The Earth Speaks

As We Travel The World

This is one of the world’s most amazing sights…we’re in Japan and it’s ‘Beltane’…that wonderful Celtic word for the first of May that celebrates a return to life…a word that celebrates the vibrant energy of the world…

a celebration of ‘re blooming,’ when summer is about to burst upon the scene.

Let’s begin our worldwide journey at sunrise in Africa…the cradle of civilization where the oldest known fossils of every early stage of the human family tree has been discovered.

Our world is a world of fire and ice…

from watching the Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica erupt…to an amazing sight in Hawaii…to stepping up to the rim of Mt. Etna in Sicily after an adventurous four wheel, spinning in a cloud of dust, ride up the mountain.

It’s been one of life’s true adventures visiting the world of fire. It’s been a reminder of the planet’s dynamic nature and that everything needs release.

“Remind me that the most fertile lands were built by the fires of volcanoes.’ Andrea Gibson

By complete contrast let’s visit the land of snow and ice… the surreal Portage Glacier in Alaska is a beautiful experience any time of the year surrounded by its effervescent blue icebergs…

a reminder that glaciers are the earth’s water towers, storing three quarters of the planet’s fresh water. They are vital for supporting our entire ecosystem.

Let’s start our journey as the moon rises on one side of the world…

and watch it set on the other…let’s listen to what the earth has to tell us.

It’s an amazing planet where: trees warn each other of danger… where octopuses dream… where elephants grieve… where whales sing and sea turtles come back to the beaches where they were born…where fireflies turn their lights into their own language..where bees communicate through dance…and where ants build cities while caterpillars turn into butterflies.

Starting right in my own back yard…there’s a lot to be said for hugging a tree…probably more than most of us realize…

When you research the places in the world where nature speaks the loudest…one of the number one choices in ANY poll, is in my own back yard…The Olympic National Park in Washington state: with the ocean, mountains, and the rain forests. The best of the best, all wrapped into one beautiful package… giving us moments and messages in nature that are hard to duplicate.

It might sound like a cliche, but tree hugging supports our general health in so many ways. Trees are the most stable living systems on earth, and just touching, let alone hugging a tree, actually takes away negative energy and gives you positive energy in return. Your heart slows, your breathing deepens, it recharges your nervous system…it boosts your immunity…it’s life giving!

Did you know that a tree can actually feel your touch? Sequoias are the oldest ‘living things’ in the world…older than the Roman Empire. Scientists will tell you when touching this mighty tree, to touch it gently. It’s more sensitive than most and holds centuries of wisdom.

As we travel to the rain forests of Costa Rica, it interesting to note that trees thrive from arid deserts to the heavy humidity of the tropical rain forests, using what is called Adaptive Mechanism…changing within to whatever fits its environmental needs.

In a tropical setting, in heavy humidity, a tree will respond more quickly to a touch…and what’s always amazing, trees are completely aware of our contact with them.

One of the trees that I will always remember in my travels, is the giant tree at Chartwell in Kent, England, with its wooden bench underneath. It was Winston Churchill’s favorite place to sit at his country home. One of his most memorable quotes, where he referred to himself along with his shady companion, goes: “Solitary trees like us, grow to be very strong.”

Scientists agree…one of the best things you can do for yourself…no matter where you are in the world…is to touch a tree every day. In Japan, doctors actually write out prescriptions to their patients for forest bathing and tree touching!

Now let’s jump on a plane and travel the world and see what else we can learn…

We are just south of Capetown, South Africa, where a short distance from the Cape of Good Hope, the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet…the meeting of the waters…a meeting of the crucial life giving source as well as a powerful symbol of the human spirit.

So many beliefs have come from the cleansing power of the sea that can wash away impurities, leaving the soul refreshed and renewed.

One of my favorite thoughts about the ocean: life does not move in straight lines…she rises, rests, tosses, and returns. What if we all stopped holding ourselves to rigid standards and learned to rise and fall like the sea?

Falling water serves as a meditation that is deeply woven into many cultures…

the majesty of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe is often viewed as a symbol of the changes and transitions that we go through in life…

making our own problems seem smaller in the overall picture of things.

