Prince and Queen of the Night, The Beauty of the Shadow Side

Prince of the Night and Queen of the Night

©Lynne Buchanan,  All Rights Reserved

Much has been written about the shadow side of human nature, especially in recent times.  We often try to bury our darker side, at least I did.  Yet when the shadow side is not acknowledged, we become ruled by it and often behave in ways that are not in accordance with our basic nature.  I kept searching outside myself to fill a hole that I didn't even realize existed within me.  It was only by delving deep inside and recognizing my shadow and learning to love it too that I finally started to become free.   By losing my fear of the dark, I have become more able to celebrate the light.

These flowers exist on different continents, but they mirror each other so beautifully.  The top image is the Prince of the Night and it was made on the Isle of Skye.  The image on the bottom is the Queen of the Night, and it was made in the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens in Gainesville.  To me this also shows that we are never alone and reflect each other's darkness and light no matter how far apart we are geographically or even consciously.  It is not us and them.  We are one and the same.

Drinking in the Rain

"Drinking in the Rain," ©Lynne Buchanan

All Rights Reserved, Watermarked by Digimarc

We have been experiencing a period of heavy rain in Florida for the past week.  The water levels on the rivers are high and some people have been complaining about being stuck inside.  Rain is the way the earth rebalances itself after stresses like global warming, pollution, etc.  Though it can be hard to remain cheerful after many days of gloomy skies, we can change our perspective and view the rain as a way the earth cleanses itself.  There is a wonderful Native American chant that I learned is Scotland from Sandra Ingerman and which I have been chanting all week–especially when getting poured on while kayaking.  It goes like this:

I walk in beauty in a sacred way,

I walk in beauty each and every day,

Let the spirit of the fire lift your spirit higher,

Let the spirit of the earth fill your heart with mirth,

Let the spirit of the rain wash away your pain,

Let the spirit of the sky teach your mind to fly,

If the world was sunny all the time, it would dry up, get hotter, and burn.  Just look at what is happening in Arizona.  We can learn so much from the earth, as it does its best to keep sustaining life despite what humankind is doing to create more problems in the environment.  Yet, despite all these issues, we can still dream of a better future for the planet we love.   If we choose to help spread that dream, together we may still be able to turn things around.  It is our only hope.  

When I was working on optimizing this flower, which actually was taken on the Isle of Skye in the Dunvegan Castle Garden, it brought to mind a poem I read recently.  Stephen Mulhearn, a photographer and poet and owner of the Lendrick Lodge, a holistic retreat center in the Trossachs in Scotland, wrote this short piece about keeping our dreams alive:

"What is it that separates the dreamers

and gives the energy of love to their lives?

They simply choose to give water to the plant,

firstly to give life and love that blossoms flowers,

and secondly to receive the beauty and joy

that every open petal releases,

in return for the emotion we call love."

I know I choose to love life, to dream, and to open to the rain and drink in it's life sustaining properties.

Mountainous Coast Near Elgol ©Lynne Buchanan

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This photograph was taken on the rugged coastline of the Isle of Skye that is most easily accessed by boat, although intrepid hikers do scale the cliff face to get down with a path that is only four inches wide in places.  I opted for the boat, as I didn't want to get into trouble on my own.  The next morning, a German couple at the bed and breakfast related their experiences hiking.  The wife said the difficulty was that it was hard to even identify where the path was because it was so sheer and boulders were right on top of one another.  She spent a lot of time splayed over rocks, hanging on with her fingertips and praying.  

Life is often like this.   Things get all jumbled up and it is hard to see where the path is, though it is often fraught with danger.  Yet, especially when it seems most perilous and the urgency arises to move quickly to safety, it is important to stop for a moment and breathe.  It is more likely that the next step you take will be the right step if you take the time to feel into where you are and which direction you should really be going.  It takes patience, discernment, and a whole lot of faith to make it from point a to point b sometimes, particularly when point b is unknown.  

This is something that has become painfully clear to me in the past two weeks as I have faced a health issue that still has an unknown outcome.  I have spent a lot of time hanging on with my fingertips and breathing and hopefully the decisions I am making are best for me.  Having to think about such serious issues really put the rest of life into perspective as well.  I feel blessed that Rick Hanson, a neuropsychologist and author of Buddha's Brain, also recently faced a health challenge that he is past now.  Not that I wish serious medical problems on anyone, but he has been writing some great blogs that really spoke to me.  A recent one was entitled "Is it Truly Urgent" and today's was "What is Living You?"   The practice he recommended in the first blog was lowering pressure by getting rid of "shoulds" and figuring out what you don't need to do, and the practice for today's was giving over to the good instead of the bad.  Though he admits that we are often lived my currents of life and continually give ourselves over to them, he advocates that we can choose which currents we opt to flow with and I would say our perspective as well.  After the initial surprise of being told that something might be wrong with me, as I always consider myself to be so healthy, I have been trying to figure out what I can learn from all of this and I can tell you there is a lot.  

