Wabi Sabi Flowers of the Prairie

Autumn Flowers

Wabi Sabi Flowers © 2013 Bo Mackison

That art which matters to us – which moves the heart, or revives the soul, or delights the senses, or offers courage for living, however we choose to describe the experience – that work is received to us as a gift is received. ~ Lewis Hyde

I walked the prairie yesterday, or more accurately, I walked a prairie remnant yesterday. So little of the prairie remains, but I am grateful for even the bits of prairie that I explore.

I imagine a time when the prairie would have been endless, a spaciousness of waving grasses, stalks of eight feet tall flowers, and no space to even place your feet as you walk through the dense habitation. A prairie is dense.

For a while, I followed an animal trail, probably deer, until the path simple vanished and I was in the midst of grasses, browning stalks of plants, all several feet higher than I stood. I stood there awhile, just absorbing the spirit of the autumn prairie. The prairie is no longer deep greens studded with summer yellow flowers; it is muted blue, golden, russet, yellow-green.

Standing in the prairie, taking a few photographs of the prairie, I recalled one of my favorite quotes. It is about art, but I can easily apply it, word for word, to explorations in nature. In the midst of this remnant prairie, the experience moves my heart, revives my soul, delights my senses. And yes, surrounded by the natural world, inhaling the dusty air,  studying the flowers turning to seed, and watching the grasshoppers leap from leaf to leaf, the prairie experience offers me courage for living a meaning-filled life.

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Bo Mackison is photographer, book-maker, collector of stories, naturalist, curator and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  Today, once again, I walked the prairie and found answers to the questions swirling in my head.

About Bo Mackison

I'm a photographer, book-artist, traveler, naturalist, and creator of the Contemplative Creatives Journey, An Online Workshop and Community and Desert Wisdom Cards and Workshops. Though often not well known, I find the desert a welcoming place - a healing space. Its mysteries and gifts transformed me several years ago. Since that first encounter, I return again and again to fill my well in what most people think of as a desolate region. I'd love to share my desert discoveries and wisdom with you. Please subscribe to receive my five part mini email course The Gifts of the Desert. It's my gift to you.

Comments

  1. Sounds marvelously relaxing and inspiring

  2. The flower here looks almost wooden, it’s lovely.

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