Sunday
Aug012010
No Matter Where
August 1, 2010 * * * * * Posted by: Marcie 
At times it’s the sheer vastness of it all that stops me in my tracks..brings me to my knees…reduces me to inexplicable tears. That the sun rises in the east..sets in the west. That it happens like this no matter what… no matter where. That there are billions and trillions of people in this world who experience it… most who never really stop to look and to see.
The layers of light.
The strata of rock formations.
The distant mountains.
The oceans.
The magnitude and the beauty of this earth on which we all live.
It struck me – at 4 a.m. one morning – while sitting atop a mountain in what’s known as ‘down east’ Maine. In that early morning stillness and silence. In that anticipation of the sun’s rise. In that internal quiet and peace. It struck me that this is really all there is. Nothing more. Nothing less. The sun rises and it sets. It illuminates and defines our days. Without it…there would be no sustaining. There would be no life.
Often I’ve stopped myself while brushing my teeth. A daily routine and ritual. I’ve wondered how many people in the world at this very moment are doing the exact same thing as this. How many people are getting themselves up..throwing cold water on their face..cleaning and flossing..and beginning their day? There is no quantifiable number..no way of really knowing. But there is something about thinking about the billions of those who might be. A common bond. Something we all do and share no matter what...no matter where.
When I roll out my yoga mat and begin with the ritual ohm – again – I find myself wondering. How many in the universe are doing just as I am…right now..in this exact same way? And how empowering it is to think of all of the potential millions of ordinary people chanting these words all at once and together. All scattered. Everywhere. Throughout the great world wide stratosphere.
We are all one.
We are all the same.
I think that’s what’s most striking. Altho we each have our own unique ways of ‘being’ on this earth…we all breathe in..and we breathe out. We feel. We hurt. We love. We laugh. We bleed. We cry. The earth that we all share - grounds us. The endless sky – carries us. No matter what..no matter where.
There – in the early morning chill..sitting on top of Cadillac Mountain..looking out over the endless ocean – it was as if I could hear the world whispering. Nothing new was going to happen. Nothing different..or particularly exciting. The big event that I had gotten my sleepy body up and out of bed for – was really no big deal. In truth what was about to unfold has been unfolding and unfurling itself for longer than anyone has ever known. For lifetimes and centuries before that.
No fanfare or publicity.
No big press releases.
No news - really.
It happens. Just like that. No matter what…no matter where. Every day. It’s the same practiced ritual and routine. Most – don’t even have the opportunity notice. Most – don’t care. But on this particular summer morning – I was one of the lucky ones who actually did.
Reader Comments (23)
The awe of what you saw (and captured!) and wrote flows down all over this internet page, Marcie. No one could have expressed it better. It goes way beyond that it happens whether anyone notices it or not, but that's part of the astonishment. It's so ordinary and primal...yes, like breathing...that we really don't pay attention, until we do.
Thank you for reminding us to not take it all for granted and to see how we really are much more alike than we're different. But if only we could get more people to floss! :)
that picture is awesome ! And your words make me stare in the distance and dream, lovely.
I wish I could get up as early as you do and see sunrise, but I am more of a night person.
petra says just what i want to say - that i wish i could be sitting somewhere peaceful and still (with a view, have to have a view), and a good cup of tea/glass of wine depending on the hour, and read - really read - your mail (again and again). it's like a meditation, it makes you want to stop in your tracks and let go of that breath you've been holding on to for far too long. and just 'be'.
Oh, and you are a lucky girl! This photo is truly awesome. Your words, so real...just what I needed to start my day. Thank you, Marcie.
This is a wonderful piece, Marcie. You've written about something that we would all do well to remember every minute of our waking hours. We are all one. It's so easy to lose sight of that.
You surroundings are beautiful - I've never been there but I could see them through your evocative writing. Lovely, lovely post.
What the O 2 sleepy miss! The difference between night and day and the natural song of change.
Lucky, very lucky, to be one of those who notices. It's always here, always.
So wonderful. And the photograph, the sunrise, is beyond splendid.
you really go and sit there in the morning? wow, i'm impressed! we may both brush our teeth but that's where the similarity ends lolol... yes the days seem to flow together for sure, but sometimes something shocking happens! lol
The size of this universe is beyond our imagination. I know we are not alone, that there is more out there than just us.
After experiencing a post such as this, I often find myself at a loss for words.
Amazing image.
You do GREAT work at the sunrise hour -- both in photographing and in deep philosophical thinking.
this is such a gorgeous picture. wow.
i often think these very same thoughts. and some days i find it so comforting.
when i was 13 and in china with my grandparents i can remember looking up at the moon and thinking, "at least that still looks the same" and thinking the same thing about the big open sky (except the sky in montana is a deep deep shade of blue that i haven't seen anywhere except here) but you get the idea. it was such a comfort to know that something was just as it should be.
Yes. I think one of the most important things in life is learning to appreciate the everyday beauty that is always around us. Sunrise, sunset, a child's smile, an old woman's laugh, a flower, a weed, a fresh cup of tea. You can always find something if you take the time to look...and clearly,, you have done that, again and again.
Thanks, Marcie, for sending me to read this post.
I had wondered at what time you took those photos. Now I know! Very early!
The sun rising and setting is so reassuring, so ordinary, so special, as you so well write.
It is too bad that what we often notice about others are the differences, which are minor, not the similarities, which are major.
Thanks for your photos and your words.
Yes, Marcie, I see it too. Cadillac Mountain must have been a very spiritual space and time for you, connecting with those who must - because something inside them demands it - who must stop and be in awe of the simple, the routine, which in reality is most complex and unimaginably thrilling.
The trick is to actually do the seeing with the eyes one is so blessed to have, and the appreciating with the mind that is capable of thinking.
Wow, what an amazing view!! The beauty of this is that you appreciate what you see and share it with others. Thanks.
Oh Yes ! So beautiful !
An old nautical aphorism reads, ' red skies at night, sailors delight - red skies in the morning, sailors take warning'. Nature provides and it takes away.
One word encapsulates it all, I think...Glorious!!
this is a wonderful musing, marcie. i love that you think about the bigger picture, and that you shared your 'inner discoveries' with us. it's very profound and beautiful. thank you!
i've often wondered how many people in the world were having sex the exact moment as i. looking across a city like san francisco, you think a lot. what i do know is 267 babies are born in this world in every minute. that is about 4 1/2 babies born every second.
and 156 of us die every minute too.
we are all one, together in this shared experience, in a cosmic way.
the sun comes up and it goes down, but in so many billions of years from now, it won't. the sun will burn out and something different will take its place.
one dies. another something takes its place.
its mind-boggling to consider.
yes ..i think photography heightens such awareness ... for that I am always grateful. This is a stunning "everyday" marcie
What a cracker of a written piece, Marcie, brimming with contemplation and wonder at the numinous, mind bending stuff. The all too big and the oft ignored little details pulled together so well. Thanks for the link, glad I got to read it.
Oh Marcie this made me stop and think and I reread it several time. Such beauty both in image and words.
I am totally speechless! I am just in awe!
That picture........, those words...........
Wow!
Once, as I sat in meditation, I achieved that insight, the feeling whereI knew it and was one. Bliss.
This is a beautiful, beautiful post Marcie. I am inspired to dust off the yoga mat today.