breathofgreenair

The Road

Posted on March 4, 2013 by greenmackenzie

Road to Bla Bheinn – Isle of Skye

Road to the Coral Beach – Plockton

Is this the way? Glencourse in the Pentlands

Snowroad in the Lammermuirs

Road to Applecross – Rosshire

The Road

The road beckons …Can’t you hear?
Whispering promises of freedom from her tarmac tongue
Softly into your waiting ear.

The ribbon of her body rolls shamelessly on
Promising whispers of adventure from her concrete curves
Seductively into your stirring skeleton.

The way is forwards, never back
Whispering promises of release from her stoney soul
Her courage of movement fills your lack.

So if life is a journey, then we always have our feet placed on the road. The road itself is just a way of getting from a to b…..but we all know that’s not true. The road is the journey, and its all about what we experience on the way from a to b.

It’s very easy to get caught up in the storms which try to unravel and dishevel us. Sometimes for me this feels like coming to a standstill, an impasse, and I’m not quite sure what to do to get things moving again. However if I look down at my feet I’m reminded that all I need to do is put one foot in front of the other. Eventually I’ll get somewhere , and the current difficulty will have passed.

The road then is a symbol of our movement, and every step leads us deeper into our own lives.

When I was younger, in the days before mobile phones, I loved the feeling of freedom which came with travelling. Once I had waved goodbye to the family or friends who had come to see me off, I was released from expectation, and from tasks. All I had do to was to sit back and relax into the unfolding adventure. I was free to be who ever I wanted, and to do whatever I wanted, with no one around to criticise or comment. I still crave that feeling of being beyond reach, of not having to answer to anyone. The ties and bonds of our lives loosen a little while we’re in transit. Travel places us in between the recent past and tomorrow, and I’m a big fan of liminal spaces which are neither here nor there.

What can happen, if we allow it, in these in between places, is an opening into the life unfolding around us. There’s an immediacy to the experience of being in the now, as every new corner we turn opens up new views and new horizons. So taking to the road and heading off on a journey can sweep us powerfully into the here and now of our lives. It offers the freedom to move forwards and become ourselves.

You can explore some more photos of roads at Ailsas travel Challenge ‘Roads’.

Posted in mythology, photos, poem, weekly photo challenge | Tagged change, life, mindfulness, philosophy, photography, poetry, spiritual, symbolism, travel | 49 Comments

Lost in the Woods

Posted on March 2, 2013 by greenmackenzie

Winter woodland path

Will I stick to the well worn path, pressed into creation by the passage of thousands of feet before me? If I listen to my mother and all the wisdom of those who have lived long, I will. If I play safe I will find I reach my destination without incident, without any of the chaos of the unknown and the unexpected. But it’s not in my nature, and even as I try to stay on the path, a murder of crows takes flight around me, shaking the woods with their harsh calls, and I stumble into untrodden leaves.

Snowdrop bank

Curiosity tugs me on through the unmarked woods, following only the transient caws of the crows. This trail of sound leads me over a hill and into a virgin bank of snowdrops, unseen by human eye until this moment. Beauty waiting patiently for anyone who dares to seek the unexplored, and I tumble to the ground breathless with awe.

Snowdrops from earth

Gazing around me I realise I’m lost among the trees, the path of sound has vanished into the air, and I’m alone. Into this lost space the characters of the trees step forward, introducing themselves to me one by one.

Oak lovers entwined

Enchanted to meet you

Many have dark holes chiselled through their bark, leading into the unknown spaces within.

The gregarious extrovert

Scary Oak

Old crusty

Safe and comfortable – come on in

Come on I know you want a peek

Mysterious and full of character

If I could only shrink, like Alice in Wonderland, I would leap in a heartbeat into these unknown and mysterious holes. I imagined as a child that I could live inside a hollow tree, warm and safe from the wild storms in the woods, and I feel that old yearning tugging at my heart. Each entrance holds the promise of something different, something new and unexpected.

But I know I must find my feet again, and walk back out into the safe and structured world known by all. I follow the trees and they lead me back to the path, which no one ever needs to know I left. I brush the leaves of adventure off my shoulders and smile.

