Maintaining equilibrium

 “Seek the path that demands your whole being. 

Leave that which is not, but appears to be.”

~ Rumi

There is NO understanding of life at times.

Some days ROCK and some days don’t.

How to maintain equilibrium on the days that don’t is a quandary.

And one I don’t have an answer for.

Keeping busy helps.

Note to self:

Focus on the little things.

Any step forward is progress, no matter how small.

Staying static ISN’T an option.

Early morning sun rays that add warmth to my world help.

Reflections in puddles that reflect life right back at me help too.

Hugely heartfelt hugs help even more. They give as much comfort to the giver as to the recipient. 

Even on the days when clouds fill my mind and dark thoughts inhabit my conscious

SOMETHING will happen to bring sunshine to the day

and laughter to my heart.

I thrive on laughter.

It restores normality to a world washed in chaos.

As do my rambles.

A rather madcap look as she waits for me to throw the ball ....

Heading out when the world’s still sleeping ISN’T the norm.

It is peaceful though.

In a naturally noisy fashion.

That's an oxymoron of note.  

A peaceful noise.

Whilst watching the tide recede and the sun rise is tranquil,

there’s nothing tranquil about the cawing of the gulls as they greet that rising sun.

What IS absent though is manmade noise

and that’s what makes those morning rambles magic.

Any sense of awe is lost on the hound.

She leaps through the sand with abandon.  

plunging with glee into the puddles left by the retreating tide.

I have to snap quickly if I want any chance of catching those reflections before she muddies them.

Laughter bubbles out as quickly as the ripples radiate out in the puddle.

What was I thinking.

It's mornings like this that maintain that equilibrium.

Mornings like this that ensure my world ROCKS.

“The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same, 

yet our lessons come from the journey .... not the destination.”

~ Don Williams (American Novelist and Poet 1968)

65VDUB - a 1965 VW Kombi fitted out as a wedding car.
Spotted whilst we were at the Mt. Eden Village market on Saturday.

Pajama-clad people.

“Don’t let anyone EVER dull your sparkle!” 

~ anon.

Pajama-clad people.  

Yep, that’s what I see a lot of on dark and cloudy mornings!  

Heavy skies, threatening rain clouds and a sun that hadn’t YET raised it’s head.  

Even the morning bird chorus was rather muted.  

It all made me wonder if I shouldn’t rather be in bed.

We rambled the ‘back-street’ route to the view-site.  

It’s fun being an early morning spectator on a world waking up.  

Not many houses have lights on as it’s still far TOO early for most ‘normal’ people.  

Definition of nor-mal: 

adjective: Conforming to a standard; usual; typical or expected

If I was conforming or doing what was expected, I’d still be in bed - sleeping.  It’s WAY too cold out here this morning!  Even the floor level lighting at the view-site was emitting steam.  

I knew it was COLDER than usual when I met up with Sarah and Bandit on the beach.  Sarah had a hoodie on and she SELDOM wears long sleeves!

As for those pajama-clad people.  If they only knew how visible they were from the road when they put their lights on, I think they’d draw their curtains.

I’ve come to realise that slippers and dressing gowns are NOT the most attractive way to adorn a body.  I guess they’re better than a towel wrapped around the waist or, as I’ve espied  before, nothing at all.

It’s a magical time of the day to be out and about though, regardless of the weather and regardless of who or what I meet.  I don’t mind my own company.  I get to talk to myself and express my own point of view without interference or debate!  That DOESN’T happen often at home.

Bandit has become a “wannabee” Labrador.  Not only does he now pick up small sticks when he’s ambling up and down the beach with the hound but he also helped Sam carry the rugby ball today!  He’s NEVER done that before.

Watch this space.  Before you know it, he’ll be racing into the waves retrieving rugby balls too!

These hounds of ours have such odd little quirks.  Sarah was doing such a good job of tossing their rugby balls into the waves that we decided to leave them on the beach with her whilst we went to get our daily caffeine boost.  

Well ... we TRIED to leave them with her.

Sam was fine with Carol going but he WASN’T fine with me going.  As soon as he realised that I was leaving the beach too, he picked up his ball and raced after us ... as did my hound.

It sure made Carol feel loved.

He wouldn’t let me go and photograph the Kingfisher on my own either. Being low tide I headed down to the rock pools to see if the Kingfishers were hunting ... and one was.  My intention had been to leave the hound at the steps digging trenches with all the other hounds and humans.  She was happy to do that BUT Sam and Zak WEREN’T.  BOTH of them accompanied me down to the rock pools.  Needless to say the Kingfishers DIDN’T hang around for a photo shoot.

I had to make do with the hounds instead.

“For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.” 

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

She's BIG and she's BROWN and she's SCARY ...

“What we see depends mainly on what we look for.” 

~ John Lubbock

Sometimes I have to SHARE my morning sun.  

The past few mornings have been idyllic.  

Clear skies, little wind and a gloriously huge sun have made for some memorable photographs.  

Mornings like this are precious. 

So precious that others are seeking the magic in them too.

Ali, a new friend I’ve met on my rambles up to the view-site also rambles early in the morning.  She likes to head up to the grassed view-site to do her daily Tai Chi routine.  It’s further up the road and invisible to passing eyes.  She loves the silence up there ... all you can hear are the waves breaking on the shore and the melancholy cawing of the seagulls.

I like photographing the rising sun from the viewing platform at Achilles Point though so we parted ways at the view-site.  In retrospect I should have joined her at her look-out point as the view-site was anything BUT silent today.

Not only did we have Indy vocally expressing his welcome to the sun but we had 5 OTHER people AND another hound doing it too

 ... not quite as vocally as Indy though.

Gareth took this picture of the mist on Harbour Bridge this morning n his way to work

I’d been basking in the serenity of the morning when Bob (small hound) and his humans arrived.  I could FEEL there were more bodies on the platform than just me and the hound by the way it bounced.  I guess small 4 year old humans can get quite BOUNCY after a good night’s sleep.

Bob DIDN’T like the look of the hound.  

She’s BIG and she’s BROWN and she’s SCARY his eyes were silently telling us as he plopped his bum on the ground and refused to move.  

The little human tried to encourage him but he was having none of it and turned tail and headed back up the platform.  She raced after him so he ran faster with bigger human shouting after her to stop running.  

Did I mention this is at 6.48 in the morning?

Bob was eventually coaxed back onto the platform as ANOTHER two early morning ramblers arrived.  With the briefest of  break in conversation to say hi, they stood at the railing and continued their morning catch-up.  I now know where they’re going for breakfast and which of them has a doctor’s appointment later.  Thank goodness they didn’t discuss anything confidential.

Next up was Ali, Tai Chi completed, and Julia and Indy.

My head was REELING.  All these bodies and all this noise at what SHOULD be the MOST peaceful time of the day.

.... and then I remembered that quotation and it all made sense.

Each of us took something special from that moment this morning.  All of it was magical but each of our take on it was unique. Each of us, within ourselves, was looking for something different.

Noise and all, it was STILL a memorable sun-rise.