Our lives unfold, just like flowers. We start as tiny baby buds and then slowly unfold into full bloom to share our essence and beauty with the world; then we get pollinated; proliferate; mature; leave a few seeds in our wake; and then cycle back again in an eternal dance.
I enjoy photographing flora because they whisper to me and they're very effective because I both hear and see them, and will stop on a whim while walking or driving to capture their essence, joyfully honoring the request to stop, listen and inhale. Their beauty impacts me in countless ways and connects me to Source Energy and appreciating their aliveness is akin to prayer.
These beauties called out and caught my eye while in St. Augustine, Florida on a recent weekend jaunt. A barely noticeable fragrance, but oh so artistic! Art by God.
This second beauty was at the base of a public sculpture. The contrast of hard and soft was striking, and that something so delicate could thrive at the base of a rock is remarkable. So soft and yet so resilient!
It was intensely hot on this day, and the sun baked down on us as we strolled through the streets of downtown St. Augustine. I sauntered about, eyes intoxicated by beauty, with an ever grateful heart for a spouse who acts as my protective angel while I drink in the scenes, often rapt and oblivious to other happenings. The ecstasy of letting go of cares is unspeakable.
I marvel at the radiance and strength of these fragile ones, and how they thrive under weather extremes including the blazing heat of the summer sun.
The thing that I love the most? Beauty and vulnerability. We tend to think of vulnerability as a weakness, but in fact, I've come to understand that its really a strength, in nature, and in myself.
That the sun illuminates and activates all life, and life reaches back out, turning towards the sun in the continuous heliotropic dance of life -- is pleasure itself. I bask daily in the knowingness that I too, am a budding flower, also Art by God, beautiful, both weak and strong, continually unfolding and turning ever towards the Light.
This second beauty was at the base of a public sculpture. The contrast of hard and soft was striking, and that something so delicate could thrive at the base of a rock is remarkable. So soft and yet so resilient!
It was intensely hot on this day, and the sun baked down on us as we strolled through the streets of downtown St. Augustine. I sauntered about, eyes intoxicated by beauty, with an ever grateful heart for a spouse who acts as my protective angel while I drink in the scenes, often rapt and oblivious to other happenings. The ecstasy of letting go of cares is unspeakable.I marvel at the radiance and strength of these fragile ones, and how they thrive under weather extremes including the blazing heat of the summer sun.
The thing that I love the most? Beauty and vulnerability. We tend to think of vulnerability as a weakness, but in fact, I've come to understand that its really a strength, in nature, and in myself.
That the sun illuminates and activates all life, and life reaches back out, turning towards the sun in the continuous heliotropic dance of life -- is pleasure itself. I bask daily in the knowingness that I too, am a budding flower, also Art by God, beautiful, both weak and strong, continually unfolding and turning ever towards the Light.