Sometimes it’s really good to get lost because we find things we didn’t even know were possible. Getting lost opens up new opportunities and angles which we might never have imagined, but it requires a degree of trust that we will find the path again. Getting lost can be a great catalyst for change, and the unknown territory will usually keep us wide open to the details around us. This is a great help to being mindful, as when we are somewhere unfamiliar we will not slip so easily into assumptions, and we can use our curiosity as an anchor in the moment. Ironically I find getting lost is very grounding, as it brings me sharply into my senses and the world around me. It opens my eyes and my mind in fresh new ways.

You can get lost in the detail in more photos in this weeks photo challenge.

You can also see more photo journeys looking at the fine details all around us at Chittle Chattles lovely 100 Steps challenge.

Posted in change, mindfulness, photos, spiritual, stuckness, weekly photo challenge | Tagged change, life, mindfulness, nature, photography, postaday, spiritual, symbolism, trees | 48 Comments

Bridges to the Unknown

Posted on February 24, 2013 by greenmackenzie

Footbridge over the Tyne – East Lothian

Japanese Footbridge in Snow

Stone footbridge to ancient Nunnery

Skye Bridge in Clouds

Paris after the rain

The Bridge

Walk with me, onto the bridge
If you dare.
Leave the firm ground of your knowing, built methodically and carefully over your lifetime
Leave the certainty of your soul pressed into the earth through your feet
Leave everything you thought you knew and follow me.
Pass into the wild mysterious uncertainty, the space between the worlds.

Everything and nothing is true on the bridge
And even as your heart yearns for what it knew
The far side beckons freedom
As mysterious and powerful as the moon
And moth like
We are pulled from a secret place in our hearts
Step by fearful step, deeper and further into the glittering universe.

So walk with me over the bridge
If you dare
Untie the aged ropes of faith, binding belief to the old
Trust only in the visceral core which pulses through your soft body like a burning star
Trust in the deep wisdom buried in your bones
By long forgotten ancestors
Trust that you are enough,
And with reckless abandon walk now towards your star filled horizon.

Bridges are really magical places, existing neither here nor there. They are liminal spaces where two things can be true at once, although they may oppose each other. They are spaces which open up the hard and fast rules of life, allowing the possibility of change to find its feet.

Change is hard because it involves moving from one known space, into an as yet unknown space. As we all know, the unknown is very hard for our human brains to feel comfortable and relaxed with, so bridges can make us feel a bit nervous, a bit unsure or unsettled. As we step off the known shore into the transition space of a bridge, we need a degree of trust to keep walking forwards, towards the unknown shore.

When I find change has burst unexpectedly into my life, mindful awareness of the new and unusual reality really helps. By getting curious, rather than anxious about the changes, I can ground myself in the reality of the present. I walk fully aware onto the bridge, with as few expectations as possible. Of course my mind usually gets in the way again, but even pockets of grounding myself in the real moment, brings more of a sense of control in the midst of change. Being present to the changes happening both within and around me, I gain a sense of calm presence.

As spaces of transition, bridges have always been viewed as holding special powers, linking together what would otherwise remain separate. They also allow us to cross what would be impenetrable barriers, shortening journeys, making movement easier…. we really should build more bridges, and cross them when we can.

To see more posts aboutBridges follow the link to Ailsa’s beautiful Weekly Photo Challenge

Posted in change, mindfulness, photos, poem | Tagged bridges, change, life, mindfulness, musings, philosophy, photography, poem, spiritual | 69 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge – Forward

Posted on February 23, 2013 by greenmackenzie

We drove down this track last weekend, to visit the secluded beach of Seacliff, in East Lothian. We took several wrong turnings, and got hopelessly lost several times before rounding the corner to this view. The Bass Rock gleaming in the Firth of Forth beckoned us forward. The beach was just through this arch, round the corner and down the track. This view led us forwards, knowing we were on the right track…..and you can see some views of the beach we reached on my earlier post ‘Breath of the sea’.

