A Stirring of the Waters

"To see a world in a grain of sand,

And heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

And eternity in an hour"

~ William Blake - Auguries of Innocence*

It was Friday morning. The winds relented as the eye of the hurricane passed directly over us. I looked into a mirror, another human soul*, where I could clearly peer into my own soul. This ephemeral moment was in sharp contrast to the force of relentless winds that churned the waters throughout the week, bringing long hidden sediments to the surface.

Solace filled the empty space.
Its silence was deafening.

A gentle breeze vaporized the remnants of a tear trickling down my cheek. I plunged into the deafening silence. In an instant, or was it a lifetime, I emerged, drifting upward and outward on the thermals, as swirling winds of social and environmental change engulfed me.

This was not Hurricane Earl, even though he conveyed a similar message to all things wild and free just a short distance to our east*. This was a hurricane of a different sort, a magnificent storm at the crossroads of human intellect and emotion, where souls are exposed to the elements, to be cleansed and purified.

A giant wave appeared. I scurried to reach its crest, balancing precariously on its lip. The view was awe-inspiring, and the ground swell was overwhelming. In that instant I made a promise to myself and those surrounding me to ride the crest of this wave until it breaks upon the shoreline of humanity and washes away the ignorance and cynicism that paint the walls of our world.

Here at Conservation Conversations, it is simply the rebirth of a blogger who is feeling a stirring in the waters. No longer will complacency rule my day. I hope all of you will join me in conservation conversations right here.


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*for complete poem, go to Art of Europe.

*Thanks to Heather Ristow for reflecting to me the kindness, passion, and hope that dwells within all of us who are driven by the passion to steer this incredible earthly community toward just sustainability for all things alive.

*within the Native American medicine wheel, the east is often portrayed as the pathway to illumination

*photo from wikipedia: Hurricane Earl