Mindless with mindfulness - Oh I love that!! A beautiful waterfall too! My first poetry collection is called 'Water to Water' - the beginning and the end!! You've inspired me to start posting travel pictures and poems !!!
Oh! Thankyou, dear Rajani. There is that capacity in which nature can be so overwhelming that you can only be present in the moment, aware of that instant and nothing else - and in that sense, mindless. This is - in part - why I have always sought peace in nature.
Mindless and mindful is one of the best experiences...meaning comes and flows in stead of forcing it, becoming one with the land and all it offers. Always, journeying with you is so awe inspiring and delightful. Thank you for sharing with such an open heart and especially for the warm expansive energy that is you...that reaches beyond digital skies to touch us all. You emanate joy in word and in being. ~Sylvia
Clear, fresh, clean water ... is becoming rarer everywhere...
We do have plenty in our coastal ranges, all along the East coast, and in the Wet Season we have massive amounts in the seasonal rivers of the far North.
However, everywhere else on this mostly dry continent, water is scarce and mysterious.
When I lived in the desert, I attended ceremonies which were all about the ancestral Ngapa Jukurrpa - which we loosely translate as "Water Dreaming" - long song cycles telling of where the rain travelled long ago, as it helped to form the land....
I think of that, when I follow rivers here. I will never take water for granted again.
Such a privilege to find a mountain stream you can drink from without doubt or hesitation .... water as it is meant to be. Untamed and untreated.
I love the magical simplicity of Aboriginal (sorry if that’s an offensive term, I don’t know how I ought to call them) mystical beliefs. So much more relevant than the Christian fixation with death, suffering and penitence for enjoying anything.
Oh! Jane - I send a virtual hug for that! (In the Platonic sense, but deeply sincere).
I have good friends who hold more "mainstream" religious views, and I will always respect their personal beliefs on these matters because that is their truth, but YES! (Foe me) Christianity has many good teachings, but you perfectly identify what has always seemed - to me - to be a deeply disturbed, even pathological, central theme.
"Death, suffering and penitence for enjoying anything." Succinct and (for me) correct.
Regarding "Aboriginal" - if I can put your mind at rest: It is fine to speak of "Aboriginal people." It's not offensive - or at least, not offensive to the vast majority of my Aboriginal friends. "Indigenous" gets used too - and that's okay. Even "First Nation" - but in my experience "Aboriginal" is used more often, by my friends themselves , because it is more specific to the original and ongoing custodians of this continent. Of course, when referring to a particular part of the country and the people who own it, it is respectful to name the specific language groups for that region - eg I currently live in the lands of the Yaegl and Bundjalung people - but with 300+ distinct language groups, that requires a lot of specialist knowledge! Consequently - when referring to the traditional owners in general, the term "Aboriginal" is fine. Often "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander" - because Australia (as a nation) includes most of those islands, and they have their own unique cultures.
Wow - it gets complicated.
I attended a lot of ceremony with the Warlpiri people of what we now call the Tanami Desert - a corruption of "Jarnami" which is a particular sacred site in the central Tanami.
I could say more - a book length more - but it would become boring. I'm also tired - it's late - and I need to reply to a message from a good friend.
I am not myself Aboriginal. What I write on these topics - I write as a friend and observer. My own spiritual connection to the land here is informed by that, but is also a product of who I am.
At some point I may write a whole Post about the concept of Autochthony, and why a visit to Ireland blew my mind.....
If you are interested, I have published here on Substack a series of poems with explanatory notes, and one short "memoir" story, about my years living and working in remote Aboriginal communities. You may have read them already - I have no idea. If not: I refer to Junga Yimi; Lajamanu Morning; the Missionary Position; Japanangka's Dog; Kngwarreye; Waves.....
Happy to start a private chat thread on all this if you would like more information.
Apologies for the rave. I have probably just been excruciatingly boring...
