John & Anne Wiley

A philosopher who spoke in Anne’s “MSM” series once said something along the lines of this: “Our highest purpose in life is to fully enjoy it.” That struck me at the time as tending toward self-indulgence, but my opinion has shifted. Now I see it as a call to a complex challenge. To become ever more conscious of the beauty all around and within us, and to expand that awareness by stretching our envelope. On the ground, I sometimes wonder if the rare luxury of flight can be justified by sharing it with all who share our passion. I don’t seem to ponder it at all while stretching my envelope of conscious joy with sights like this.

1043 Tucker Trail

At the end of Turnpike near where Anne used to work, is a park with a trail that goes up into the mountains. We’ve walked it many times between the park and Hwy.154 that runs across the pic at the bottom of the golden brown stripe of dry grass. The trail starts just off the bottom-left edge of the pic and is in the green stripe running up the middle to the mountains. Walking there feels like being in the woods, even tho as you can see there are houses on both sides. SB has several trails like this, and we’ve enjoyed many of them both on the ground and from the air. Just looking at the pic triggered a deep breath just now. 🙂

1050 Break Water

A couple of miles away across town, the breakwater breaks the waters between the harbor and the open channel. Off to the left is the end of the popular sidewalk from the harbor. I guess people scramble along the rocks from there to reach this area near the tip for paddleboarding and kayaking. Translucent turquoise water like this never ceases its enchantments for me. Maybe the contrast between these first two pix is part of the conscious stretching process of flying for me. To deliciously Be in one place, and a minute or two later Be in a completely different place.

1094 Books ‘n Beets

We often stop by the Goleta Library (bottom-center), and then the Fairview Gardens vegetable stand just out of frame to the left. I hope our town always has fresh organic produce right in among the houses. Seeing these two places we frequent in context with each other stretches my consciousness because I’m down there and up here at the same time. My heart and head are mingled in a moment of recognition and memory.

1097 UCSB Memories

Another place I love from both vantage points is UCSB, mostly because our precious Erin and Molly graduated there in sequence. The sheer beauty helps too of course. But soon after moving here, long before the gals too briefly did we used to attend events, stroll the campus, and haunt the library. I even taught a few tech classes there and helped design a webmaster program. So when this jewel and all the other glories of our town slip beneath our wings, our hearts soar a little higher.

Maybe people flying in the Sahara find it ever new, changing not just with the seasons but continually. We enjoy the desert, but for us the constant newness of flying the SB area is sometimes almost overwhelming. I enjoyed a deep delicious sigh just now, simply from thinking about how much we like it. 🙂

1017 Toward Carp

This view toward Carp from offshore of Summerland is a case in point. The colors and shapes, the raw nature punctuated by human activity, and the way it nestles beneath the sky… It reminds me sometimes of a magical living slice from the colorful marbles I used to play with as a child.

1020 Waters Near Touching

With so many fascinating things spread before your gently moving gaze, new details always emerge. Like how the creek colors change as it no longer meets the sea. Our eyes and hearts stretch to take it all in, triggering an endless flood of memories from familiar places we’ve stood looking up. As with all beauty, it is the complex emotional response within us that distinguishes it from other perceptions. There, I just sighed again… 🙂

When I was younger it was refreshing when parked in a traffic jam, to see a small plane fly past. I’d imagine myself up there effortlessly going somewhere in the cool air, looking at grand vistas, and oblivious to the frustrated drivers idling on hot asphalt. Now I’m living that dream, except I’m not oblivious to the highway. Instead it’s common for me to smile or even smirk at the traffic jams. Somehow my maturity hasn’t advanced to the level of keeping an impassive demeanor. 🙂

3117 Gaviota Traffic

You can find more words and pix about this on Edhat and my Photo Page, but I wanted to also mention here that we were actually on that highway four hours before. This morning we rode with friends out to the cute little blueberry farm just this side of Buellton.

0123 Berry Patch

A few years ago a very nice man cut an inch square piece out of my cheek. Basal cell I think he called it, and though it healed with no scar it did leave a scary memory. Since I detest sunscreen, I avoid sun whenever possible, wear a hat, and when doing activities like this cast aside any vestige of pride and take a beach umbrella.

0116 Solphobia

It may seem surprising, but only one person commented on this goofy looking fat man trying to blend in with the normal berry fans. It was the gal at the pay booth who said what a great idea it is. Of course, she was just being nice. 🙂

0117 Granite Berries

I overhead a mom tell her friend who was enjoying watching a toddler, “He’s been picking up rocks and eating those too.” Maybe he was inspired by the fact I was showing a similar level of maturity by sampling prodigious numbers of blueberries from my own bucket every time it started to fill up. Maybe if I could reach the age of this tree, I’d not only achieve maturity but even wisdom.

0102 Wise Tree