Selma- "Where were you? Do you remember?"

Last night I went to see Selma in the movie theater.  I rarely go to movies alone but after all the questions raised in my mind by Ferguson and wanting to write something for Martin Luther King Day, it seemed providential.

I found a middle section seat and excused myself to pass the three or four women already in the row. I left one seat between me and the next person- standard public seating etiquette at least for Americans. But more women joined their group and they moved down the aisle to accommodate them.  Asked if she needed me to move, the woman to my left assured me I was fine.  So I found myself sitting next to a perfect stranger for a movie about the injustice and brutalities done to her race...by my race.

The movie is moving and educational and revealing and powerful. Without giving too much away- because everyone needs to go see this movie.... the opening scenes caught me off guard and I sat with tears streaming down my face. Sniffling and looking for Kleenex.  And it only got worse.

I knew about this events. I read the accounts, not in my history books in this detail, but I had read about the church bombings and the march from Selma to Montgomery.  A few years ago as I drove to the East coast, I chose to drive through Alabama to see Montgomery and Tuskegee.  For reasons I'm still not sure I understand, Tuskegee was uncomfortable, alien and I was glad to retreat to the comfort and familiarity of a military base at nearby Fort Benning.  But it's one thing to know facts and tour sites, it's something else to live it. I didn't live this.

At one point, the woman next to me leaned over and whispered, "Did you know about this? Before the movie?"  I did but when she asked me where I was and if I remembered the events, I replied, "I was a child of ten living in Alaska without a television. I never heard a thing."

We gasped and cringed at the same scenes. We shared in her story. My world got a little wider.

Before the movie I attended a Celtic music mass celebrating the second Sunday after Epiphany.

....remembering that God brings light to any darkness. Let us pray.

After the movie we moved down the ramp to exit and my new acquaintance and I spoke a few words. "What can I do? "I asked.  "Be open, educate, share what you know, be a light."  Amen, sister. 

Earlier my service had ended with a hymn by one of my favorite contemporary composers. 

Wind upon the Waters

by Marty Haugen

Wind upon the waters, voice upon the deep,

 rouse your sons and daughters, wake us from our sleep, 

breathing life into all flesh, breathing love into all hearts, 

living wind upon the waters of my soul.  

  

Blazing light of wonder, flame that pierces night,

 burst the dark asunder, fill our souls with light. 

Lord of glory, fill the skies, make an end to hatred’s cries, 

be the blazing sun of justice in our lives.

Amen, brother.  

Walking in the light of his presence

I occasionally dip my toe into the identity of "writer".... and pray no one asks, "Have I read your work?"
"Probably not."
End of conversation.

So why is it that the Muse that often comes and smacks me in the head, holds a camera, not pen and paper?  I don't introduce myself as "photographer".

But when I wake and the South Dakota light is moody, overcast and sullen, I'm overcome by the urge to capture it. Perhaps because the sun is such a constant here, although I do jump in my car and chase sunset light of summer.  Whatever the cause, my Muse caused me to miss church and head for Pe Sla or Reynolds Prairie or the "place in between".

Many First Nations peoples consider the Black Hills to be the spiritual center of the universe. Various spiritual traditions reflect the belief that certain phenomena in the world, such as mist – which is neither air nor rain; dreams – which are not waking or sleeping; and mistletoe -which is neither tree nor plant, have special spiritual meaning. These are the "in between things" that are worthy of special reflection. 

http://www.borderlandsranch.org/about.htm

So I go to the place between sunshine and dark, between moody and reflective, between God and me. And I take photos.   I return home with freezing fingers and the hunger of creative anxiety; make a fire and warm oatmeal. It may be April but three inches of fresh moisture lays on the ground.

And I find a bookmark, given by a friend:

"Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship,

for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord."

Psalm 89:15

I drove around the lake....

By the cattails. Frozen in place, waiting for spring. 

The road to worship isn't always the super highway. 

An the journey isn't desired to be traveled alone.
This is Linda's place.

She lives on the edge of Pe Sla and fights to protect it from development. 

 I leave her home, snug in a small valley, and climb into the wind.

Timeless

Empty; and full of peace. 

Here a lone tree is noticed. 

My drive took me past the lake and Linda's house, then across the edge of the place in between.  Now the road follows a stream as it twists through a canyon.



Trees are abundant here.  The camera is unable to distinguish the fragile from the background. Do we see what is truly there in our images?

