444 - Bodies of Water
Degutie!
It's 444 on the fourth of the fourth!
444 is my monthly blog honouring the moments when you act with your heart. Each month contains something for me, for you, and for us.
I'm Max. I'm a photographer and writer from Australia. Subscribe here to have this sent by email on the fourth at 4:44 from wherever I am in the world.
This month I'm connecting to you from Kuna Yala aka the San Blas Islands. I'm volunteering here. The roster makes me smile - four days in Colombia, four days on the islands, and four days in Panama.
It's fascinating learning the life that the Kuna communities have created here. Fleeing the Spanish conquistadors and their diseases, they ventured out to sea. They settled and had a revolution to claim ownership of these islands and how they live.
4. me - Held by Blue
I'm living by the water for the first time. The living situation is tougher than anticipated. The volunteering commitment is intensive. Long hours with short sleep schedules in a remote setting.
It's taking a toll on me.
I'm adjusting to the compromises and holding onto small moments of self care.
What's keeping me afloat are the surrounding bodies of water. I'm noticing the effects of a quick dunk or a few breaths by the ocean.
It's introducing me to the 'Blue Mind Theory' - research of the meditative state of being by the water. The water's putting my stressors into perspective and soothing them to the rhythms of the sea.
I tend to hold onto so many forms of self-care to be 'well'. I'm learning it doesn't take long to do something small to feel replenished.
4. you - Journal Prompt: Which body of water is yours?
Place yourself by your favourite body of water. It could be anything: a beach, river, lake, dam, creek, pool, bath.
What does being by this water bring up for you?
I'll go first.
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My favourite body of water is the strip of beaches between Meelup and Eagle Bay in Dunsborough. I never plan to come here, yet I spend whole afternoons by these beaches when I'm out west.
Being here brings clarity to mind. The calmness resembles a waiting space to an afterlife. I imagine the distant strangers will soon walk over to reveal themselves as a major figure in my life.
A bank of memories live here. Reunions with friends, dolphin sightings, and Louis Armstrong dance parties. It's hard to come here often. It might be years between visits. Returning helps me zoom out in the intervals.
Whatever patch I'm going through, a time will come when I get to dance on this beach again.
4. us - Small Bodies of Water - Nina Mingya Powles
“I think of the last bodies of water I have touched sustaining me, connecting me to places I can’t reach.”
Small Bodies of Water - Nina Mingya Powles
I returned to my favourite book for comfort on the islands.
I love the way Nina Mingya Powles writes. She makes me notice nature in places I don’t look.
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"Home is many people and places and languages, some separated by oceans."
The memoir focuses on how water both separates and binds us. Being away from familiar bases of support can be tough. This book is teaching me to ride the waves by connecting to water. To use it for nourishment, support, and bridge connections on the other side.
See you next month!
Thank you for being you,
Max
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