It’s not boring at all! It’s a subject that is fundamental to the human experience. Spirituality for the first peoples must have been a way to order an environment that could be lethal and was always awe-inspiring. Human beings ask questions and want answers. Animals accept and don’t worry about what makes the storm, they just know to keep out of its way. The Big Five have used what was once a spiritual concept as a form of social control. Man-made rules and no transgressions allowed.
It seems to me that the polemics surrounding who can call who what, wear which clothes and hairstyles is an admission that we have forgotten any real deep-rooted differences and that all there is to hang onto are spurious, often modern accessories. Aboriginal people haven’t had their umbilical cord to the land cut. Maybe all people who have lived in the same place for millennia feel that connection.
Sorry, should have added that I’ve read some of you poems about place, and enjoyed them. I’ll read some more, get a bit more background, then I might have something to contribute to a chat xx
I love all those beautiful photos and that video you took and added to complement this piece. This was very nice to read David, so thank you for sharing it here.
"We are ourselves mostly just self aware and slightly salty water, glittering fitfully with the brief sunlight of thought." Not sure you know how beautiful this is. But it is.
Also, thanks for the vids! To be able to hear the water added to the experience.
As always, the comments are a treat unto themselves.
Ah! Honestly, it is such a beautiful place..... A sequence of waterfalls, the river tipped from one upturned palm of stone down to another, and then another.... Each waterfall has its own voice and its own song. So I tried to capture a couple on video. A bit clumsy, because I needed one hand to hold the rope.
Comments on Substack can be fascinating. Everyone sees something different. We are all unique....
Fantastic, Dave, what a place! In recent years I’ve suffered from vertigo but I would still love to go there. Your words are amazing, distilled down to the essence of the experience. My favourite part is “What the water said is my secret for myself, in syllables uttered on stone.”, because although our river is almost horizontal in its direction of travel, when I’m by it and alone, I can relate to that completely. Thanks for sharing 👏
It is a beautiful set of waterfalls, but all streams tell us something, don't they?.
My wonderful partner, Meg, taught me many years ago to spend more time just sitting, looking and listening, and less time charging off and up and down and around everything.
I do still love the charging around bit, but I always make time to sit and watch and listen. This post is about a day where I managed a bit of each.
I, too, so appreciate the lessons that water holds. How to flow, to be cohesive, to become and let go, always in the dance of enthalpy and entropy. I marvel at water's many forms from droplet, river, fog, snowflakes, frost and ice. The ease with which water lets go of one form to become another is a life lesson for me. Thank you for your post
Lovely smile Mr. Kirkby, vibrant joy is written on your face and in your words I hear a holy respect and admiration—your camera eye capturing textures and pristine colors of Paradise. Many thanks for this wonderful short walk with you, Geraldine
Mindless with mindfulness - Oh I love that!! A beautiful waterfall too! My first poetry collection is called 'Water to Water' - the beginning and the end!! You've inspired me to start posting travel pictures and poems !!!
Oh! Thankyou, dear Rajani. There is that capacity in which nature can be so overwhelming that you can only be present in the moment, aware of that instant and nothing else - and in that sense, mindless. This is - in part - why I have always sought peace in nature.
I would love to read your water and travel poems!
Best Wishes - Dave :)
Ah, Dave! Nothing more to say, just ah and a long, respiteful sigh… 🙏
Mindless and mindful is one of the best experiences...meaning comes and flows in stead of forcing it, becoming one with the land and all it offers. Always, journeying with you is so awe inspiring and delightful. Thank you for sharing with such an open heart and especially for the warm expansive energy that is you...that reaches beyond digital skies to touch us all. You emanate joy in word and in being. ~Sylvia
Ohhh yes..... in moments like that, time feels irrelevant. Past/Present/Future - everything is one.....
He sure does.
Water is important everywhere, but it must be so precious in near-deserts. I love your glimpses and insights into an unknown continent (for me).
Hi Jane!
Clear, fresh, clean water ... is becoming rarer everywhere...