As I contemplate how to reduce pressure and narrow in on what really matters to me in life, so that I am able to spend what time remains living authentically and in harmony with the planet, things suddenly seem more black and white–though of course there are always shades of gray. It's just that the distractions my attention was often drawn to are falling away and the direction I want to move in is becoming more apparent–even if it is only the next step.   I am beginning to be able to see beneath the superficial layers of existence and social conventions, to an underlying structure of being.  Two words keep entering my consciousness and they are kindness and respect.  My goal is to behave with kindness and respect towards myself first, and then towards everyone I encounter and the earth.  Really it is all one and the same, as we are all connected for the time we co-exist on this planet.  If we disrespect anything or anyone, then we are acting out of alignment and our actions will not be beneficial–even to ourselves.  

My fiend who is a structural engineer said he was drawn to  the field because he likes seeing the world in black and white: will it stand up or will it fall down.  The same is true for how we interact with one another.  Do we want to lift each other higher or push someone else down to make ourselves appear better.  The latter has never worked for me, because my larger self knows it is an inauthentic way of being.  I choose, like Rick Hanson, Sandra Ingerman, Dewitt Jones, Rikki Cooke, Mark Nepo, and so many exemplary people whose writings I have read or whom I have had the honor of meeting, to choose the good–especially when times are difficult.  

Pretty in Pink ©Lynne Buchanan

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Anyone who understands me, knows how much I love lilies and why.  They explode upon the scene in the most glorious colors taking such delicate forms, yet they grow in dank water.  To me, they are the best symbol of hope.  As Sandra Ingerman taught us in the Earth Medicine workshop I just attended in  Scotland, movement is a sign of health in all things.  I definitely agree with that.  When our energy gets blocked, we become unhealthy, upset, and imbalanced.  That is why many people strive to be in the flow by doing yoga, mediating, running, praying and any other means.  Yet, the incredible thing about lilies is that they celebrate life while growing in stagnant waters.  Not that we should aspire to exist in environments that are cut off from life force energy,  but it is comforting to know that we can still chose to shine not matter what state we find ourselves in.

I happened upon this lily in the most unlikely of circumstances.  I was visiting the Dunvegan Castle in Scotland and it was a dreary day with intermittent rain and a plethora of midges.  I purchased the midge spray in the visitor's center before I set out and though I was assured the locals considered it to be the best product, it did virtually no good anytime I stopped long enough to focus my camera. Then I saw this perfect, pink lily and almost cried.  I had to leap across a bed of flowers to get close enough to make a macro.  When I got into position, I didn't notice how many midges were swarming me.  I knew the colors, patterns of the leaves and the raindrops on the leaves created this scene that epitomized the dewy freshness of lilies and life to me.  A million midges could have (and probably did bite me) and I wouldn't have noticed or cared.  When I downloaded the image later, I was so happy I toughed it out like the lily and appreciated all life had to offer me in that moment.  This is a lesson I always want to remember...

Bluebells in the Trossachs ©Lynne Buchanan

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This field next to the Lendrick Lodge in the Trossachs was definitely heaven on earth.   I can't tell you how many times I walked past it in the five days I was there.  Every time something different was revealed and I was ecstatic.  The best truly was when the sun rose and a starburst was created behind the trees.   This image was the perfect expression of what I experienced at Sandra Ingerman's workshop.  Her message was that we should all look upon the world in its divine perfection and shine our light like stars, so that we manifest the reality of our dreams.  She told us that Shamans say we have been dreaming the wrong dream and that is why our world is such a mess right now.  By focusing all our energy on problems, we just make things worse and worse.  We need to direct our attention on what is right with the world and lift everyone up, so people are motivated to make things better.  This concept resonated with me on a very deep level.  Without hope, we are lost.  Sandra's philosophy seemed very much in keeping with Dewitt Jones' idea of celebrating what is right.  Before I met Sandra and Dewitt, I thought that seeking and expressing beauty in nature might be indulgent on my part and that I should be telling people about all the planet's problems and what we need to do to save the earth.  What I have realized in speaking to people about my photography is that people need to realize our world still has amazing beauty that deserves to be celebrated.  When people see images of such beauty that exist right now, then they are inspired to reconnect with the earth and their thoughts and actions will naturally turn to preservation.

Cambuskenneth Abbey @Lynne Buchanan

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Just a quick post.  Arrived in Scotland and saw some beautiful sights.  On my way to the Trossachs shortly.  This is part of the remains of Cambuskenneth Abbey near Stirling.  Beautiful area with a lovely castle and the National Wallace Monument, which has lots of nice walking trails...

Vervet Eating Flowers © Lynne Buchanan

Watermarked by Digimarc, All Rights Reserved

I am happy to announce that  my photograph Vervet Eating Flowers, which was taken in Kenya will be featured on the front page of the "Share the View" photography contest website this Monday (June 3rd).  The photograph will remain on the home page for the entire day. This image was awarded Highly Commended Finalist in the 2012 "Share the View" international photography contest sponsored by the Greater Denver Audubon Society.  The URL for the home page that will feature my photograph and other finalists is : http://denveraudubon.contestvenue.com.  I will try to remember to post a reminder tomorrow, but I am flying to Scotland today and will be traveling.  Please visit the website to see all this photograph and more great entries!