back to the earth: part 3

that one moment...

sitting by the ocean in la jolla the other night, i shared a moment with the waves and with a friend.

i was in awe at how many times the clash of the water against the rocks created a "boom" underneath where i was sitting. it was fascinating, nature's way of communicating beauty through obstruction ~ so we agreed. it was if the water showed clemency to the land, halting its gentle flow, creating splash - keeping our awe, wonder and fear abreast.

why would anyone want to know how the waves work? he asked me. i had no answer, because truly the mystery was beyond us both. nevertheless, the speech we received commanded our attention and again, i was drawn to something truly magnificent. 

broken things moved on, his grand finale left a quiet in his soul...at least for the moment.

on this night, there was no need  for commentary. it just existed

back to the earth: part 2

as it was...

"the stones will cry out."

it was the first thought that crossed my mind as i stared at the fallen rocks all around me. imperfect formation and seemingly in the way, but nevertheless: my perspective felt flawless. i had hiked through tall grasses, brush, and dirt - only to come to a landscape of rocks that i had to climb over just to see a picturesque waterfall, a rushing creek...the destination of my journey.

the sun had grown quite warm and my skin welcomed the cool breeze in the air. slipping off my tennis shoes and stretching out my legs, i breathed in and out deeply, peacefully taking in the scene. and all i could find in my soul was that even the rocks reflected a Majestic Origin.

while the phrase refers to a rebuke made at self-righteous leaders, it is a reminder of the very Spirit behind all that is.

i was enthralled by stepping stones to the very rock i was perched on. the spring waters sprayed delicately over stones that dared stand in the way. it reminded me - even these were Created with purpose and pose. the green grasses and seaweed coming out of their crevices was a sign of beauty and life...exceeding limitations.

and then i realized...

"knowledge of season lit his face//but he seemed restless//what he said almost made sense//but from a distance."

there was something spiritual about this place, the quiet affirmation of worship. it was an awe of expression, a union of strength and beauty. the power of this position is more than words could express. it is the sound of the rushing stream, a fresh perspective -- complicated, gorgeous, surrounded by stone. i was taken by a foundation of the transition, evident changes, rocks that had fallen. 

((back to the earth: part 1))

from Africa to America - learning is peace

learning is peace, he said. in fact it was one of the greatest things Atef said he hoped would help him change the world. 

i went for a late night work out at the gym this weekend. and while i was taking a moment between weight-lifting sets, a gentleman on the bench near by commented on the tattoo on my left shoulder in Arabic. 

interestingly enough, he told me he was from Tunisia and that he had come to the U.S. to study. he'd always been interested in literature and languages but, he noted, he was experimenting - so he tried his hand at computer science for awhile and now wanted to go back to political science. he had been in the United States for 3 years and worked as a bartender while he studied. 

the impact his country has-had among the African and Middle East revolutions has been on his mind because to Atef, it would be only a matter of time before the people would put another dictator in place and the cycle would start all over again. even with a good ruler - unless a new set of standards was adopted by many of his countrymen, it wouldn't really change. but then again, with the right education, maybe it could. 

he noted that he loved being in the US for now, and really Tunisia was just as diverse as the US. Atef said that people don't realize here that Tunisia is Africa and that there are just as many blends of ethnicity as anywhere else in the world - that being a majority Muslim country in the religious sense was really meaningless. 

his eyes were intense and he told me that if countries and cultures would take a moment to learn about one another, and understand that humans were really all the same, there would be more peace in the world. 

Atef hopes that by studying political science, he can better understand how to take new ideas back to his country - to influence laws and government and social change. 

but, he said, i don't know, people don't read in Tunisia. they play cards in coffee shops. i don't know how i'll get them to read. i laughed thinking of how many Americans play cards in coffee shops and how many of them don't read. 

of course - what it really proves - is that we all are the just same. 

back to the earth: part 1

as it began-

"back to the earth," he said.

 

it's a phrase that is resonating with me every time i repeat it and ever since my friend said that's what he was looking for. of course, at the time, he was initially referring to the pictures he wanted to me take for his photo shoot. and i can imagine that the connection of something greater than himself was a stake....something, yes, outside my own pretenses.

 

the earth...is the sum of it's parts.

 

and then it came-

 

at 1am, on the way to work, i diverted my route and decided to grab a chai from a local coffee shop, the only one open 24 hours...and i met frank. while he made my tea, i noticed an exquisite tattoo of the virgin madonna on his left arm and below, a celtic cross. in the course of conversation i learned that he was raised catholic. while he rarely, if ever attends mass anymore: he still goes to confession. it's not quite the obligation, he told me, there was just...something about it.

how fascinating...

and so i find -

the two are coinciding. it is in the state of confession, prostate in the presence of the earth: each hold the spirit of their Creator. 

breathed into life.

spoken into existence. 

it is a communion. for what is confession but nothing more than the soul surrendering to the spirit? and if that Spirit is in all that is, could it not be possible to surrender back to the earth? the origin of form, where it is we come from. in doing so: the Creator then rightly reclaims what belongs to Him. 

my soul. 

my gaze. 

my fascination.

going back to the earth renders my confession, my admittance of weakness, that i may be strong again. 

to be continued....