Then I am back on the smaller prairie on the other side of the canyon.  Here man has tamed the land and guards his own. But even a cattle guard is soft and thoughtful in white. 

I'm home. Refreshed and inspired to write, work on some poems, express myself. pray, worship. It doesn't always look like this but worship doesn't have to be what I always thought. What I expect and search for.  Somedays, it's enough to follow my heart and walk in his presence.  Or drive somewhere and imagine; capture images and ponder.

 Now a warmer wind softly brings promise of spring;  snow melts in a gurgle.  It is a sweet Sabbath.

Prairie art.

And this is just for fun!

St Benedict's Feb 12: Tones

We are encouraged to attend certain services at the nearby monastery. Vigils at 4:30am, Lauds or Mass at 7:3am, Vespers to close the day at 7pm. The Trappists monks wear long, cream robes and sing in response, back and forth in deep, simple tones. We join in, keeping our voices low and blended. No soaring solos here, instead we blend to honor the Psalms we sing.  Ancient and reverent. 

Like old branches anchored in the earth. 

 

Like photos with little color but intriguing forms.

By Night

The tapers in the great God’s hall

     Burn ageless, beautiful and white,

But only with the fall of dusk

     Disclose to earth their faithful light.

Earth keeps her lamps of beauty, too,

     Fairer than stars in fields above;

Dark hours of grief and pain reveal

     The undreamed constancy of love.  

                                           Philip Jerome Cleveland

Walking in the Dark

I saw him leave behind me.

It’s a good half-mile to walk and snow crunches beneath my feet.

My flashlight bobs a weak path on this moonless night

And I pull the coat hood snug around my head.

Down the hill,

   Around the corner

He follows my light.

The bells toll.

   Quickening my pace,

I reach the dark cluster of pines, branches hanging low and heavy.

Behind me, his footsteps are faster, catching up,

   At the threshold his arm reaches out

And opens the chapel door.

I nod.

We enter together in silence for evening vespers.
Pilgrims, he and I, companions without words

 Merely sharing light.

Faywood Hot Springs. Clothing optional

What you can do with concrete and lots of hot water. 

I heard about Faywood Springs in New Mexico and decided that would be my destination after leaving El Paso.  Soaking in hot thermal, therapeutic pools sounded fabulous.  Always read the small print. http://www.faywood.com/




Some of the soaking pools here at the resort and even the camping areas around them are "clothing optional".  But- what does that mean?  It means others have the option of taking off their clothes in those areas. It does not mean I am obligated to remove mine.  Or go into that section.  Easy solution.

Even easier?  There was no one else there!  A nice caretaker opened the gate, handed me a key to a cute cabin and gave me his phone number. "Call if you need anything." And... I had cell coverage!

Nice room with small fridge, microwave and a sink. Table and cool chairs.
Plus bath and a loft- explains the ladder. It's for the loft, not the bath.

Later that afternoon, I heard  a couple of people talking while they soaked in the other pools but never saw anyone. The whole place was like wandering around your own fabulous backyard.  There were some RVs but the cabins were just waiting for some lucky traveler. 

Amazing  soaks- hot, not so hot, mild and a small cool foot bath by each one-great idea. The water is full of minerals and have been used for centuries, at least, as medicinal baths. 

Here is a link to the fascinating history of the springs. 

http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/nm/faywoodhotsprings.html 

The sun was setting.... quick, run down to the soaking pools. And enjoy this light. 

I had time for about 30 minutes in the hot water.
Heaven

So as the sky sunk into in a blaze of color, 

I set off down the path,  totally relaxed by my fabulous, really long, all-by-myself soak.

As the the light faded,  I wandered back to my cabin.  And I mean wandered. Honestly, I can get lost in a ... well, yes, a parking lot.  A shopping center. A dark bedroom can confuse me.   A dear friend gave me the plaque, "Not all who wander are lost" to honor my wanderlust.  But sometimes, well often, I'm just lost.

 On this same road trip I got "lost" in a canyon- sorta, that time I wasn't lost but I lost something valuable. And if you put a camera in my hand, I'll  have no idea what my path has been. I do know it was probably pretty.  Like the wonderful light on the fence line. Where am I? Who cares.

Love the final burst of the sun against the fence.

 Hmm... don't remember that bathhouse there. And it's getting dark.

