Mexican Poppy © 2013 Bo Mackison
I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for. ~ Georgia O’Keeffe
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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She repeatedly discovers inspiration while wandering in the Sonoran Desert.
Ajo Mountain Trail ©2013 Bo Mackison
“One’s options in this world are as vast as the horizon, which is technically a circle and thus infinitely broad.
Yet we must choose each step we take with utmost caution,
for the footprints we leave behind are as important as the path we will follow.
They’re part of the same journey — our story.” ~ Lori R Lopez
Sherpa and I hiked several of the trails in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. When we trekked up the Bull Pasture Trail, we encountered lots of switchbacks, lots of rocky trail. Occasionally we walked along a packed dirt path, but more often we were picking our way through rocky rubble. Every foot placement was a decision.
I noticed that Sherpa and I chose very different paths. He would choose to veer to the side and balance on wobbly stones. I would choose to climb up larger, more solid rocks, balancing with my hiking stick and my hands when necessary. He sidestepped down the side of an arroyo, slip sliding as he descended. I did my sidesteps in smaller increments, testing the stability of the rocks so I had a firm footing. We each choose different paths, but we chose our individual paths with intention.
So different — hiking on a rocky trail versus strolling on a smooth sidewalk. For the majority of us, a sidewalk poses little problem. We barely notice where we place our feet. We walk, usually heading to a destination, and often pay little attention to our surroundings. Walking on a rocky path requires concentration and deliberation, the path is seldom designed for speed, and often rewards us with magnificent views.
The kinds of paths we choose can apply to living a full life, also. We can choose to walk the easier path, walk it in such a way as to never call attention to ourselves. Follow the same path as everyone else. Or we can maneuver over a rockier trail, choosing our own way. We can walk with intention. We can be observant. We can take in the view.
I can’t do all of my walking climbing a mountain path, but I don’t want to do all of my walking on a sidewalk either.
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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She continues to make discoveries when she connects with the natural world.
Desert Poppies © 2013 Bo Mackison
Notice how present a flower is, how surrendered to life. ~ Eckhart Tolle
It is a beautiful place, the desert.
I never realized its fullness of life, its diversity
until daily I walked its paths,
treading on mountain peaks lightly frosted in mid winter
climbing in its washes torn asunder by summer’s flash floods.
Walking its rocky trails, aware of each footfall,
threading my way through a maze of deep crevices in the earth.
Reaching towards a saguaro to steady my bearings
only to pull back in mild alarm
imagining my hand pierced with the thorns of a saguaro.
Standing in its washes in spring, yes the desert has its seasons,
admiring the waving yellow poppies, their throats flushed with red,
their roots grounded in a chaos of rock and grit,
their silken petals a delicate offering amidst so much ruggedness.
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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She repeatedly discovers inspiration in the desert.
Hidden Beauty © 2013 Bo Mackison
Knowledge was inherent in all things. The world was a library and its books were the stones, leaves, grass, brooks . . . we learned to do what only the students of nature ever learn, and that was to feel beauty. ~ Luther Standing Bear
I recently read a post on Facebook, someone asked the question, “What do you do when you feel down? How do you once again find your happy?”
There were lots of suggestions, and many great ones for restoring balance to your mood: watch old movies, dance, practice yoga, listen to oldies music, garden, journal, hug a friend, meditate, reflect, create, read a good book, watch a comedy, slip into a hot bath, cry, play with children, let it be, unplug.
Several people replied with answers similar to what I probably would have said — take a walk, get out in nature.
I add another step to going for a walk and immersing myself in my world, something that I’ve found to be my mood brightener. When walking in nature or perhaps just in the neighborhood, I concentrate on finding beauty. Not necessarily beauty that is easily seen, but beauty in everyday sorts of things, in the unexpected places. A wabi-sabi sort of beauty.
The photograph of the yucca stalk above, tipped over, browned, gradually decaying, wasn’t an obvious choice for noticing beauty in nature. But as I walked by this yucca, my attention was captured by the patterns of overlapping leaves, some still upright, a few turned down, falling back to the earth. Then I looked even closer and noticed the textures, the fibrous strands, the mottled marks. And finally I was captivated by the amazing colors in the shadows – the turquoise blues and eggplant purples in contrast to the wheat golds and rusty oranges.
I love the challenge of finding beauty in the least obvious of places, in the tiny details. It always gives me a surge of pleasure.
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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is exploring creative photography and emotion in a series called Desert Lines – a combination of visual lines and written lines.
Barrier of Branches © 2013 Bo Mackison
There are more things to alarm us than to harm us, and we suffer more often in apprehension than in reality. ~ Seneca
