Just be

It's been a while since I've had time to write, or the head space to do so.

Can I just say...that I am loving living in Kinohaku.

There's a quote that I came across recently that says:

"The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man."

I'm not sure who said it, but they got it right.

Out here, where I can look out the window and see the harbour inlet, marshlands, hills, bush, and layer upon layer of creative detail; out here, is where things haven't been rearranged by anyone.
The beauty of everything is accentuated if you switch off appliance noises, and have a lull in traffic (let's face it...a busy road out here is like 2 cars in an hour!) for then, all you can hear is birds, crickets, cicadas, wind in the trees and the quiet stillness of space.

The tides coming in just now. Little rivers preceding the mass of water, snaking their way through the rusty brown and red ochre coloured sand. Sunlight hits it now, turning the colours more golden and pale. The water is tones and shades of turquoise, blue, green, and silver. It's the kind of view that makes you want to sit for an hour or so and just be still. To put aside the tasks and lists still to complete in the day; and to mull over beauty for a while.

So for a while I will...
Forget for a moment about the wet washing in the machine ready to hang out, and the clean dishes waiting to be put away, or the many other things I 'should' be doing just now. Because in the end those things can wait, the washing could be re-spun, and the dishes will still be there in an hour. But the time for capturing this beauty is now.

Life is about more than lists and jobs and busyness. When we break it down to its simplest terms, it's about love, joy, hope, peace, stillness, laughter, faith, and it's very own name: LIFE.
Life isn't just something to struggle through, to bear with, or to stress about. Though I confess I too often find myself doing just that. Too often we miss the important little things and the beauty life around us offers because the day seems so daunting, or the list insurmountable.
Somehow, and perhaps because we were created this way, somehow gazing at a beautiful view for a while brings our focus back to centre and allows us to breathe. We put lookouts across the country so we can stop and 'look out' at a view. When we watch a sunset, wake up early for a sunrise, see the full moon low and huge on the horizon, notice the intricacy in a flower or colours on a birds feather, look into the eyes of someone we love, or hear them laugh...in all these things something calls to us..."There is more here than you see. There is so much beauty to be felt. Come and be still. Gaze in wonder and ponder on things. Live and truly 'be' in this moment."

There's a point driving into Kawhia Harbour where they've put a look out. And it's at that point on the drive, whether you stop or not, that you can't help notice the view and a "Wow!" rise up within you. The beauty, the detail, the expanse of the harbour...it's all just breathtakingly stunning. Ridiculously extravagant. That kind of beauty draws you in, and also draws out a "wow" response of awe...and I can't help but think that that's exactly what it's supposed to do.

So here's to stopping and capturing moments. To slowing down the pace of life enough, that we don't miss the beauty that is around us. Here's to letting beauty draw us in, and make us sigh with wonder. And here's to letting ourselves "just be" in the moments that make our lives.