As the years chalk up and the shadows behind me lengthen, I’m more aware of the loveliness of simple things: conversation and a meal with friends, walking in the woods, sunrises & sunsets, reading a good book. Simple things like beauty and inspiration have healing powers, don’t you think? Just as I’ve been re-awakened to how important it is for our well-being to simply sing, it’s had me considering how necessary music, literature, the arts, and being in nature are to our lives. With that in mind I wish to turn up the volume on the simplicity of beauty and inspiration.
Photographer & Conservationist Paul Nicklen and Born to Ice
For Christmas, I received an art book that I had secretly been coveting. It’s an important book. Not just any ‘coffee table art book.’ No, it’s a book intended to highlight the beauty of nature, of nature’s gifts, it’s fragility and vulnerability and, above all, how it’s up to us to save what lives in and depends upon our oceans, in our northern climates, and beyond. The book is the most recent by conservationist, marine biologist, and National Geographic photographer, Paul Nicklen. I don’t think his brother realized how important nor how much I would wish to hold and value his brother’s book of art and how I treasure it as the most important gift I received this year. [Should you wish to find out more or follow Paul on social media, he is on Facebook as Paul Nicklen Photography and through his non-profit Sea Legacy. Of course, Sea Legacy which exists to create healthy and abundant oceans, for us and for the planet, has its own website as does his photography site, Paul Nicklen.]
“And what I’m trying to do with my work is put faces to this [loss of ice]. And I want people to understand and get the concept that, if we lose ice, we stand to lose an entire ecosystem.” — Paul Nicklen
If you only watch ONE of the videos in this post, let this be the ONE.
Poetry by Jeanne Lohmann
I came across this remarkable poem via some casual blog hopping and reading. Although I’m certainly not the first one to find this poem so powerful, and questioning, and memorable, it’s worthy of being read and shared over and over.
Questions Before Dark
by Jeanne Lohmann
Day ends, and before sleep
when the sky dies down, consider
your altered state: has this day
changed you? Are the corners
sharper or rounded off? Did you
live with death? Make decisions
that quieted? Find one clear word
that fit? At the sun’s midpoint
did you notice a pitch of absence,
bewilderment that invites
the possible? What did you learn
from things you dropped and picked up
and dropped again? Did you set a straw
parallel to the river, let the flow
carry you downstream?
Cowichan Carver Harold Joe
The art of carving has been handed down through generations. Watching this interview with totem carver Harold Joe is a true depiction of the slow, steady, calm nature of his life and art. Each totem holds a story. Each is important to their culture, their spirit and beliefs, and with each animal is important symbolism and meaning. There is beauty in how and why he makes art, as well as the art itself.
Nature Photography by Mary Jo Hoffman
Here is something lovely about creativity, nature, and joy that I hope will inspire you. Enjoy.
Jacob’s Piano
It’s no surprise I have a love affair with the piano and those who play it well. Though I will never come near the capability of this gentleman, I admire his gentle hand and beautiful renditions that daily inspire me in many ways. Here he plays four beautiful renditions by four separate composers. If you are in need of a calming window in your day, or simply to be inspired by what you hear, his piano playing is certain to be the most satisfying background to whatever you may be doing.
To you: What makes something beautiful? What’s the most beautiful place you’ve been? What makes a piece of art beautiful to you? What is the most beautiful song you have heard?
The Nicklen book looks wonderful. I will look into it…thank you.