Things which entice and encourage us forwards are so important, they can help to motivate, focus and reassure us. Like little beacons in the dark unknown, they illuminate and show us the path. We can begin to feel certainty in the midst of uncertainty, just because of these tangible, visible markers. They confirm we are heading in the right direction, even when we feel utterly lost.

“Do not seek to bring things to pass in accordance with your wishes, but wish for them as they are, and you will find them.” Epictetus C5th.

He reminds us that sometimes the best way forward, especially if we are lost, is to stop trying to find what we think should be there, and to start seeing what’s actually there. Once we had spotted the Bass Rock we knew we could relax and just follow the track.

To see more ideas on the weekly photo theme of ‘forward‘ click the link.

Posted in change, nature photo, philosophy, photos, spiritual, weekly photo challenge | Tagged change, life, lost, nature, philosophy, photography, postaday, spiritual, uncertainty | 50 Comments

Process as a Russian Doll

Posted on February 19, 2013 by greenmackenzie

Spring stirred oaks dancing

Deep in the oak woods, something stirs. Tiny creaks and crackles fill the spaces between the air with gossamer wisps of sound.The sap hidden beneath the crusty crackled skin of bark begins its upwards journey towards the wooden finger tips of the trees. The earth turns back towards the sun, and the unstoppable yearly process of growth and decay, turns the trees out of winter and into spring. But look a little deeper and this grand yearly cycle is nestled like a Russian doll within far greater, longer cycles of process and change.

Viking warrior bares belly

Lightening is drawn inevitably, like a tragic star struck lover, towards the heartwood of oak. The bleached lightening struck branches gleam like bones, revealing the first step in the big process of decay from life.

Broken limb, fallen dancer

Weakened by the heaven sent fury, the ground is littered with the fallen carcasses of limbs once swaying in the summer breeze, reaching towards the sky.

Rope twist in wood

The contact with the earth sets off the next stage in the process of decay. The bark falls like flesh, and the grain in the wood is chiseled out by millions of tiny organisms, unseen by human eye. The wood is re-clothed with moss, fungi and lichen, as its structure softens further, releasing its hard held form back into the soft earth.

Wood to earth – new hope

In the end, the strength of the tree dissolves into soil, and tiny acorns are nourished by its soft life giving blanket. Change and process are hidden all around us in unseen layers within layers, if only we have the eyes to see. The stately process has come full circle, and the earth breathes out, into growth, and into the next layer of the Russian doll of life.

To see more ideas of process decribed with pictures and words visit the weekly challenge

Posted in art, change, mindfulness, nature photo, photos, spiritual | Tagged change, life, life and death, mindfulness, nature, photography, postaday, spiritual, symbolism, trees | 101 Comments

The breath of the sea

Posted on February 18, 2013 by greenmackenzie

The Bass Rock – Firth of Forth

We walked along the restless shifting edge of the ocean yesterday. The tide was rising, covering our footprints in the sand almost as soon as we had left them. The shape woven between the sand and the sea was constantly being reformed before our eyes, and the beach was shrinking. It was as though the earth was breathing, and the waves ebbed and flowed with the rise and fall of her breath. So I began to link my breath with the water, feeling it flow in as the waves rolled up onto the sand, and feeling it release on the out breath, as the sea rolled back into the ocean. It gave me a wonderful sense of the uniqueness of each and every breath. No two breaths are ever the same, and here on the oceans edge, no two waves are ever repeated.

Seacliff beach – East Lothian

It’s a wonderful exercise in waking up to the present moment, when every moment is painted so uniquely right before my eyes. My one wild and precious life flows ever onwards with the tides of my breath, but sometimes I forget to notice. Whole hours can pass, where I have missed all sorts of wonderful tiny moments of life’s creative beauty. I found myself mesmerised yesterday by the patterns and shapes created in the foam, where the energy of the sea hit the inertia of the earth. The shapes shifted so fast that I could barely keep up! It’s incredible the changes which roll out unnoticed around me in every precious moment.

