John & Anne Wiley

I’m not just fascinated by rock formations. I also harbor a fascination with that fascination. Why is it that when flying over areas seldom seen by humans, I’m entranced not just by the beauty of the entire scene?

0369 WildScape

Few people wander beyond the thin strand of highway winding from Santa Maria in the distance, through a pass to Cuyama visible out the other window (not in this pic of course). I like the gentle (plenty of flat open landing spots) wildness of it and the fact that just off the road are “totems“ only visible to hikers and aviators.

0371 Totem

This one is probably visible from the road, because I’ve seen cars parked at the curve apparently enjoying it from afar. A few hardy souls even apparently make the climb up to it because I could see some trails. But beyond it are more totems that may seldom be visited.

0403 Forgotten Totems

Did these formations once have meaning to bands of people or lone explorers wandering this region? How many people know of them now? What about this hidden collection of totems where water seems to have once flowed in abundance?

0406 HandHold Rock

That large rock at the bottom even has a row of what look like hand holds carved out. Maybe by hands, maybe by water?

What of this garden where several small boulders rest atop larger ones?

0410 Totems? (click=Larger)

Did people place these in the last few years, centuries, millennia; or were they somehow deposited there by natural forces? Do many of us find such totems evocative of our relationships with self, other, ancestors, and nature? Does my enduring fascination with such things reveal mingling in my nature along with modern and scientific consciousness, some mythopoeic quality?

We took Molly to the fascinating SB Historical Museum during her visit here Saturday, and I sat a moment with a quiet 90-something man named Carl. At one point I asked what he’s learned in his years and he replied, “I choose Happiness.”

0535 Happiness Is

He said that by consciously choosing happiness, his life has been greatly enriched. Especially in aging as his contemporaries increasingly chose to focus on decreasing capacity and grumble about encroaching aches and pains.

As we glided down into SBA from one of our flights north this week for fun with family and friends, I thought about happiness noticing the people gathering to watch the sunset atop the peak. Here at the popular Lizard’s Mouth we’d discovered recently (see below), there’s a certain celebration of passages. The end of each day, the start of the next, engagements, solstices and equinoxes, birthdays and memorials, probably even some weddings are celebrated here. Coming here is one of the countless ways some people choose, create and celebrate their Happiness.

May we help each other remember
to choose Happiness,
and may we celebrate together
the joys we have shared,
and anticipate with delight
the coming surprises we welcome.

Happy 2014!

🙂 🙂

I’m not clear on why, but when we fly out to the Point Conception Lighthouse we always seem to return with an expanded “lightness of being.”

5841 Pt. Conception Light

Of course, we only fly out there on calm days when the air is clear. In other words, very seldom. Usually there’s fog, haze, low clouds or smoke in the air and the wind is gale force as it rounds the point. So maybe the placid seas and expansive views as we approach the Point, conspire to shift us into deeper connection with the lightness we feel during pretty much every flight.

5843 Getting to the Point

In the distance on the right is of course another point that’s within the boundaries of Vandenberg Air Force Base, and VAFB hasn’t so far allowed us to fly close enough for good pix of that. Luckily the dunes, rocks, sea caves, and heather here are quite enough to enchant the visitor.

5840 Point Conception Enchantments

A relatively new resident on the beach, just barely visible on the narrow beach in the second pic (#5843) above, is Gingerbread. A lovely lighthearted name for this little sailboat that ended its adventures there.

5845 Gingerbread

As you can see from the sand that is accumulating in her cockpit and hull, she’s slowly sinking for a second time – into the beach. Yet somehow the sadness I feel in seeing this process further along every time we fly there, is transformed by the expanse of magnificence surrounding her. The dreamers who once pampered this little boat, have now moved on to other expressions of love.

Immersed in the experience of Lightness flying over this magical place, it’s easier to remember that Love is about Letting Go.