In the Academy Award documentary, “My Octopus Teacher,” narrator Craig Foster acknowledges that some may wonder why day after day, he snorkels in the same kelp forest in a small cove when the entire South Atlantic Ocean awaits. It’s because he’s learned that healing means returning to the same place.
“That’s you, Sharon,” said Adrienne.
For more than two decades, I have walked the same four-mile square area, and for the past two years to my beloved Goose Pond, most recently to a small, barely accessible, 6 ft. x 6 ft. shoreline. I return morning after morning at least twice a week to take note of the subtle differences outside and around me, and am reminded of the nuances inside me, nuances that are sometimes wild and beautiful.
For 40 minutes yesterday morning, I watched and listened to a cumulus cloud as it took shape, then dissipated. The featured image at the top of this post was taken at 6:07 a.m.
During these 40 minutes, what did the cloud say? That life is short? Fragile? Can change within an hour?
“When I began to listen to poetry,” writes national poet laureate, Joy Harjo, “it’s when I began to listen to the stones, and I began to listen to what the clouds had to say, and I began to listen to others. And, I think, most importantly for all of us, then you begin to learn to listen to the soul, the soul of yourself in here, which is also the soul of everyone else.”
Perhaps when I listen to the clouds, I hear my soul, and more importantly, the soul of everyone else. Perhaps this is why I keep returning to this wild and beautiful place. There is so much to hear.
If you haven’t yet seen, “My Octopus Teacher” (Netflix), drop everything and watch it . . . and listen.
This is also the place where I never feel depressed or anxious.
I loved “My Octopus Teacher” and I love that Adrienne saw the parallel in going to the same place. Thank you for sharing. A good way to start my morning.
Kelly — I never realized the parallel, either and I’ve watched the documentary twice! As deft as Adrienne is in calling me on my b.s., a la “Adrienne-isms,” she is equally as deft in calling out my gifts, of which she is one.
Sharon, this is a gorgeous and perfect post. Your words paired with these images had me listening to these clouds, too. I looked at the images again and again … and listened. Thank you. It rained hard here yesterday with only a touch of snow, so today, I’m listening to the sound of green emerging. It’s been a long time coming.
Beth — did the clouds pictured here say anything to you?
The thought came that everything changes and that there is beauty in each phase of the transformation. More broadly, those thoughts were related to both clouds and living in an aging human body.
Ah, the aging human body — that never occurred to me at Goose Pond even though I walk with trekking poles and must ice down both knees and my right hip when I get back home. I start looking for the beauty in this transformation — and I’m not being sarcastic. xoxo
Thank you for this beautiful piece. As someone who cannot choose to go to different places, it’s all too easy for me to feel “stuck” in this one place. Healing here? Your piece opens my ears, my heart, my soul, to the healing voices of the trees, the grass, the shrubs, the few large rocks that surround me in my “stuckness.” I do practice a daily sense of “wonder”; I will add to that practice the practice of listening.
Wonderful that Adrienne saw you in “My Octopus Teacher.” Clearly she is someone who has truly listened to you!
Thank you, dear Carol. And thank you for teaching me the patience of finding wonder in places of “stuckness,” for example, a hospital room or a cardiologist’s waiting room!
And yes, Adrienne, god bless her, listens.
Good stuff Sharon. Keep listening to those clouds. Might be why the pooch and I make the walk every morning. Clouds, moon, stars, sun always amazing.
Thanks, Paul. Knowing your love of the outdoors — and your morning walks with the pooch — your comment means much to me. Beth has walked a small part of this area with me, but she never saw Goose Pond. Maybe someday, the three of us can walk there.
At 3 a.m. on December 21, I woke and drove to the farmland to see the “Christmas Star” — the Great Conjunction between the Jupiter and Saturn. The last time humans were able to see this Great Conjunction this close was in 1226. I easily saw Jupiter, which is always kind of bright. I assumed the speck close to it (I don’t have a telescope) was Saturn. A security guard stopped by, turned on his truck flood lights and asked me what the heck I was doing. When I pointed out the Christmas star, he said: “You’re kidding. That’s why you’re here?” He told me to be careful and drove away. He didn’t get out of his truck to look at the phenomenon.
We’ve all got our quirks.
Sharon, I hope someday you get to stand in wonder and watch and listen to an intense display of northern lights. Highly recommend Yellow Knife, NWT as a place to start. Charlotte and I listened and watched as God danced across the sky there. Your quiet pond and the clouds above it are a wonderful place to spend time listening to life.
Seeing the Northern Lights is definitely on our bucket list. Adrienne must mention it every year. I checked out where Yellow Knife is — it’s WAY up there in Canada in what seems like the middle of nothing. PERFECT! Thanks for the reminder and suggestion. xoxo
I thoroughly enjoyed this post. Very peaceful and Zen. A nice combination of thought and imagery. You really captured a moment.
Seeing the photos on my desktop shows the true beauty. The iPhone’s small screen does not do them justice.
Thank you, dear Adrienne. Where would I be or go, for that matter, without you? Thank you for giving me morning space to heal myself.❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Dear One, you are a poet with your camera and your heart. I am so grateful for your eye and your words that come through your soul. You always take my breath away and thanks to Adrienne who sees your heart as well. XOXO
Oh Charlotte, we go back nearly 45 years. You have taught me so much about nurturing my soul, an endeavor which you tirelessly undertake. Thank you for appreciating this post.🙏💜