Beauty Report: The beach and being in the present moment

My partner and I went to the beach on Monday. Being at the beach erases all troubles and allows us to be our most natural selves. When we’re at the beach, everything is ok. The sound of the waves caressing the shore lulls me to sleep. We soak in the rays of the sun, build sandcastles, watch seagulls. In this moment, life is perfect and beautiful. As we live only in the present moment, let me rephrase that to say…life is perfect and beautiful.

There is nothing like being in nature to reconnect us to Beauty. Nature soothes. Without distractions of phones, computers, traffic, noises, advertisements, or schedules, we can simply experience ourselves as human animal, primal, perfectly made for basking in the sun and playing in the waves. This is healing.

Beauty Reports are something we do in Forrest Yoga to acknowledge the overwhelming beauty of our lives, and to help us reconnect to our spirits, the things that feed us. A-ho.

 

Juvenile Red-Tail Hawk in Jersey City, NJ

Juvenile red-tail hawk with prey near Journal Square.

Red-tail hawks have been spotted in Jersey City since 2009 (at least according to a quick Google search). This forum post, started in September of 2009, shows a photo of an adult red-tail hawk perched near Journal Square’s PATH station. The Jersey Journal also photographed a hawk (same one?) in 2009, this photo taken a few weeks earlier in August. Then, fast forward to February 2012, and we have video footage of a red-tail hawk atop St. Bridget’s Church in Jersey City.

The above hawk being a juvenile leads me to think that the adult from 2009 has reared offspring in this area.

The animal totem of hawk governs visionary abilities and guardianship. The red-tail hawk is considered a messenger. Whenever it shows up, a message is coming. This is a powerful totem having to do with discovering and living from your life purpose, or said another way, living your dharma.