 Luckily, the only little cabin that was lit up was - mine! Home sweet home.



The next morning as the sun rose, I went back to the pools to greet the day.  And to soak. With a book this time. Bliss

Ahhh....

I'm standing on a ledge. I hate figuring out how to get myself in a photo but for those who care, this is for you 

Fabulous way to start the day, any day. I'd love to have this at my house!

Here's the geothermal info- which is clearly not like my part of the world

http://geoheat.oit.edu/bulletin/bull23-4/art11.pdf

Faywood Springs, New Mexico

Wonderful place to soak.
The "no-clothing" thing?

It's totally optional! 

Texas beauty... or "It's all on your perspective."

I don't usually tag my blogs but I want to link all the travel ones since they are so different from my usual writing.  Well, the tags did something and a bunch of people read the blog on Marfa.  And a couple of them chewed me out.  It was a bit snarky in tone and I do apologize for that.

I remember walking on the sidewalk of my own little-town-in-the-middle-of-nowhere. A tourist was complaining about how the one "decent" restaurant was closed on Sundays.  "What?  Why? What a terrible place, who would live here," etc.   I'd love to say that I stopped and directed her to another restaurant and gave her a tour of my really cool artsy town where I know everyone and where there's lots to do.

I didn't. I just kept walking and thought, "With that attitude, you don't need to stick around anyway."


So- for those of you who love Marfa and know I missed a cool place, I am sorry. I wish I had met you there and had a tour of your home town.  But I didn't.

I went back to Alpine, Texas to the Maverick Inn where I had booked a room.  I read how people hated that place, too- not the town but the inn. Well, a busy railroad does run through the middle of Alpine.... but they have earplugs in the rooms. And trains don't bother me. The inn management was very gracious and generous with me- full kitchen and a big space. So I cooked, wrote and wondered if it would be worth the effort to figure out the tv. Nope.



The next morning, the sun turned the sky that fabulous, just before sunrise light of pinks with promises of gold.   I raced down the road toward the light  (turns out there was a wonderful view ... the other way, up on a hill overlooking the desert and the distant mountains.)  It didn't matter- I had left the memory card for the camera in the room.  But later I did take some more pictures and there's some lessons here- for photography, for perspective, for finding beauty anywhere.  Probably it was in Marfa, Texas, if only I had looked harder.

Pink with promise of gold....

The promised gold.
And the end of my camera memory.

So I decided there would be more sunrises and it wasn't worth the stress of racing around for a memory card and a decent place to view it.

The lesson?

  Don't sweat the small stuff. 

The sun will rise tomorrow, and if it doesn't? 

- a whole new adventure awaits. 

_________________________

Light on railroad tracks

The big picture.

And a train on the tracks.

Up close and personal with a train. 

What happened to the light? 

The lesson?

If you hang around, if you just show up- stuff happens. 

Trains come and get closer and closer. 

Cool light makes everything look better- even railroad tracks. 

Step back and look at the big picture.

And if the light isn't fabulous, mess with your photos.

Find beauty or make beauty. 

______________________

The lesson?

Light is life.

 It makes cool silhouettes,

 it makes bare branches stand out like a burning bush.

And sometimes getting closer,

in photography and  in life, 

gives you a whole new perspective.

_____________________________

A empty street, an abandoned church or... an opportunity.

A grim scene, a sad church. With a dumpster. 

And broken windows.

But there is the light.
Transforming light. 

Golden windows.
Texture.
Story.

A new look.




The lesson?

Beauty is where you look for it.
The church wasn't appealing until I looked for the light on the eastern wall.
The sky wasn't great but the empty bell frame is the focus now.

There's a story in that church.

________________

So when you run out of memory or patience or time or even money, breathe.  Know that there will be another sunrise.  Relax. Rest.  THIS is the day the Lord has made, rejoice and be glad in IT. 

When there seems there's nothing to do- just show up, expect, wait. A train's coming, there's a new way to look at your world.

Look for the big picture and the up close and personal details.  The structure of the far tree and the tangle of the near branches. 

When you are frustrated with the results, play with your tools!  My camera isn't fancy and I don't use Photoshop but I have found some fun features of my computer that I didn't know I had.  

We usually have more resources than we think.

And, last but not least- it's all about the light. 

God gives light to each new day. 

Beauty is everywhere you choose to look.  

Look closely,

 find it. 

Or be a part of creating it.