Inspiration

A Pond, A Nation

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My neighbors rebuilt their pond – it’s magnificent. I watched the fish as they initially huddled together, sometimes at the very bottom of the pond when temperatures were cold, but at others, it seemed, for security. Every movement was made as a group, their little school. In barely a week and a half they have settled in, and now explore, swimming alone or with a few others, then back in the larger group, all dictated by needs and desires of which I can only surmise.

They frolic in the waterfall, dive, dart and occasionally leap splendidly in the air and splash down. I could watch them all day; they are mesmerizing. Observing a pattern of life so vastly different from my own – and yet so elementally the same – brought to mind a favorite quote.

It’s by Henry Beston from The Outermost House, A Year of Life on the Great Beach of Cape Cod, written in 1928. This quote prompted me to pick up the book at the annual library sale, a perfect summer read.

“For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth.” 

This quote has lived in my heart for over two decades and resonates deeply with my own love for animals. The fishes’ world may be a simple pond, but they are a nation of their own.

The Great Boatlift of 9/11

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The Great Boatlift of 9/11, sent to me by a friend yesterday, is a truly moving documentary about the boat evacuation on 9/11 and how everyday people became heroes in a largely unsung rescue. I don’t know how it is that I had never seen this before yesterday.

With the towers in flames and everyone running for their lives, it soon became clear that Manhattan was an island and that there weren’t many places to run. But that it’s an island also meant something else. There were boats. This is such an amazing film, made 10 years after 9/11 by Eddie Rosenstein and narrated by Tom Hanks. When the call went out for help, hundreds of  tugboats, ferries, fishing boats, coast guard cutters, party boats and others sped to Manhattan to take as many people as they could for as many trips as they could make. It was the largest boat evacuation in history; nearly 500,000 people were taken to safety by everyday heroes. It’s nearly 12 minutes long but worth every second.

 

Friendship

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For my wonderful friends … those blessing my present and those who have blessed my past … 

A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down.  ~Arnold Glasow

A friend knows the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails.  ~Donna Roberts

You can always tell a real friend:  when you’ve made a fool of yourself he doesn’t feel you’ve done a permanent job.  ~Laurence J. Peter

We are the captains of our own ships sailing the sea of life, but in times of a stormy weather, you will discover true friends when they don’t hesitate to be a lighthouse.  ~Dodinsky

If you’re alone, I’ll be your shadow.  If you want to cry, I’ll be your shoulder.  If you want a hug, I’ll be your pillow.  If you need to be happy, I’ll be your smile.  But anytime you need a friend, I’ll just be me.  ~Author Unknown

Friendship is Love with jewels on, but without either flowers or veil.  ~Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth, by Two Brothers, 1827

Remember, we all stumble, every one of us.  That’s why it’s a comfort to go hand in hand.  ~Emily Kimbrough

And perhaps my favorite …

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.  “Pooh!” he whispered.  “Yes, Piglet?”  “Nothing,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s paw.  “I just wanted to be sure of you.”  ~A.A. Milne

Trees …

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Spring brings a particular delight to many who suddenly really notice the trees in their new, colorful finery. The weeping cherries, flowering plums, dogwoods and magnolias literally herald the season and confirm the retreat of winter. But for those of us who feel deeply connected to nature, trees are magnificent in all seasons. They are equally as beautiful in their fresh Spring blooming as in their Fall brilliance as in their Winter bareness, where the most basic structure of their being proudly holds forth.

Many authors have written about the wonder and beauty of trees over the centuries. In an earlier post I even took a turn on writing about trees myself. However, two lovely things have crossed my path in the last few days about trees … one a video, and one in the book I’m reading by Dr. Wayne Dyer, (Wishes Fulfilled.) He quotes 18th century poet, William Blake:

“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a Green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all Ridicule and Deformity … and some scarce see Nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, Nature is imagination itself.” – William Blake

And with this in mind, passed on by a friend, an absolutely magnificent video of trees called Listen with Your Heart …

 

A Disdain for Flash

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This morning I watched a female cardinal on my front porch railing. With the warmer weather having arrived early, she is already quite sleek. As she hopped along the rail I couldn’t help but admire the beauty in the subtlety of her coloration … the muted olives and golds edged with red and the bright persimmon of her beak.

I went along my morning and was still thinking … now of the beautiful coloration of the peahen. She may pale alongside the brilliant shades of turquoise and green of her male counterpart, the peacock, much as the female cardinal does when compared to the bright red male, but her beauty isn’t in the flashiness of her color. It’s in the quiet richness, with just a necklace of iridescent aquamarine.

There’s a certain pleasure in subtle beauty. In our media-driven culture, the biggest, brightest and flashiest is always being foisted upon us and honestly? I sometimes find it draining. Don’t you? Admittedly, I can be distracted by shiny objects … nothing wrong with that from time to time, but as a steady diet, the loud, the bold and the dazzling wears thin.

I will always take delight in the bright plumage of a male Cardinal or Peacock. But I also appreciate the ladies.  They have a disdain for flash. And yet are undeniably beautiful. Maybe they’re a bit more like most of us.

 

Photos: Cardinal courtesy of Wikipedia Commons, Penelope Peahen courtesy of Popcorn Park