“Every one of us is getting older, which is a natural process. Time is constantly moving on, second by second. Nothing can stop it, but what we can do is use our time properly; that is in our hands. Whether we believe in a spiritual tradition or not, we need to use our time meaningfully. If over days, weeks, months and years, we have used our time in a meaningful way – when our last day comes, we’ll be happy, we’ll have no regrets.”

~ the Dalai Lama

Here is a small balance I made today, despite the freezing temperatures. Last balance of 2012. a greeting for 2013!

2012 has been an interesting ride, but I feel that the best is yet to come. no matter the ups and downs, successes, failures, whatever… the key is in the moment. hopefully I will have the opportunities to continue sharing stone balance through my art and experience… because for me this is one of the more meaningful ways I can choose to spend my time…

A good lesson I’ve learned this year…. no matter how crazy people or situations might seem, there is ALWAYS a personal still point that no one else can jade.  Rocks easily put me at my still point. And I’ll always be thankful for this practice and experience…

Happy New Year to everyone around the world!
Thank you everyone for your support! may everyone continue to learn and grow throughout 2013…

a cool random fact is that 2013 will be the first year since 1987 that is made of four different digits.. :)

These images came about through some unplanned exploration at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs today… Amazing place to say the least.. The rock formations are unreal. And there are tons of examples of monumental earth-made stone balances.. As soon as i saw this formation, I was hooked. The earth possessed me (yet again) to record her magnificence..

also this top image makes me think of a good Jay-Z line from his debut album, “Reasonable Doubt” back in 1996…

“My motto: stack rocks like Colorado.”  ~ Jay-Z – “Can’t Knock the Hustle”

This other photo is a balance I made over looking Garden of the Gods and the famous Pikes Peak.  I arrived to the top of a lookout spot just before getting to the park entrance.  No rocks in sight…. but LUCKILY, or maybe not surprisingly, I had a few stray rocks in my car trunk left over from my last art show…  The challenge in Colorado Springs is the increased prevalence of wind.  It is much more of a challenge to get pictures as balances usually collapse sooner after completion.

I also would like to wish a Happy Christmas to all those celebrating! or whatever else you might celebrate….either way, I hope everyone is in the company of loved ones… It’s always nice to come down here to visit close family. :)

“What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.”
~ Nietzsche

It is nearing the end of the Winter Solstice 2012, and another long count cycle of the Mayan calendar has begun.  For many this day signifies the dawning of a new age. For others, it was supposed to bring doom. Then for most of us, it is just another day that was hyped up much too much..

Today I went out balancing in support of a global day of balance.. Not sure why it was chosen to be today, possibly related to 2012..? maybe for the solstice…yes.  I like to look at it as another quiet day…a gesture of appreciation… a demonstration that the world is NOT ending, that gravity still works. :)

Something interesting I learned about the ancient Mayans with respect to their calendar, is that when they reached a new cycle of their calendar, they smothered every flame across their civilization for that one night. Complete darkness.  Makes me think of some kind of system restart..

Love.

“Each work grows, stays, decays – integral parts of a cycle which the photograph shows at its heights, marking the moment when the work is most alive. There is an intensity about a work at its peak that I hope is expressed in the image. Process and decay are implicit.”
~Andy Goldsworthy

Andy Goldsworthy has been a great inspiration since I discovered his work.  I didn’t know he existed until many people, after seeing me work in the creek, insisted that I research the name…. glad I did :)

This particular quote cannot have been said any better in my opinion.. It describes with much precision the creative and photographic process of involved in my own work as well. It is nice to know that someone I look to for inspiration can articulate my experience so well.. :)

Ballerina..

Do not stand
at my grave and weep.
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds
that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight
on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awake in the
morning’s hush
I am the soft uplifting rush
of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft star that
shines at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry
I am not there.
I did not die.

— Anonymous

Hmmm… where does one begin..?

I spent today in the silence of the mountains again..

Seemed like an ordinary day… until I arrived home and caught wind of today’s tragic events. Yet another mass school shooting..? This time in an elementary school..?

I have very few words to explain my feelings about this… so I leave you with my photo of rocks. Balanced and left in silence, probably as many children lost their lives..

Sad. Tragic. Surprising. Not surprising. This culture is beyond sick and has been as long as I can remember… which is why I tend to detach from the regular grind of commerce and consumer culture… also why many know me as a “space cadet”… like this afternoon for example.

I feel a deep sadness in my heart when I think of all those kids… They must have been so excited for Christmas with their families… not to mention how devastated the families must feel.

Death of ANYONE always touches me deeply. Not in a negative way… but more so in a “i wish you well brother” kind of way… Every time someone dies, I look at it as a reminder of my own impending death, along with my infinite blessings.  A reminder to be humble and observant… appreciative for this moment of breath. And contentment in the possibility that I may NOT be alive tomorrow, or even 5 minutes from now…

But even then, I am not really dead. I will have simply BECOME all of those fleeting moments of beauty described in the above poem..  :)

For this last image, I love the wave that this cloud made through the sky around twilight. slightly ominous. But quite enchanting as well. Almost as if the cloud recognized the balance and posed accordingly for the picture…

Everything is fine in a land outside time… in the land of NOW.

“Follow your highest excitement, every moment that you can, with zero expectation of the outcome. Flow always leads you where you need to be.”

~ Bashar

So this is the last repetitive date that we will all experience in our lifetimes… So what..?

It’s interesting to think about, but the repetition is based on nothing more than an arbitrary notation of the accepted (Gregorian) calendar. I feel much more in tune with my awareness of December 21st… due NOT to the hype as much as actually corresponding to celestial events. The Winter Solstice is quickly approaching. The darkest day of the year.  And possibly the most infamous point of recent anticipations.

If I’ve learned and developed one major lesson this past year, it’s been tapping into my own presence in the moment, and following that intuition.  Though a degree of uncertainty, if and when the moment is seized, all things come alive in ways that would not be otherwise.

I’ve begun working on a culmination of small video clips from glimpses recorded over the year.. not necessarily just rock balance clips, but also beautiful “moments of silence” that have appeared while following this journey through balance… Profound moments that have left strong impressions on my ever evolving consciousness…  It’s hard to get up and leave once an editing project like this is undertaken…

however…

On a late afternoon whim I grabbed all my camera equipment and hurried down to the creek… unsure of enough remaining light.. but slightly  yearning for the drone of steady creek flow… balancing in the creek this time of year requires a little bit different approach due to the freezing water and cold air.  Too much aimless searching for rocks will lead to burning numb hands.  Advice? keep it simple. Elegance can be achieved with even the simplest of rocks. It is actually kind of nice to have this time/temperature limitation, which has a tendency to force a flow into my balancing.. Choosing among too many rocks can sometimes lead to stand-stills or hesitant decisions.

Despite uncertainty, I was able to witness and capture some nice images as the sun retreated…. Even in humble moments such as these, I am blessed to be witness.. :)