend to gloss over, such as moss or a particular shade of blue. Once you have found it, look around and see if there is more than you imagined. This exercise in seeing can also be done around the house or looking out a window.
When you return home, record what you notice in your journal, in a voice memo, on a post-it note, or in conversation with a friend.
Prayer for New Vision
Creator Godde, there is more in this world than we can possibly imagine. Draw us out of our limited sight and open us to the abundance of creation. Help us to see plant and animal beings, rocks and water, beauties small and large. Let us learn their names and draw closer into relationship rather than sit in sovereignty. May this exercise in seeing awaken our hearts to a clarity of knowing that extends to all of creation including those we would rather not see.
Oh Melinda, this is beautiful! I was there in my mind’s eye and thoroughly enjoyed the visit! Thank you for this wonderful opportunity to immerse myself in such beauty this morning 💖