Category: Nature

Far from home – On the longing of my soul

Barbara Bullock, M.F.A. Spiritual writer

Maui, HawaiiDear friends,

Have you ever lived somewhere and not felt at home there? Have you ever felt misunderstood, lonely; perhaps even a little alien and very different from everyone and everything around you? I am sure we all have at many points in our lives. I believe we sometimes feel this way when we are not in sync with our spiritual nature.

Throughout my life, I have often felt I am in the wrong place. As I look around, I often see stress, problems, fear, envy and competition, discrimination and injustice; I see hindrance due to man-made rules and regulations. I feel the negativity energy around me and wonder. Where is the other side of the equation? Where have beauty, acceptance, love, joy, hope and freedom gone?

In this moment, I realize that I am more than a human being. In this moment, I try hard to remember that I am a spiritual being having a human existence on planet earth. In this moment, I feel far from my spiritual home. In this moment, nature is my sanctuary.

I wrote a poem the other day called Far from home. I hope it will give you a glimpse of my world and inspire you to find your piece of heaven on earth next time you feel far from home.

Far from home

Ever since I was born I felt far away from my home

Not a house, not the place of residence

Home is where my soul is from is the place I mean.

The place of our origin and destination

The place of pure love, light, and everlasting peace

Colors are brighter here; angels sing here, everything feels lighter and free.

Call it paradise or universe, or even give it a religious connotation.

Whatever you call it, I call it home.

Ever since I was born I felt far away from this place – my soul.

But where is this place of pure happiness, of serenity, of peace?

Where has it gone?

 

Our modern world so busy, filled with distractions, temptations and tribulations, schedules, deadlines, noises and egos.

Standing in the middle of the noisy crowd

Many people surrounding me yet seemingly forgetting me

Overlooking that I am a soul in a human body, coming here from far

Not a calendar, not another task to be completed, not another issue to be resolved.

Looking around I see many people hustling and bustling

Too busy to remember their true human nature

Not noticing their soul’s cry.

 

But wait! We are here to fulfill our soul’s mission!

We are here to love and be loved.

Instead, I see people doing things that don’t resonate with them

Pleasing others, chasing time and spending more money for stuff than they can afford.

Stuff that has no meaning, breaking promises and leaving us empty inside

Didn’t you know? Only our spiritual lights really fulfill our hearts and souls.

 

In this busy place our spiritual home is far and forgotten

But look! In the midst of this modern chaos, just look around!

There are signs of the divine everywhere; even here.

Things so beautiful yet without an explanation,

So magical, so bountiful, so serene, so peaceful

Go see and listen to a waterfall, ocean waves, birds singing, crickets chirping!

Sights and sounds of nature, soothing music to my ears

The hot sun shining on my face, the warm wind embalming my tired body

My soul longs for love and peace.

 

This feels a bit like home.

Love, Barbara

Copyright © 2015 by Barbara Bullock

Photo credit © 2015 by Barbara Bullock

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Barbara-Bullock/277533425653786

#Spirituality #Soul #Home #Nature #Stress #Negativity

 

Black is beautiful. Not just in February. A tale on perspectives and colors

Barbara Bullock, M.F.A. Spiritual writer
Light and dark in February
Light and dark on Oahu, Hawaii

Dear friends,

I took the photograph, you see here today, in Hawaii last year. Hawaii is known for gorgeous beaches, beautiful flowers, stunning scenery and the famous and welcoming Hawaiian spirit of “Aloha”. Imagine a picture perfect sunny day, lush, green trees, flowers so colorful that no paint would suffice if you’d tried to color them, and blue skies melting into the turquoise Pacific. On my walk along the beach I arrived at a lagoon. I stopped and took the stunning surroundings in as much as I could. Any thoughts of winter disappeared way back into my mind. I did not want to be reminded of any cold, wet, and snowy weather this time of the year. This was February after all.

Suddenly, I felt a presence. I turned around but could not see anyone. I shrugged my shoulders and walked on. There it was again. “Who is it?” I asked. No answer. I had had someone in spirit communicating with me before. Still, no answer. So I walked on.

Then my eyes fell on my camera. “Maybe I should take another picture”, I thought. And so I did. I have always liked taking pictures of something beautiful as long as I can think. I have also been very blessed in my life being able to travel around the world and capture many picturesque sites. I was used to pointing my camera to something amazing. This time it was different. There seemed more at work here than just me. It felt as if someone or something was taking my camera and guiding my hands into something I had never seen before. As I looked through the lens and let my hands and camera go where they wanted, I realized that they were pointing into the sun. Immediately, I remembered any knowledge of photography I had. “Don’t take pictures right into the sun or they will be too bright”, is what I had always been told. However, spirit seemed to want me to do exactly that. So I took the picture.

