Power of Trip to the Sea

© ML Monroe 2016

Three months ago, a couple of friends contacted me. They were coming to the area in November and were wondering if I wanted to get together with them. Easy answer to that ~ Of course! As we talked, we decided to make an overnight trip to the beach ~ which would work out great for both of us since I would be their driver and they would make all the arrangements.

Little did we know as we made our plans the tenor of our travel time. Each of us brought with us some recently troubled or troubling experiences. Besides our own issues, the weather has been stormy and we're all still a bit off balance from both the elections and the holidays. Whew! Lots going on.

When we arrived, we barely settled ourselves in and set off for a walk on the beach. The rain that was misty turned to a downpour. The wind picked up and the temperature seemed to dip. A walk was simply not in the cards. So I snapped the picture and we set off to shop and find somewhere to have dinner.

Yet that simple moment when I was on the beach, looking at the sea and the fog healed my troubled heart. I felt calmer, stronger, safer even with the wind battering us with rain. When we got into the car, my friends mentioned the same thing. Simply being at the sea ~ Mama Ocean, Yemaya ~ we each and all breathed in Her Presence and it was enough.

What creates turmoil in your life? How do you work through it? Is there a place you go to find healing and solace? Where is it? Why do you think it has an effect on you?

Reaching for the Moon

©2014 Mary-Lynne Monroe

I love the full moon. Any full moon. Every full moon. I have taken more pictures of the full moon than any three people I know.... maybe more. In truth, I love the moon ~ any time, any where, any way.

Coming off the freeway while driving to work on St. Patrick's Day, I saw the full moon huge and beautiful ~ and I couldn't stop to take a picture. My heart sang, "Please be visible at work." My mind breathed, "Thank You for letting me see Your beauty."

Lo and behold, when I arrived at work and got out of the car, there She was ~ still big and bright and beautiful. I took a couple of pictures through the trees ~ gorgeous images ~ then went upstairs, unlocked the office, dropped my stuff on my desk and went out on the deck surrounding the office. I took several more pictures. Among them, this one ~ an incredible image of the tree top reaching toward the glowing moon.

I recalled stories about the moon. Myths, dreams, fantasies, truths, fictions. What comes most easily to mind is a quote from Mary Anne Radmacher written on a card on my altar at home: "I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world." I know the truth of that statement. Every place I've been, from Egypt to China to Ireland and the rest, I've looked upon that same moon and felt a sense of home. And every one of those places contributed to re-forming me into who I am now.

Like the tree in my picture, I continue to reach toward the moon. For me, the moon isn't a goal to reach, it's a harbinger of growth, change, familiarity. It's an apprehending of home, in every sense of the word.

What does "reach for the moon" mean to you? What is your relationship with the moon? What does the moon symbolize for you?