Red Birds of Paradise

Bird of Paradise

Red Paradise Portrait © 2013 Bo Mackison

I’ve been dreaming of the desert the last two nights — first there was a wild dream of boat rides through canyons surrounded by skyscraper high cacti and then I was on a trek through the desert with a rattlesnake wrapped around my leg the second night! I thought perhaps I would pay homage to the desert with a few photos of one of her prettiest stars, the Red Bird of Paradise, and maybe tonight I can get some sleep.

Bird of Paradise

Red Birds of Paradise © 2013 Bo Mackison

When I visited Arizona in September, I took quite a few photographs of these beauties. These Red Birds of Paradise (or Mexican Birds of Paradise) were in bloom. It was a glorious waving of oranges and reds, caught in a strong desert breeze, while several hummingbirds darted about. Quite the show.

Bird of Paradise

Seeds of Paradise © 2013 Bo Mackison

I was even fascinated by the long seed pods twirling amidst the flowers. There’s always a bounty of glorious botanicals growing at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum., one of my favorite haunts in the Tucson area.

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Bo Mackison is photographer, book-maker, collector of stories, naturalist, curator and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.   Though I am mesmerized by the varied colors of this Wisconsin autumn, thoughts of the Sonoran Desert are often on my mind.

Gratitude – A Desert Wisdom Card

Gratitude - A Desert Wisdom Card

Sunny Sunflower © 2013 Bo Mackison

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. ~ Melody Beattie

Sunflowers abound in the desert garden, grateful for the warmth.

When I see a sunflower with its face turned towards the sun, I am reminded how simple it is to turn my face to the sun. To give thanks for its presence, its warmth. To give thanks for all that is good – the blade of grass growing through pavement cracks, the rainbow peeking from stormy clouds, a bright flower adding color to the moment.

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
~ Melodie Beattie

Everyone knows that it is the polite thing to say thank you.

But university studies throughout the world, including a recent study from University of California at Berkeley, find that gratitude has positive physical and emotional effects. A gratitude practice — not just an occasional or perfunctory thank you — offers proven benefits: stronger immune systems, lower blood pressure, a measurable increase in joy, optimism,happiness, generosity and compassion, and fewer feelings of loneliness and isolation. Gratitude is not only good for the world, it is good for the individual.

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

It is easier to be grateful for the joys of our life, but even the rough spots deserve our gratitude.

We are the sum of our experiences – the difficult days, the soured relationship, the trip of a lifetime, a chance meeting of a stranger who becomes a treasured friend. Each experience has its own lesson.

GRATITUDE offers questions/reflections for journal writing, art activities, calls for action:

  •  The lessons we learn from each life encounter are valuable. Write about the gifts received, not only from the brightest of times, but also from shadow experiences. Notice your response as you write. Seek the hidden gifts in each experience and accept all gifts with gratitude. How easy or difficult is this process for you?
  • There are so many advantages to beginning a gratitude practice and it requires so little time, this may be one of those practices that you won’t want to skip. One of the main findings of gratitude studies is the effectiveness of practicing gratitude on a schedule. It is the habit — whether it be daily, three times a week, or weekly — that produces the benefit. There are many ways to begin or add a gratitude habit to your life:
    • Write your gratitudes in a gratitude journal. Write 5 a night. 10 every morning with your coffee or tea. Or set aside ten minutes and write until the timer rings. A gratitude journal also makes for a wonderful read when you need a pick-me-up.
    • Find a partner and play the gratitude game at a scheduled time. Tell each other 5 things for which you are grateful. Or take turns mentioning a gratitude while on your daily walk —  around the block, through your garden, to the mailbox and back.
  • Gather a collection of postcards. Pick up a few at your local drugstore, college bookstore, or tourist trap. Buy postcard stamps, too. Send thank you postcards. Everyone loves to receive a written thank you note.  Keep it simple, but be specific. “Thank you for listening to my worries at midnight.” “Thanks for the zucchini from your garden.” Thanks for taking care of my cranky cat.”

Pause – A Desert Wisdom Card

Pause - Desert Wisdom Card

Bench © 2013 Bo Mackison

In the sweet territory of silence we touch the mystery. It’s the place of reflection and contemplation, and it’s the place where we can connect with the deep knowing, to the deep wisdom way.”
~ Angeles Arrien

Pause. Take a deep breath. A deep breath is the ultimate pause.

Ground yourself in the here and now. Quiet the inner critic. Quiet the constant media. Quiet the surroundings. Pause. Take a deep breath. Ground yourself.

There is no need to go to India or anywhere else to find peace. You will find that deep place of silence right in your room, your garden or even your bathtub. ~ Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

PAUSE offers questions/reflections for journal writing, an art prompt, and a call to PAUSE:

  • Journal about space. What does space look like in your life? Do you have enough space, too much, or too little?
  • Stop during the day and offer yourself invitations to pause. Allow time to listen to your inner voice.
  • Art Prompt – A labyrinth is a symbol of wholeness, and it has only one path. The labyrinth has a center; this is a place for pause before retracing your way.
    • Make a finger labyrinth. Begin with one or two packages of polymer clay. Flatten the clay into a square, approximately 6″ x 6″ using a rolling-pin. Draw a classic labyrinth pattern on the clay and make the imprint of the labyrinth path using a pencil’s eraser.  Bake as indicated on the polymer clay package.
    • “Walk” the labyrinth using your finger, pausing at the center. Repetition is often beneficial.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  Bo is creating a deck of Desert Wisdom Cards for exploration and discovery, using photography, with a Sonoran Desert theme – its myths and stories, cultures and heritage, and the desert’s remarkable natural beauty and resources.

