There are all kinds of ways to stand out
December 28, 2009 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Visual Meditation of the Week
Taken in pieces there really isn’t anything that outstanding about this camellia flower – it’s doesn’t have an unusual color or shape or even number of petals. It’s not particularly small or really gigantic and yet somehow it commands attention. Do you view yourself in terms of the pieces or the overall?
Camellia, Juliet Chase, all rights reserved
Built-in flexibility
December 7, 2009 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Visual Meditation of the Week
Most trees seem to come with inner springs so that they can flex and bend with the weight of ice and snow or wind and yet still stand tall. Do you have give in your attitudes when presented with an unexpected storm?
Winter Willow, Juliet Chase, all rights reserved
The power of gravity
November 30, 2009 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Visual Meditation of the Week
Most self-improvement and spiritual language speaks in terms of ‘up’ as the positive direction we should be seeking and yet have you noticed that water always seeks lower ground? Going with the flow may just mean letting gravity take over once in awhile…
Mt. Rainier National Park, Juliet Chase, all rights reserved
A world without obstacles
November 16, 2009 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Visual Meditation of the Week
Looking out an airplane window is the closest most of us can get to an alien world. Even with some weather variation there is a surreal sameness to the landscape – basically because there are no obstacles: trees, mountains, buildings, people.
What things in life are you wishing weren’t there, but you might really miss if all of them were absent?
The long (and tall) view
November 9, 2009 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Visual Meditation of the Week
It is a simple fact that ancient evergreen trees are simply too tall to fit into a single photographic frame. Something that doesn’t prevent me or any other photographer from trying to capture their grandeur anyway. Creating a vertical panorama would certainly be an option but how many have tried it? Are there things in your life that seem to work this way? Is there another approach that with some foresight would accomplish your goal?
Olympic National Park, Juliet Chase, all rights reserved
A work in progress
November 2, 2009 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Visual Meditation of the Week
It seems to happen so fast that I don’t think we’re really aware of Autumn leaves having an in between stage. That sort of not-quite-there-yet awkwardness that most of us would rather not show to the world. Are you waiting to show off your transitions until everything is ‘perfect’? What if the spotty stage is really when you’re at your most interesting?
Maple leaves, Juliet Chase, all rights reserved
Feeling connection
October 26, 2009 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Visual Meditation of the Week
It’s funny how standing on top of a mountain or the very depth of a deep valley tends to leave us feeling small and alone. We are only alone when we create categories of separation; people vs trees etc. Take a moment and feel for that connection with the nearest non-human living thing – cells, oxygen, carbon, growth are just some of the things we have in common.
San Juan Island, WA – Juliet Chase, all rights reserved
Repeating patterns
October 19, 2009 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Visual Meditation of the Week
So much of nature is made up of repeating patterns that change scale or shape unlike the uniformity of say, wall paper. From ferns to pinecones, there is a mathematical structure that is relaxing simply because it is predictable and yet interesting because of the variations. What are your patterns? Do they have subtle variations or are they uniform?
Labels
October 12, 2009 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Visual Meditation of the Week
There are all kinds of brand consciousness; some about Gucci and the right neighborhood and others more subtle. When you look at the wildflower above what labels do you use? If I tell you that it’s an orchid, do those change? Orchids sybolize rarity and the exotic, but not all of them are as eye catching as those in flowershops. So what labels do you apply to yourself? Are you using common terms or those that give emphasis to just how rare you are?
Natural abundance
October 5, 2009 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Visual Meditation of the Week
Salmon berries are one of those local wild delicacies found sporadically along hiking trails. A few people graze on them happily in passing while others abstain; some because of ignorance as to whether they are edible and others because they didn’t come rinsed off and wrapped in cellophane.
While it’s a good idea not to eat things you aren’t positive are edible, it’s another thing entirely never to look it up or observe others and ask questions.
Are you passing up equally succulent opportunities, food or otherwise, because of inflexible rules? Or out of a refusal to ask questions?
Salmon berry, Juliet Chase, all rights reserved
