It seems like just a few short months since making the decision to rework The Artist’s Way and already I have had many opportunities open up.

Today I make time to honor the elements in Nature by taking my camera, writing materials and self on a date.

From botanical gardens with the lovely spread of summer flower to rugged coastline and then into the mountains to my perch.

My favourite rock where I sit and reflect, write and commune with the Gods.

Today it is overcast, soft rain and early morning mists gives the landscape an otherworldly feel that I just adore. Leaves, trees and flowers play host to rain drops and dew that hang like glittered jewels awaiting Christmas.

Everything is so quiet and still and I feel as close to a higher power as I ever will. I take my time bidding farewell to some of my favourite haunts, as I prepare to move from the southern coastline up into the southern highlands.

I honour the element Water – the air damp and rich in moisture, provides a cleansing effect on my Soul.

After spending time moving slowly through forests and gardens photographing everything that beckoned to be captured in a moment of time, I stop to honour the ocean – my move to the highlands will require me to draw upon imagination to visit the sea, so I lock the vastness that lay before me firmly into memory – it may be some time before I stand before this beauty again.

The ocean reflects for me the vast depth of the sub-conscious. Today it is rough and wild, the sound of waves thunder to shore, crashing upon wet sand. The absence of sun renders the ocean colourless, a mirror of the dull grey skies, heavy with cloud that threatens more rain.

I adore the ocean in this weather, even more than it’s state of bright blue, boldness.

I resonate to water, it makes me feel alive and, for whatever reason, inspires me to capture image with camera, paper and pen. It awakens the poetess, evokes the desire to write books and hum old love songs.

It is a time when I most enjoy and give thanks for my solitary aloneness. I feel a deep reverence for the beauty and power of the great creator that stands before me in the guise of Mother Nature.

I reflect upon the difference between a powerful ocean and a stagnant pool and intuit the connection in my life.

I think upon the relationship between calm seas and choppy oceans; slow moving creeks and bubbling brooks and rest upon the essence of the life source provided by a deep running river – connecting mountains, land and sea.

I acknowledge why our indigenous people reflect the significance of the great river in dreamtime.

I reflect upon the ocean and the sub-conscious; mountains/waterfalls and higher consciousness; and the river as the physical force and power that connects the two.

I lock into memory the beauty that stands before me, around me and that which flows through me. And all though there is a sense of sadness in my heart, I feel at peace, for the vision and essence of ocean will travel always in my heart.

My creative journey ends at one of my favourite writing places, perched on a massive and ancient stone, resting high above the bush and overlooking the ocean. Here I am blessed by many passers by: a pair of sea eagles courting in mid air- they inspire me with their grace, strength, beauty and more particularly the way in which they navigate the wild forces around these high peaks.

Distracted from studies, this young Vietnamese Buddhist monk daydreams in solitude – an act essential for nourishment of the Soul and creative inspiration.

This image was taken on my travels through Indochina, it evokes in me a sense of mindful innocence.

The Macquarie dictionary describes innocence as: showing the simplicity of an unworldly person – and unworldly is certainly how I felt in the high peaks of Vietnam.

Without what we consider ‘worldly’ attachments there is the luxury to go slow and space to breathe, I was afforded plenty of time to contemplate life with purpose.

Moving with an inner stillness through foreign lands is captivating for an artist regardless of the medium with which we work. Read the rest of this entry »