THE TEXTURE OF LIFE

Photo by Shell Royster, www.shellroyster.com

This photo is filled with texture.  I want to touch the objects in the photograph.  The Irish wool plaid blanket, the old metal dish, the rusty tines on the fork with the wooden handle, the slice of split wood used as a 'server,' the brown curly seaweed and few snips of green, the crushed shell-sand, the chewy meat of mussels and clams, the rough shells in black and white.  

I saw this picture in BELLAGRACEMAGAZINE.COM. and was captured by it right off.  It made me think about why texture is important and where else we want it in our lives.  Comparison and contrast.  We don't just compose our photos.  When we can, we compose our days.  Or at least our free-time.  For me, Wednesday's yoga next to Thursday's pottery is a study in textures.  Wednesday's yoga is smooth and stretchy.  We lie down a lot.  We bend and twist and straighten.  We torture our hamstrings.  We move slowly, deliberately. There's an undercurrent of friendship and laughter as poses fail to varying degrees.  

Thursday's pottery is a different texture.  It's a hand-building class, so pounding, whacking, rolling and shaping.  Then dryness, hardness, shine or matte.  Colors all over the spectrum:  arctic blue, art deco green, deep sienna speckle, lustrous jade. . . .  And all that heat by the kilns.  If I were taking hot yoga I could compare.

Tuesday's book group offers more textures, more contrasts. More stretching of the mind than body.  More discussion, different opinions, points of view, negotiating the year's choices.  But again opportunities for friendship.  

And of course the textures of home:  the comfy bed, the view outside of leaves and bark, impatiens and begonias, dragonflies and lightening bugs. Textures from soft to sturdy to delicate. 

I see in this striking photo by Shell Royster a metaphor for our lives and how they proceed, intentional or not.  So many avenues.  How do your days fall?  What textures and contrasts does your job contribute, your home and family, your free-time?  My granddaughter plays soccer and alto sax. Opposites, yes?  I bet you have created a balance you enjoy, a variety that suits, filled with the rough and the smooth, the boisterous and the quiet, the planned and the spontaneous.  Am I right? 
                                                                                  Nina Naomi

PHOTO WALKING AND FOREST BATHING . . .

Two great terms I keep running across.  Making a walk more mindful by looking more closely at things, taking photos of what's beautiful or interesting, what catches our heart, creating memories and mementos as we go.  Walking and creating.  Not walking for exercise exactly, no cardio workout.  No jogging at intersections.  More visionary, joyful movement connecting us with our environment.  I loved photo walking in New York City, creating my own mini version of Humans of New York (Brandon Stanton, 2013).  Only I photographed bins of produce on the sidewalk, I have no idea why. The colors I suppose, the ripeness and seasonal changes.  Photo walkers do say having a theme is fun.

One photo walker says the images she snaps are "like little gems for the soul." (Tracey Ellis, Calm Moment) 

I photo walked the other day in a place where I hadn't been for some time.  Duke Gardens is a 55-acre botanical garden.  I stuck to the Asiatic Arboretum, 18 acres of restful beauty.  There were stepping stones to navigate, stone lanterns and water basins, a tea house, arched bridges, and a wealth of plants common in Southeast Asia.  So enchantingly serene on an overcast day.  

The gardens are a short walk from Duke Hospital.  I took my walk after a clinic visit.  It's a wonderful place for patients and their families to take a break.  A place to recover from difficult news or give thanks for healing, of every sort. I was happy that my long (5 months now) recovery from surgery is at the stage where I wanted to walk.

Forest bathing is just as enjoyable, and can produce mementos as well. I always gather pine cones, heaps of them, to use as starter wood for a fire. They smell good, they crackle and pop, and they're renewable.  Forest bathing means immersing ourselves in the forest atmosphere.  The Japanese call it shinrin-yoku, forest bath.  This time we leave our phones and cameras at home (or at least turned off).  We luxuriate in the forest much as we would in a pond or ocean or even a fragrant tub filled with water.  Let it embrace us.  Touch the bark, smell the pine needles and cypress, admire the red bud trees, crunch the hickory nuts, walk barefoot on the moss.

In the forest the oxygen levels are different than in the city.  We inhale aromatic compounds from plants called phytoncides.  The sounds are different, the paths underfoot are different.  It takes attention to walk in the forest.  Rocks to hop, roots to navigate, branches to jump over, trails to locate or create.  We must do it mindfully.  I live in the country along with the deer, hawks, turkey vultures and owls.  And an infinite number of squirrels ruining my pot-plants as they hunt for the hickory nuts they buried.  The other day my husband saw a fat woodchuck right on our back patio.  This morning when I took Mr. Wiggles out birds were making noise from all locations, some near, some far, doing their own call and response.  So I can luckily do my forest bathing close to home.  But making it more intentional by seeking out a forest or garden is just as good, maybe better.  

Dr. Quing Li is the author of Forest Bathing:  How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness.  He talks about our sixth sense being our state of mind. In a forest bath we engage the other five senses with the natural world.  Seeing the play of sunlight, the myriad shades of green; smelling the fragrances, damp soil, pungent animal aromas, flowering trees; feeling the breeze and the path beneath our feet, touching everything we encounter, fungi, tree bark, moss and water, wading in pools or creeks; hearing the sounds of rustling, hooting, howling, splashing. . . .  Just a bit of forest or garden will do.  It doesn't have to be large; we aren't going anywhere.  It's not a walk or run or jog.  Just meandering as you please and opening all the senses.  With all this combining in our consciousness our sixth sense, our state of mind becomes one with nature.  We're calmer, more relaxed, happier.  Our blood pressures lower, our immune systems and mental health improve.  We can do this for ourselves in any weather.  Doesn't a spring shower and a good rain slicker sound like a good combination for shinrin-yoku?

Until the North Carolina heat takes over and the mosquitoes keep us inside I'm going to photo walk and forest bathe to my heart's content. Free and healthy! I hope you enjoy it too.  

COLORFUL CANOES AT HOME AND ABROAD

Aren't the colors of these canoes appealing?  It's as if they were arranged on purpose rather than each person just berthing theirs haphazardly.  So often we find something artistic when we are not expecting it at all.  Generations ago only a photographer would have her camera with her.  Now we all do. 

Oxford, England

These canoes are for rent on the bank of the River Cherwell in Oxford, England.  We were slow journeying there when we came upon this colorful scene.  The UK is perfect for a slow journey (see www.inntravel.co.uk). 

Jackson Lake, Wyoming

These canoes lie in a sunny spot on the shore of Jackson Lake, Wyoming, Grand Teton National Park.  We waited years for this trip--another slow journey! The canoes belong to Signal Mountain Lodge, open mid-May to mid-October and the only lodge right on the lake.  Remote and rustic. Wonderful lodge dining. We were here in May, a bit off-season so cheaper and no crowds but still plenty of snow.

Finally, some canoes and kayaks off the coast of North Carolina.  Aren't the colors cheerful? Lucky people who live close to the water. I love finding a stack of bright canoes. I've seen Instagram series on interesting doors, but not yet canoes.  Have you?  Canoe sightings are a fun "collectible." I'm hoping to find others who have taken this up.

Taylor's Creek, Beaufort, NC

Garner Park, Bogue Banks, NC

 

 

On a bike ride I spotted these two women kayaking .  Definitely a slow journey.  They saw me snap their picture and  hollered to text it to them.  Now they have a memento.  A happy time to meet such friendly people.  The North Carolina coast has great vacation spots.  Come when you can.

Brock Basin, Pine Knoll Shores, NC