We do have plenty in our coastal ranges, all along the East coast, and in the Wet Season we have massive amounts in the seasonal rivers of the far North.
However, everywhere else on this mostly dry continent, water is scarce and mysterious.
When I lived in the desert, I attended ceremonies which were all about the ancestral Ngapa Jukurrpa - which we loosely translate as "Water Dreaming" - long song cycles telling of where the rain travelled long ago, as it helped to form the land....
I think of that, when I follow rivers here. I will never take water for granted again.
Such a privilege to find a mountain stream you can drink from without doubt or hesitation .... water as it is meant to be. Untamed and untreated.
D
I love the magical simplicity of Aboriginal (sorry if that’s an offensive term, I don’t know how I ought to call them) mystical beliefs. So much more relevant than the Christian fixation with death, suffering and penitence for enjoying anything.
Oh! Jane - I send a virtual hug for that! (In the Platonic sense, but deeply sincere).
I have good friends who hold more "mainstream" religious views, and I will always respect their personal beliefs on these matters because that is their truth, but YES! (Foe me) Christianity has many good teachings, but you perfectly identify what has always seemed - to me - to be a deeply disturbed, even pathological, central theme.
"Death, suffering and penitence for enjoying anything." Succinct and (for me) correct.
Regarding "Aboriginal" - if I can put your mind at rest: It is fine to speak of "Aboriginal people." It's not offensive - or at least, not offensive to the vast majority of my Aboriginal friends. "Indigenous" gets used too - and that's okay. Even "First Nation" - but in my experience "Aboriginal" is used more often, by my friends themselves , because it is more specific to the original and ongoing custodians of this continent. Of course, when referring to a particular part of the country and the people who own it, it is respectful to name the specific language groups for that region - eg I currently live in the lands of the Yaegl and Bundjalung people - but with 300+ distinct language groups, that requires a lot of specialist knowledge! Consequently - when referring to the traditional owners in general, the term "Aboriginal" is fine. Often "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander" - because Australia (as a nation) includes most of those islands, and they have their own unique cultures.
Wow - it gets complicated.
I attended a lot of ceremony with the Warlpiri people of what we now call the Tanami Desert - a corruption of "Jarnami" which is a particular sacred site in the central Tanami.
I could say more - a book length more - but it would become boring. I'm also tired - it's late - and I need to reply to a message from a good friend.
I am not myself Aboriginal. What I write on these topics - I write as a friend and observer. My own spiritual connection to the land here is informed by that, but is also a product of who I am.
At some point I may write a whole Post about the concept of Autochthony, and why a visit to Ireland blew my mind.....
If you are interested, I have published here on Substack a series of poems with explanatory notes, and one short "memoir" story, about my years living and working in remote Aboriginal communities. You may have read them already - I have no idea. If not: I refer to Junga Yimi; Lajamanu Morning; the Missionary Position; Japanangka's Dog; Kngwarreye; Waves.....
Happy to start a private chat thread on all this if you would like more information.
Apologies for the rave. I have probably just been excruciatingly boring...
Best Wishes - Dave
Very Best Wishes - Dave :)
It’s not boring at all! It’s a subject that is fundamental to the human experience. Spirituality for the first peoples must have been a way to order an environment that could be lethal and was always awe-inspiring. Human beings ask questions and want answers. Animals accept and don’t worry about what makes the storm, they just know to keep out of its way. The Big Five have used what was once a spiritual concept as a form of social control. Man-made rules and no transgressions allowed.
It seems to me that the polemics surrounding who can call who what, wear which clothes and hairstyles is an admission that we have forgotten any real deep-rooted differences and that all there is to hang onto are spurious, often modern accessories. Aboriginal people haven’t had their umbilical cord to the land cut. Maybe all people who have lived in the same place for millennia feel that connection.
Yes, friend Jane. I agree with every word....