Delight – A Desert Wisdom Card

Torch Cactus Flower

Torch Cactus Flower © 2013 Bo Mackison

We have won a moment in an unfolding universe. Isn’t that worthy of our notice? ~ Hannah Hinchman

The Torch Cactus blossom is guaranteed to delight with bright petals, upright stamens, and its appeal to the senses.

The flower blooms on a rather undistinguished cactus, and each individual flower opens for a single day. But the glory of the torch cacti is its propensity to occasionally bloom en masse. This is a sure opportunity for delight!

There are three tasks that matter in this lifetime. The first task, though not the most important task, is to quiet the busyness in your mind. The second is to find your song. And the third task is to sing your song. ~ Mark Lesser

Delight – it’s a feeling that is transitory, fleeting.

There is no need to prepare for delight – simply be aware. Delight in the flower you see in the garden, the song you hear on the radio, or the soft towel you pull from the dryer. What makes you smile in delight?

Invitations to experience delight are quick and easily accessible. Take up delight’s offer and notice its gift.

The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention. ~ Julia Margaret Cameron

DELIGHT offers questions/reflections for journal writing, art prompts, and calls to action:

  • Delight is a simple gift, easily discovered, a tiny moment. Notice when you smile or laugh in delight.
  • Compose a line poem. Each line consists of a few words about a person, place, thing, or happening that prompts delight. Begin and end the poem with the one word line, “Delight!”
  • Play a game of DELIGHT. Draw a nine square grid, as if you were making a line drawing for a game of tic-tac-toe . Write the word DELIGHT in the center. Each time you notice something that delights you, write a brief description or sketch a picture in one of the squares.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  Bo is creating a deck of Desert Wisdom Cards for exploration and discovery, using photography, with a Sonoran Desert theme – its myths and stories, cultures and heritage, and the desert’s remarkable natural beauty and resources.

Rootedness – A Desert Wisdom Card

Rooted - Desert Wisdom Card

Rooted © 2013 Bo Mackison

Through our willingness to be the one we are, we become one with everything.
~ Gunilla Norris

Plants that live in the desert have evolved to thrive in a land of little water.

Some plants develop deep, thick roots that reach many feet into the desert soil. They use water sources that are far below the earth’s surface.

A deep root system provides other benefits as well. With strong roots, plants stay grounded and maintain a firm footing on the earth, even when buffeted by harsh desert winds and monsoonal storms. And the plants do not require rainfall to survive, they have adapted to withstand drought using adaptive, internal structures.

We are also beings on this earth. We are connected to the earth.

We require roots to stay grounded, to keep a firm footing, to survive and thrive. To take optimal care of the self, it is essential that we tend our roots — deep roots of connection that are life-sustaining.

To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the human soul.
~ Simone Weil

ROOTEDNESS offers questions/reflections for journal writing, art prompts, and calls to action:

  • Perform a grounding ritual. Find a convenient space outside where you can actually make physical contact with the earth. Not a piece of pavement, but the earth – grassy yard, meadow, sandy beach, desert soil. Stand quietly, feel the solid earth beneath your feet. Bare feet produce great results, but wear foot covering appropriate for your environment and comfort level.
  • Just as a desert plant has a core root for sustainability, we have core values that keep us firmly established, that define who we are and sustain us. Reflect on several of your values that are the essential you. How are they life-sustaining? How do these values show up in the routines of your daily life?
  • My grandmother’s parents immigrated from Germany, and German was her first language. Decades later, my grandmother spoke only English, but she remembered the songs and ditties from her youth. When her children and grandchildren were young, she soothed them lullabies and children’s songs in German. I remember the feelings these melodies in an unfamiliar language evoked. They communicated a message of love and belonging. What childhood songs, rhymes, or games do you remember that rekindle a deep feeling of belonging, of rootedness?
  • Connect to your inner core by doing activities you enjoyed in your youth. Did you jump rope, hula hoop or play hopscotch? Try one of these activities. Muse, draw, or write about your experience. Perhaps you’ll be inspired to add some activities from your youth to your exercise routine.
  • While chalkboard chalk is becoming a thing of the past, sidewalk chalk is an easy-to-find art supply. What might you do with a box of colored chalk? The obvious — drawing pictures on sidewalks — is great fun, and since expectations are minimal, you can easily lose yourself in this expressive process. Add an uplifting message. Write a famous quote or a few lines from a favorite poem. Add an observation. The options are endless.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  Bo is creating a deck of Desert Wisdom Cards for exploration and discovery, using photography, with a Sonoran Desert theme – its myths and stories, cultures and heritage, and the desert’s remarkable natural beauty and resources.