Arriving at my Destination

A woman in harmony with her spirit is like a river flowing.

She goes where she will without pretense

and arrives at her destination

prepared to be herself

and only herself.

  -Maya Angelou

A Fine Whine

Usually a very grateful girl, I recently found myself saying these things,

"This is horrible, the tides are all wrong today for a long afternoon walk on the beach."

or

"I didn't sleep well last night because (as I was laying in my toasty warm bed next to my sweetie at the Oregon Coast) the rain was pounding too loudly on my window."

or

"I only found two unbroken sand dollars today."

or

"The sun is shining on my computer monitor and if I move, I have to give up my view of the bay."

When I whined to my friends and relatives, they didn't have much empathy.  My co-workers had none. I am reminded that my problems are not problems at all.

Then I had a much needed talk with myself which started like this...

"Snap out of it, Miss Nancy, you indeed have a lucky life!"

Safe

With grateful heart, I found my soul

tossed out of the sea,

vulnerable to the world.

I picked it up, this fragile pearl,

with a mother's love and said,

"You are safe with me."

I Don't Poop in your House

 Because this guy above can't speak for himself, I will let these numbers do the talking.

 "In 2013 alone, at the Nehalem Bay Estuary Clean Up, 100 volunteers collected and sorted marine debris which included...

15 yards of trash

2 yards of rigid plastic

1 yard of mixed plastic

96 gallons of glass

64 gallons of thin film

64 gallons of metal

12 hazardous material items

16 tires

4 large barrels

758 shotgun shells

27 balls

1 canoe

7 flip flops

1 buoy

1 tent

1 refrigerator"

Source: Dale Cramer Burr, Executive Director, Nehalem Community Trust, Headlight Herald Guest Opinion

Monday's Moment of Zen

I came along at the right moment to capture nature's spectacular artistry.

Remember...

"In a gentle way,

You can shake the world."

--Mahatma Gandhi

And the Award Goes To...

In the world of "garbage washing ashore during winter storms," this recent entry may take the Artistic Design Award. I can imagine the art critic's review now...

"Given the large, three-dimensional nature and the necessarily bold visual language of this installation, the work has a strong sense of place, but at the same time, the depictions of fabric and rope produce a feeling of impermanence and shape-shifting evocative of transient lives where landscape, language and a sense of self are forever being renegotiated.  Although mute, textiles are an almost inexhaustible mine of cultural and scientific information. The secret is in knowing how to read the signs. These physical qualities of endurance, adaptability and evidential power also have great metaphoric potential."