Full Moon, Dust Moon, Heart Moon – A Poem

Full Moon in Dust Storm

Full Moon in Dust Storm © 2014 Bo Mackison

Tell me what you feel in your room when the full moon is shining in upon you and your lamp is dying out, and I will tell you how old you are, and I shall know if you are happy. ~ Henri Frederic Amiel

A Poem to Commemorate the Last of Winter Moons

In the North, the earth softens,
the earthworms venture from warm earth, deposit their casts upon the ground,
robins return announcing the coming of Spring.

Full Worm Moon

Maple sap begins to run in the East,
signals time for tapping, maples announce the coming of Spring.
Flowing, flowing, alive.

Full Running Sap Moon

Throughout the lands, the Magpies caw,
loud and raucous, singing to the last of the winter moons.
Celebratory songs.

Full Magpie Moon

In snowbound regions, snow cycles through thaw and freeze,
a gradual loosening winter’s relentless hold. Anticipation of the melt.
Crusted snow, old snow,  dwindling snow. Anticipation.

Full Crust Moon

In the Southwest, the winds twist, spiral, change direction the upper atmosphere,
touch the earth, red dust, and fling it high into the air.
But the full moon, reflecting light of the sun full face.
The moon does not disappear in the flying dust,
no, she hovers in a pastel aura, hazy and luminous.

Full Windy Moon

I see her slide above the mountain peaks, the gentle Santa Ritas,
fir trees silhouetted. Watch it suspended above the mountain ridge,
gentle reminder of the marking of months,
passing of seasons, turning years.

I spread a woven blanket, geometric colors come into soft focus, lit by moonshadow,
what luxury this lying upon earth in silence and  harmony,
awakened to the energies of the full moon as she travels westward.

I close my eyes to the dusty particles,
bathed in moonlight, I drift and dream, content.

Full Heart Moon

Challenge – A Desert Wisdom Card

Challenge

Approaching Storm © 2014 Bo Mackison

Sometimes the darkest challenges, the most difficult lessons, hold the greatest gems of light. ~ Barbara Marciniak

The desert is not all cacti and spaciousness.

Although much of the land is open, some desert habitats, especially the desert scrub lands, are open range.  An occasional four strand barbwire fence follows the roadways, separating cattle from vehicles, and these barbed wire fences get entangled with clusters of tumble weed. Bare branched mesquite trees add a touch of the macabre. High winds and encroaching dark clouds transform the high desert into a scene evoking apprehension and concern.

Traveling the back roads in the desert region is one of my joys, but it is not without its dangers.

When storms approach without warning and the winds blow sands that block my vision, I must deal with challenges of rough weather. I usually find a place to shelter, knowing that I have packed enough supplies to see me through a delay. And while I am frightened at times by the stormy weather, once the clouds move on and the sun rays filter through the clouds, I appreciate the desert-scape bathed in golden light.

Without dark clouds and stormy weather for comparison, I wouldn’t be as appreciative of blue skies and gentle desert breezes.

There are no great people in this world, only great challenges which ordinary people rise to meet. ~ William Frederick Halsey, Jr.

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This is the second card in the preview of the second series of the Desert Wisdom Cards, now in the production stage. The words on the new series of cards are letter pressed, the 16 photographs for the second set are chosen and printed. The cards are mostly cut and trimmed. Still to come are  assembly, packaging, and creating a new folio for this series. I’ll announce availability (soon) on my blog and in my newsletter.

Awakening – A Desert Wisdom Card

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Awaken to the Day © 2014 Bo Mackison

Today a new sun rises for me; everything lives, everything is animated, everything seems to speak to me of my passion, everything invites me to cherish it. ~ Anne “Ninon” de L’Enclos

Sunlight peeks through the glimmering clouds.

The quails are scurrying from one pile of desert brush to the next, intent on crossing the arroyo unseen. Their camouflage antics are erratic, hesitant, but successful. The hummingbirds whirr about the spiky penstemon, drawing sweet nectar from the deep pink throats of the flowers. A cottontail, still like a garden ornament, hides under cover of the prickly pear. A roadrunner dances along the edge of the rocky arroyo edge, dipping his tail, flitting along.

All are alert. The world awakens as I watch the dawn break into day.

“We all woke up this morning and we had with it the amazing return of our conscious mind. We recovered minds with a complete sense of self and a complete sense of our own existence — yet we hardly ever pause to consider this wonder.”
~ Antonio R. Damasio, Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain.

Each morning we awaken to a new day, with routine experiences and unexpected opportunities.

How can I prepare so that I wake refreshed and ready to experience each moment of this precious, never-before-experienced day? How will I go through my day alert to the possibilities, aware of the gifts and offerings that are constantly present?

Am I awake to the gentle nudges, fleeting ideas, serendipitous encounters?

“Once the soul awakens, the search begins and you can never go back. From then on, you are inflamed with a special longing that will never again let you linger in the lowlands of complacency and partial fulfillment. The eternal makes you urgent. You are loath to let compromise or the threat of danger hold you back from striving toward the summit of fulfillment.”
~ John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

What makes you feel awake and alive?