Sorry, should have added that I’ve read some of you poems about place, and enjoyed them. I’ll read some more, get a bit more background, then I might have something to contribute to a chat xx
I love all those beautiful photos and that video you took and added to complement this piece. This was very nice to read David, so thank you for sharing it here.
Thankyou! And for the restack too...
Dave :)
lovely flow of words & water ! ...
And thankyou for this, too, Lori.
Words and water.... they go together!
Best Wishes - Dave :)
Agree 100% - Nature is such a giver!
I want to come along!!! 🌊 ⛰️ 🌊
Lol Kiki. You are welcome!
D :)
"We are ourselves mostly just self aware and slightly salty water, glittering fitfully with the brief sunlight of thought." Not sure you know how beautiful this is. But it is.
Also, thanks for the vids! To be able to hear the water added to the experience.
As always, the comments are a treat unto themselves.
Ah! Honestly, it is such a beautiful place..... A sequence of waterfalls, the river tipped from one upturned palm of stone down to another, and then another.... Each waterfall has its own voice and its own song. So I tried to capture a couple on video. A bit clumsy, because I needed one hand to hold the rope.
Comments on Substack can be fascinating. Everyone sees something different. We are all unique....
Best wishes to you from far off Australia...
Dave :)
Fantastic, Dave, what a place! In recent years I’ve suffered from vertigo but I would still love to go there. Your words are amazing, distilled down to the essence of the experience. My favourite part is “What the water said is my secret for myself, in syllables uttered on stone.”, because although our river is almost horizontal in its direction of travel, when I’m by it and alone, I can relate to that completely. Thanks for sharing 👏
Hey Dave - thankyou!
It is a beautiful set of waterfalls, but all streams tell us something, don't they?.
My wonderful partner, Meg, taught me many years ago to spend more time just sitting, looking and listening, and less time charging off and up and down and around everything.
I do still love the charging around bit, but I always make time to sit and watch and listen. This post is about a day where I managed a bit of each.
Beautiful, adventurous, and stunning videos!
Hi Susan
Thankyou! It was ... a sublimely beautiful day....
More to come - I hope. We all live each day in expectation of the next, but I never take it for granted.
Best Wishes - Dave :)
I, too, so appreciate the lessons that water holds. How to flow, to be cohesive, to become and let go, always in the dance of enthalpy and entropy. I marvel at water's many forms from droplet, river, fog, snowflakes, frost and ice. The ease with which water lets go of one form to become another is a life lesson for me. Thank you for your post
You are welcome, Susan. I just read your beautiful post on exactly this. Water teaches....
Best Wishes - Dave
Brought Tao number 8 to mind (Lin Yutang translation):
"The best of men is like water;
Water benefits all things
And does not compete with them.
It dwells in (the lowly) places that all disdain -
Wherein it comes near to the Tao."
Mmm... that's beautiful!!!
Lovely smile Mr. Kirkby, vibrant joy is written on your face and in your words I hear a holy respect and admiration—your camera eye capturing textures and pristine colors of Paradise. Many thanks for this wonderful short walk with you, Geraldine
Oh, friend Geraldine, if only you knew how your words have warmed my - otherwise rather difficult - day.
Thankyou! I so missed the company of other writers....
Very Best Wishes - Dave :)
Beautiful words and places, thank you for sharing your journey.
And you’re right, much there is to listen from water.
Thankyou, Stefano! Yes.... always a message there, from rain, or river or sea.... even from glaciers.....
Best Wishes - Dave :)
Loved the combination of words and poetry to show your little adventure following the water! 😄
Thankyou, E.H. !
I would have followed further, but it was already a long hot steep climb out... :)
Two comments: your smile is so full of life, so genuine, and yes, you do need a Go Pro! Though the quality was fantastic. Of both word and photos.
Hi Krissy. Thankyou! That is a truly wonderful thing to say.
I was, for sure, having an ecstatically joyful day. Deciding to take photos on rappel - foolish but fun.
I'm delighted you enjoyed this!
Best Wishes from Australia - Dave :)