It is said that a waterfall wouldn’t sound as wonderful if there weren’t rocks in its way…it’s the resistance that gives it strength and wonder. Without obstacles, there would be no reward.

It’s moments like this in nature that urges us to walk slower and listen inward…and sometimes it’s amazing what you will hear.

Canyons represent the passage of time and the relentless forces of nature that shape the earth.

The Grand Canyon became a special project for me during the years of my notecard line. The National Park gift shop had me photograph the canyon in all four seasons of the year, selling the sets with stories on the backs of each card. It was an amazing study of how the seasons were a canvas of change…the vibrant life of spring, the energy of summer, the transformation of fall and the tranquility of winter…how nothing, even the Grand Canyon, stands still.

Looking down on the Colorado River, it’s a reminder of the impermanence of life…and the enduring strength of nature.

It’s amazing to learn that as dark as the ocean is…animals make their own light and organisms glow.

We’re hiking the rain forest in Costa Rica…a sanctuary for biodiversity…we are witness to the vibrant life that thrives within the world’s most bio diverse region. From monkeys swinging through the tree branches to the slow-moving sloths, Costa Rica will make you look at nature in a completely different way…everything is interconnected…destroy one strand and the entire web will feel it.

We learned that the tiny red dart frog is red for a reason…it’s highly poisonous and its color is a warning to all…that there are no accidents in what nature has to say.

We’ve traveled to Abbotsbury England in Dorset where for 1,000 years the swans have been gathering in the Abbotsbury Swannery. The Benedictine Monastery of St. Peter was founded on 25 acres in 1040 where the swans were lured every year to provide food. Today’s descendants make it possible to be the only place in the world where you can walk amongst 600 mute swans at one time…a sight to behold.

This is one of my favorite shots…coming across this polar bear in northern Alaska…

and here’s what she had to say: polar bears are not truly white. Each hair shaft is hollow and transparent and they scatter and retain sunlight…making them appear white…coming in very handy for camouflage situations.

Then there are the jackass penguins that I found on the coast of South Africa that bray like a donkey and actually live on the beach…

and the wide array of birds found all over the world…

where I learned a startling fact: songs vary from region to region…so they can contribute to the health and well being of plants.

This is the lilac breasted roller of southern Africa…absolutely glowing with every possible color. Plants flourish with the right amount of bird chirping as the sounds invite carbon dioxide to come into the leaves and then let oxygen out. Birds vary around the world according to the type of plants they share the world with. It’s a proven fact that bird sounds are as healthy and soothing to us as they are to the plant world!

If there was ever an example of how nature will always have its way…it’s at Ta Prohm near Siem Reap in Cambodia where strangler fig trees have reclaimed the 13th century Buddist monastery.

I found it to be an amazing photographic experience…a completely unique perspective to walk amongst the world’s best example of the enduring power of nature.

How amazing to live in a world where the growth and age of trees can inspire patience…where the ocean teaches us that there is both calm and chaos in life…where trees actually recognize their offspring and dolphins give each other names.

A world where life adapts to the environment that it’s in…where even clouds release their burdens when they become too heavy…where rain has a smell to it and where the ocean can glow in the dark…

a world where hummingbirds flap their wings up to 55 times per second…

and where we are given the months of April and May with its Flower Moon and Beltane…the month for moving forward.

We’ve traveled around the world and we’re back at the Hitachi Seaside Park in Japan where the rape seed fields and ‘baby blue eyes,’ or nemophila, bloom as far as the eye can see.

In the fall months, the landscape changes to kochia plants…an amazing sight just two hours from Tokyo…a sight so breathtaking that words are not needed.

We have come full circle and have seen the moon rise on the other side of the world. A wonderful thought to close on is that the moon is still whole even when you can only see a part of it. Not all full moons ask you to rise like they do…some ask you to just sit with your hands on the earth and release quietly what you’ve outgrown and acknowledge what you now know to be true.

“Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better.” Einstein

Photographed On Location Throughout The World

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NEXT WEEK: Spending Days On The Amazon River…A Trip Of A Lifetime