Seacliff waves

The ever changing space of the beach is a wonderful place to step fully into the present, as it unfolds in a dizzying display of unrepeatable patterns.

Sea Foam

Posted in change, elemental, mindfulness, nature photo, photos, relaxation, spiritual | Tagged beach, change, life, mindfulness, photography, relaxation, water, waves | 13 Comments

The sun kissed the earth

Posted on February 16, 2013 by greenmackenzie

The sun leaned in and kissed the earth yesterday, and just like that the warm soil seemed to spring back to life. The snowdrops were everywhere, glistening white against the dark earth, the promise of a flower filled Spring yet to come. Delicate beauty, pushing through the cold hard soil of winter.

There was a bright freshly sprung carpet of wild garlic, just beginning to push through the discarded leaf litter of last Autumn. The wild scent filled the air as my boots crushed the delicate blades, releasing the aromatic oils. A bright splash of colour and scent announcing the end of barren winters grip.

An ancient oak, waking from its winter slumber, yawned in the suns warmth. Stretching up into the light and warmth of the strengthening sun. You could almost hear the sap stirring deep beneath the gnarled and crusty bark.

The sharp green blades of daffodils thrust with such vigour through the earth that moss and bark were lifted aloft. The green energy of life pushing and pulsing upwards towards the light, bursting free from its earthbound winter prison.

If we take the time to look closely there are constant signs of change, of the season turning, and of the resilience of life. Despite the still bare branches, the hope of spring is stirring beneath our feet, growing stronger each day with the suns kisses. Nothing, not even the crushing desolation of winter, lasts for ever. To see more takes on Kiss follow the link to this weeks photo challenge.

Posted in change, green walks, mindfulness, nature photo, photos, weekly photo challenge | Tagged change, life, mindfulness, musings, photography, postaday, snowdrops, spring | 40 Comments

The Roots of Wanderlust

Posted on February 15, 2013 by greenmackenzie

Can you remember when you were first bitten by the travel bug? The roots of my yearning to travel, and to see exotic other places, were planted at a very young age by my Granny. She gave me a gorgeous old book, bound in red leather, embossed with gold, and with pages as thick as parchment. When I opened the covers, the musty scent of age wafted out like incense to tickle my nose. Inscribed in the front of the book, in delicate black ink, was her name and address, and the date she got the book, 1920. She was 13 when she was gifted the book, but she gave it to me when I was only 7.

I have very fond memories of sitting next to her on the old sofa in her house, while she read to me from the book, and then I would read to her. The rain might have been lashing against the windows, and we would be snug and warm cuddled up together, with a pot of tea on a tray, and slices of almond flavoured battenberg cake.

The book was a Childs Garden of Verse, by Robert Louis Stevenson, and I can still recite many of the poems in it by heart. One of my favourites was called travel, and I think my adult travels have been spurred by the colourful and exotic visions this poem provoked in my young mind. The travels in the poem were written about the far flung lands of the British Empire, and they planted wonderful images and longings, which have called to me ever since.

I had another, more modern version of the same book, given to me by my parents, complete with beautiful colour illustrations. I loved this book too, as the pictures fuelled my creative brain, and the images for Travel looked so far removed from the cloud shrouded skies of Scotland. It was like being transported to another place, filled with sunshine, warmth, colour and mystery…..and I’ve been chasing after these ever since. So when I wander in amazement through foreign cities and lands, it’s as if my feet have landed in a childhood dream, and I look with the curious eyes of a child, soaking in every last detail. Mindfulness and travel make easy companions, as do mindfulness and reading poems from old books. Both fuel the senses with plenty to keep me absorbed, but often lead me back into my childhood roots and dreams. So “Thank you” Granny for helping to plant such wonderful desires to travel and see the far corners of the earth.