What energizes you? What happenings and experiences feel expansive and joyful? How might you incorporate bits of joy into your daily activities?

“Wander around wonder for awhile and awaken wisdom within.”
~ Soul Dancer

Wander. Wonder. Awaken.

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Today I introduce the second series of the Desert Wisdom Cards, now in the production stage.  Here is a preview of the AWAKENING card. The words on the new series of cards are letter pressed, the 16 photographs for the second set are chosen and being readied for printing. Still to come are paper cutting, assembly, packaging, and creating a new folio for this series. I’ll announce availability (soon) on my blog and in my newsletter.

 

 

Abstract Agave – Exploration of Color and Spirit

Agave Abstact Photo on Paper Bag Paper

Agave Abstract Photo on Paper Bag Paper © 2014 Bo Mackison

Nature wears the colors of the spirit. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

What happens when you use a brown paper bag as a canvas, sponge on globs of paints, then add spray paint and glitter?

You have surprisingly beautiful paper with amazing texture and color. I wondered what would happen if I printed a photograph of the delicate paper. I treated the paper with Golden’s Digital Ground, a clear ground that allowed me to run the paper bag through a printer. This was the result.

Hidden Beauty

Hidden Beauty © 2014 Bo Mackison

This is the photograph I printed on the paper, an agave manipulated in digital post processing.

What fun experimenting with paper, paint and photographs on a Sunday afternoon. Now that I’ve successfully printed a photograph on the paper bag, I’m considering all the possibilities. So many possibilities…

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Thanks to Marline Dunn for her expertise and guidance as we gathered stacks of paper bags, then added paint, water and sunshine.

Saturday Morning Musings from My Desert Journal

King Canyon, Saguaro National Park

King Canyon © 2014 Bo Mackison

On the DESERT:

Though the word means abandoned – from Greek, eremos – I don’t feel abandoned when I am in the real desert, the desert I see and study and hike in. Ancient writers considered the desert as a threat to their existence – and it surely was a hardship.

My desert is tame by comparison, though once I leave my vehicle and hike 3 or 4 miles into the desert, the Sonoran Desert is wilderness. The desert I explore offers me an opportunity to unwind, to weed out unnecessary external interruptions, but I also slow down and focus on lessening the interruptions from the interior, too.

I find it even harder to quiet my interior cacophony than external distractions. It is when I quiet the many voices – chatter, excuse-creation, shame and blame – that the possibility of deep encounters in the desert environment become possible.

On SPACIOUSNESS:

The desert, if nothing else, provides space. Low growing vegetation and tall yet skinny saguaro cacti do not impede vision. Mountains do, but there are always lesser mountains with moderately challenging paths that I ascend, and when I am at the high point of Brown Mountain, I feel as if I can see forever. On a clear day, it may be a hundred miles, but still…that feels like almost forever.

On SETTING GOALS:

One of my goals, which I now understand  to be one of my constant life goals,  is a practice I work on every day. This goal, which may sound simple enough, I find to be of the wriggly sort. Sometimes I think I have it, only to discover the goal has slithered out of my hands, and out of reach. Again.

This goal is a longing of sorts, a longing to accept myself, to love myself, making it then possible for me to love and cherish others more deeply.

King Canyon, Saguaro National Park

Hiking in King Canyon © 2014 Bo Mackison

On PATIENCE:

The desert is a grand place to cultivate the practice of patience. I seldom travel the desert alone – by that, I mean I usually carry a tall hiking stick, a small pack, small journal and pen and my camera. One of my favorite hiking trails parallels one of the deeper canyons of the desert. There are many rocky ledges and boulders, perfect for a temporary seat.

Before I  sit down, I pay attention to my place in the desert. I have a healthy respect for the desert. I am aware of the desert’s residents and consider their habits and territory. Once settled,  I pull out my water bottle and a snack, re-adjust my wide brimmed hat, re-apply sunscreen. All necessary, but these actions sometimes bring on an attitude.

On ATTITUDE:

Yes, attitude. Sometimes I am irritated at the care that is required in the desert  environment – safety precautions, paying attention. I want to hurry through the preparations and get on with my writing, my photography, my time to just sit and stare into the desert scape.

This is what I have learned — sometimes I am very good at turning routine into a ritual, the ritual of preparing my space, the ritual of slowing down and paying attention, not only to my surroundings but also to my feeling, emotions, my mood, my inside chatter. I practice gratitude. I feel at peace in the desert, I feel a part of the whole.

Other times, I just want to get on with it. I hurry through the preparations. I take those photographs. Click, click, click. Write a few words or sketch a flower.

Sometimes I do my preparatory ritual and practice patience. And sometimes I hurry through my routines so I can do what I want.

And though I remain inconsistent, I know that the more fulfilling experiences are the ones when I take my time, prepare, practice patience.  The lessons of practicing patience, cultivating awareness continue…as I continue to reap the gifts of the desert.

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Reading for inspiration:  The Desert Mothers and Fathers, by Christine Painter Valtner; Evidence: Poems by Mary Oliver