I have always loved music and have always loved the sound of wooden flutes. Once long ago I discovered a recorder in a second hand shop and a little booklet explaining how to use it. I tooted on that recorder whenever everyone else was out of the house and I day dreamed and dreamed about becoming a flute player.
Time passed and I met my husband to be. He had a silver flute that he tooted on when everyone else was out of his house and he day dreamed and dreamed about becoming a flute player. We tooted to each other, became close friends and confidantes. Eventually we married and decided to move to the coast to live a very simple lifestyle. We stripped our possessions down to the basics and sold our “tooters” to secondhand dealers and moved.
Today I enjoy the simple pleasures like making music with friends. I don’t “toot”, I sing and drum, and use whatever I can find to use as a percussion instrument. But the tooting never stopped and by that I mean the music in my head and in my dreams.
This week I received a tweet from my friend Robin Easton. Robin is an Author, Blogger, Speaker, Musician, Nature Photographer, Adventurer, Hiker, Canoeist, Camper, Potter, Glass Artisan, Gardener, Traveler, Lover of Life and Laughter. The link she tweeted was to a wonderful piece of flute music. TheKeithESmith was so inspired with Robin’s Naked in Eden book that he created a lovely piece of music for her.
If you have visited her blog then you will know how connected to nature Robin is. You will know the source of that connectedness is her capacity to love without reservation; to allow love to fill the spaces and places within where fear once had its stronghold. And you will know she’s a self-taught musician.
Naked in Eden is a story based on Robin’s life, the story of a young woman’s awakening, as she turns away from death, and walks into the arms of Life.
‘You must be mad to live in the bloody jungle, mates.’ Not mad exactly, just disconnected and seeking more meaning and adventure in their lives. An eccentric free spirit who never quite fit in, Robin Easton saw her soul mate in Ian—a rugged, rowdy Aussie who wanted out of the confines of his family’s business. Together they planned their Great Escape: to live off the grid in a remote area of Australia’s Daintree Rainforest.
But as their Jeep wound its way closer to the tiny black dot on the map, Robin couldn’t have fathomed just how the jungle would test her mentally, physically, and spiritually. As she came face to face with her fears of deadly snakes, leeches, and man-eating crocodiles, she began to unravel the mysteries of life and death, love and loss, and nature and humankind. Hidden in the forest mist, she discovered our biological relationship to the natural world and our unique place in it.
Allow
Love will flow in just as swiftly as it flows out.
A masculine construct of God calls one to adhere to God the Father’s laws. It includes the concept that God commands all to obey his laws, and at the end of time will ultimately punish unbelievers sending them to a living hell, but will forgive and reward believers with eternal life in heaven with him. This construct is embraced by those who say their understanding of God comes from reading the Bible.
A feminine construct of God calls one to be aware that for every thought and action there is a reaction, a consequence, an outcome regardless of the law. Those who embrace this construct of God say their understanding of God is comes from their experience that the universal laws of nature are impersonal. Reactions are outcomes flowing from natural law (
My understanding of God does not come from scripture. I don’t think we humans can ever have a true understanding of the nature of God until we recognize we are in charge of our selves and nothing more. When I reached the point in my life where I recognized I had no control over anything or anyone but myself, I came to understand that God was in everyone and everything.
Some artists spend their careers trying to recapture the sense of wonder and imagination they had as children. I was reminded of that this summer while I sketeched and watched my friends kids create artwork from flotsam and jetsam on the beach. Their sand drawings, sand castles, driftwood forts, glass and shell and mobiles, and improvised instruments fascinated me. Their sense of awe with every new marine discovery and spontaneous exploration of its creative possibilities was a wonder to behold.
Boundless energy, curiosity, imagination, creativity, a sense of anticipation and wonder (anything can happen/anything is possible), these are all the traits of a child. They reawakened within me when circled by a ring happy children beaming smiles. Unbridled joy and splashing in the sea ended in wild dashing for the shore. Their laughter was infectious and made me crave for more. Tender touches and fond embraces will be in my memories until next year, when I’ll see them all again – right here.
Touching is a vital human need and an essential ingredient for healthy relationships. Studies have shown that without touching, many animals – including humans – will die in childhood. Being caressed also lowers blood pressure and releases natural opiates in the brain, as well as the chemical oxytocin, which is essential for human pair-bonding.