Travel

I should like to rise and go
Where the golden apples grow;–
Where below another sky
Parrot islands anchored lie,
And, watched by cockatoos and goats,
Lonely Crusoes building boats;–
Where in sunshine reaching out
Eastern cities, miles about,
Are with mosque and minaret
Among sandy gardens set,
And the rich goods from near and far
Hang for sale in the bazaar;–
Where the Great Wall round China goes,
And on one side the desert blows,
And with the voice and bell and drum,
Cities on the other hum;–
Where are forests hot as fire,
Wide as England, tall as a spire,
Full of apes and cocoa-nuts
And the ***** hunters’ huts;–
Where the knotty crocodile
Lies and blinks in the Nile,
And the red flamingo flies
Hunting fish before his eyes;–
Where in jungles near and far,
Man-devouring tigers are,
Lying close and giving ear
Lest the hunt be drawing near,
Or a comer-by be seen
Swinging in the palanquin;–
Where among the desert sands
Some deserted city stands,
All its children, sweep and prince,
Grown to manhood ages since,
Not a foot in street or house,
Not a stir of child or mouse,
And when kindly falls the night,
In all the town no spark of light.
There I’ll come when I’m a man
With a camel caravan;
Light a fire in the gloom
Of some dusty dining-room;
See the pictures on the walls,
Heroes fights and festivals;
And in a corner find the toys
Of the old Egyptian boys.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Posted in childhood, mindfulness, poem, thoughts, travel, verse | Tagged childhood, dreams, imagination, mindfulness, old books, poetry, reading, thoughts, travel | 13 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge – Home

Posted on February 9, 2013 by greenmackenzie

This oak tree grows in a very old woodland beside my home. The wood is home to a family of old gnarled oak trees some of which date back to the 14th century. The woodland pasture is thought to have been a royal hunting forest in the 12th century, so the trees origins are even older. The roots of these trees have been at home in the earth of Midlothian for a very long time, and they have formed symbiotic relationships with many different types of fungus. The fungi help the oak and the oak helps the fungi, just like a family. The undisturbed soil and roots have merged to form a stable and nourishing base for the huge trunk and canopy of each tree.

The canopy, bark and leaves are also home to a vast array of families of insects, birds and mammals. In Dalkeith Park my local oak woodland pasture is home to rare and endangered saproxylic beetles and rare lichen, which are all indicators of ancient woodland. These species have been calling these old oaks home for millennia. In fact oak trees support the most complex and diverse eco system of any known tree, in Britain at least. Sitting beneath these trees always fills me with a deep sense of timelessness, stillness and a sense of belonging. To be in a place for a long time time is to be-long, and to grow a sense of home. Over time we can grow roots into the earth which help to anchor and nourish us, and we can grow fresh leaves as we reach creatively towards the light.

The oak leaf itself is the symbol of my beautifully wooded home county of Midlothian, in Scotland. For me all of this makes the oak tree a perfect symbol of home, of nourishment, of shelter and of continuity.

To see more takes on home, or to join in the wordpress challenge click the link.

Posted in ancient sites, green walks, history, mindfulness, photos, weekly photo challenge | Tagged ancient Lothian, mindfulness, nature, oak, photography, postaday, scotland, spiritual, tree | 37 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge – Unique

Posted on February 3, 2013 by greenmackenzie

Every moment is unique, it can never be repeated. Yet we forget this and much of our lives fly past without us even noticing. Taking the time to enjoy each unique moment as it unfolds deepens our connection, not just with our own unique life, but with the world around us. The world is in a constant state of change, and in each moment we can experience the weaving together of many threads which will never be repeated. Whenever I think about this it inspires me to try to notice just a little more of the miraculous world around me.

It’s easy to spend too much time in auto pilot, busy rushing from one task to the next, and to miss all the amazing sights and sounds which are just under our noses. Slowing down enough to savour the life we are actually living can have a powerful effect. Suddenly you might find that you’re a little happier, and a little more relaxed. You might even begin to notice that you already have everything you need to be happy, and instead of spending your life focused on the next task, you can begin to enjoy where you are right now.

I took these photos with a very fast shutter speed in sports mode on the new camera so that I could capture the action. Even taking 5 shots a second I still missed lots of unique moments in time, and it got me thinking about how much happens which I never even see, although its right in front of me.

See some more takes on the weekly photo theme Unique