Murmur

The rare earth elements perplex us in our researches, baffle us in our speculations, and haunt us in our very dreams. They stretch like an unknown sea before us mocking, mystifying and murmuring strange revelations and possibilities.

William Crookes

Murmur

The Creator said,

“I will make a tiny bird

the color of night

speckled with stars,

this starling

will learn to speak in many voices -

confusing to his enemies,

delightful to his friends.

He will multiply and spread

Across the earth.

Men will name him ‘pest’, and ‘invader’

farmers will call him ‘menace’ -

all will drive him from their lands.

But for his protection,

I will give this beloved,

mischievous bird

the gift of synchronous flight -

When danger threatens -

he will rise

with thousands of his kind

spinning and circling

dancing and weaving

carving and twisting

in formations

mimicking the creation

and dissolution of galaxies

darkening the sky -

a dismay to his enemies,

a wonder to his friends -

each little bird

on his own path

in harmony

with the flock

a murmuration of sound

and movement.”

And when he watched

their first flight,

the Creator said,

“It is good.”

To see the universal and all-pervading Spirit of Truth face to face, one must be able to love the meanest of all creation as oneself.

Mahatma Gandhi

If you haven’t ever seen a murmuration of starlings, this video on YouTube is amazing.

Also check out the beautiful work of photographer Soren Solkaer on starlings and their murmurations here: https://www.thisiscolossal.com/tags/soren-solkaer/

If you want to hear a sample of the variety of sounds a starling can make, check out @inkydragon (artist, Sarah Tidwell, who rescued a starling she calls “the mouth”) on Instagram. Here’s a link if you don’t have instagram or don’t want to follow: the mouth

The creation theme was inspired by a writing class I’m taking from tricycle.org called “Writing as a Spiritual Practice” and my genuine awe of the amazing abilities of these little birds I see everywhere, and am only just now really beginning to appreciate.

Hope you have a great week. See you next Friday!

The Silence of Pelicans

The poignancy of a photograph comes from looking back to a fleeting moment in a floating world. The transitoriness is what creates the sense of the sacred

Allen Ginsberg

Pelicans sailing

slowly toward me -

squadron of silence

it seems impossible such a large bird can fly so gracefully

and float so easily.

Powerful wings lift them, soaking wet, from the ocean,

as they fly, and turn, and dive back into the water.

The heavens are full of floating mysteries.

Thomas Buchanan Read

Tuesday morning was exuberant chaos on the beach. The waves were crashing, the wind was thundering. Surfers were shouting to each other back and forth about the best spots, then fighting their way through the chop past the break. Along the coast, people who gathered for the sunrise were laughing and talking and taking many, many pictures.

Then came the pelicans, drifting gracefully on the wind, wings wide, almost, but not quite - hovering. I looked up and the hush of delight I felt created a vacuum of sound that seemed to be so beautifully long but was really only a moment. I was sure when I let down my camera that there would be a group of people around me, all staring off to where the pelicans flew, but it was just me - returning to the sea of sound. And that was also magical. Like it was just my moment. What a gift.

Thank you so much for being here. See you next week!

A line of pelicans flying close to the surface to spare their wings some effort.