I am fascinated by the rough shoreline by the ocean where I walk on Vancouver Island, BC. It is full of life. Different colours, textures, shapes, all unique like us. Beautiful individually and together, I hope like us.

It nourishes and inspires me. I feel alive when I am curious and understand that all life forms are beautiful. Not only where there is beauty, but where we choose to see it. It is before us.

Do we move past it quickly in our rush to get somewhere? Or, do we meander, one careful step at a time lest we fall, as I had to do, observing and seeing so much with each breath and step.

Was it always there before but I never noticed? Why? I was worried about the destination.

Here, the gentle waves in and out provide a constant. It is my muse, my playmate, who encourages me to pause and stay a bit longer so that she can nourish and heal me.

There is so much here and I am excited. It is the “art gallery for the soul”.

There is so much natural beauty before us and within us when we look for it

Nature has always been here and will hopefully go on way beyond my time here on earth. It is always here for us. But the bigger question is, are we here for ourselves?

I sit on a beautiful rock I call the “philosopher’s stone”. It is made for writing and being. How many people have sat here before me?

I feel time slows down here and waits for us, or perhaps it us that slows down. And in slowing down, we are able to see more clearly what is in front of us and within us. Time is endless here, we are not.

What messages do you have for me mother nature? Here’s what she said. Be yourself. Be free. Be truthful to others and most important to yourself. Be like the ocean, strong, bold, firm, and free and fluid at the same time. These are the lessons from mother earth.

Love, Caroline xo

Rock faces

I took many photos as I walked on the shoreline. Like a child, I was seeing everything for the first time. I made what I call “rock faces” and others were there already to be captured by the lens. I walked, I skipped, I played with rocks, and I stopped to write on a rock that seemed to be waiting for me in the ocean.

Is this is what it is like to be truly alive? To see your life for the first time but through different lenses that enable us to see the beauty of everything before us and within us and be grateful for it all? I like it. Bring it on!

Also published on Medium.