The photograph you see today is the outcome. It was not taken at night; nor was it altered. I believe that spirit guided me that day to look directly into the sun, take a picture and see what happens. What happened is amazing. What happened made me realize that things are never as they appear. Green palm trees were suddenly pitch black, flowers were gone, the water murky, items unrecognizable, and the sun barely there. If you imagine scenery like that, you would never think that I am still speaking of the paradise of Hawaii. At a first glance, it seems that everything is just black. That’s not considered beautiful, right? Now, take a closer look. Isn’t it beautiful? Isn’t it magical? It’s not colorful for sure. It’s black and it’s white. Isn’t it gorgeous combined that way?

That day I learned that where there is light there is dark and where there is shadow; there must be a light nearby. Each cannot exist without the other. Colors cannot exist without each other. Otherwise, there would be no difference. Everything would be the same. Everything would be just one. No colorful flowers, no stunning landscape, no vibration raising our spirits, no color. I also learned how beautiful black can be. In addition, I learned that no color is what it appears to be. It depends on your perspective. It depends how you see it and what kind of lens you use. If you don’t like what you see, change your perspective and take a closer look. You might find that it is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen. Even in black. Just as spirit guided me on that day to trust its guidance instead of my judgment and knowledge, open your heart and mind when you take a closer look at things around you, people around you, and colors around you.

Isn’t it beautiful? Aren’t people of all colors just as beautiful as the exotic and colorful Hawaiian Islands? Black is beautiful. Not just in February.

Love, Barbara

Copyright © 2015 by Barbara Bullock

Photo credit © 2014 by Barbara Bullock

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Barbara-Bullock/277533425653786

#Hawaii #photography #color #February #black

 

Why is change so hard?

Barbara Bullock, M.F.A. Spiritual writer

           foliage

          I am sure you are familiar with the famous saying “the only constant is change”. This month, with fall upon us and change in the air, I am wondering what this really means in our lives. Just recently, I went for a walk through a park. It was one of the last days of summer. The sun was bright, the temperature warm, birds were singing. At first glance, it did not seem as one of the last days of summer. It could have been a cool summer day. Then I noticed something – a tree. I think it was a Japanese maple tree. Its leaves had started turning red. When those leaves turn red, it is a certain sign that fall is coming. Fall foliage is a sure sign of autumn and certainly a sign of the end of summer.

           The change of seasons is a natural change you might say. You might also say that you have no problem with this kind of change. When temperatures drop, you just change your wardrobe. When summer activities seize, you simply move indoors. You might also look back in agony and wish that summer would never end. You might try to resist this change. I belong to the second group. Change is hard for me. Why can’t we, as human beings, not simply accept it as our Mother Nature does? Mother Nature does not hold on to the leaves. She lets them go. Why? Because she knows that the tree needs to rest so the new leaves, which are still hidden, can grow once spring comes. One could also say something similar about the oak tree. From an acorn mighty oak trees grow. This saying is a good reminder of how much good can come from this change and something so little if we just trust and give it time to grow.

           Change can be many different things. It can be sudden; it can be gradual; it can be joyful and hoped for; and it can be hurtful and literally depressing. I believe that change can seem scary because the future is uncertain. However, if you look at nature, nothing is uncertain there. Everything is already planned and ready to be born when the time is right. Out of something old, something new comes. Out of something little, something big is born. This is the law of nature. Take a small, unknown town in the countryside which wants to grow. Add an attraction, a museum, offer something unique. Polish it up, get the word out. Do what you can to put that place on the map. Don’t look back into the past and how great this place once was. Embrace change and create its future. Plant an acorn today. Change can be hurtful for a while. Take a relationship with a colleague, who leaves the company you work at for example. How many tears have I shed already when I liked my colleague very much? Uncertain about whether we would ever see each other again, we hug and say our good-byes. Such a change is hard. I usually miss my beloved colleagues terribly. However, when we meet again, I realize why this change had to happen – so we could change and become friends for life and not only coworkers from 9 to 5. Our acorn developed into an oak tree, which will stand and continue to grow for a long, long time.

          You see, I still think that change is hard. However, with faith that something good comes out of every change, I take change for what it is. It is not a loss of any kind. It is just a sign of life that something new, and perhaps something even greater, is about to be born.

 Love, Barbara

Copyright © 2014 by Barbara Bullock

Photo credit: Barbara Bullock 2014