October 05, 2004
Virgin Gorda
Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands, Canon 300D
This is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. This is the place where my dear friends Grant & Viola got married this weekend. This is the place where we snorkeled each day and saw parrot fish and jellies and a real live shark. This is the place I let the water take me, where there was no resistance, no concern, no gravity.
This is the place where I let go.
This is the place where vows were exchanged, where there was poetry about sea creatures and love and devotion. This is the place where we cried in the sunshine at the beauty of fierce love and family. This is the place where I remembered how very lucky I am.
This is the place where we swam in the ocean by moonlight, ate beautiful food, danced to disco music and jumped in the swimming pool with our clothes on. This is the place where we celebrated so hard that everything, literally everything fell away...
This is the place where I heard my breath in my ears as I snorkeled {in, out, in, out, a rhythmic meditation} and remembered my body for the first time in a long while. I felt the simple, profound joy of being alive.
We'll see what I can hold and take with me into the city. I've decided that the next time I meditate, I'm going to try wearing earplugs to simulate the sound of the being underwater...
Ahh, the Bath's, and how ironic its the new OSX screen saver.
I lived in these islands for 3 years, floating around, moving there and here, doing what came naturally to survive and feeling so very free. I'm so very glad to look up your site and see you experienced this part of the world-its so damn incredible.
Glad you are back too.
xo
Deanna
Your blogposts are a little oasis for me.....
your desire to wear earplugs reminds me of one evening I was taking a bath. I submerged my ears in the water and was able to hear both my breathing and my heartbeat; my immediate reaction was that it was as close as I could get to being in the sounds of the womb-profoundly peaceful, loving, rejuevenating. Purity in that place............
thank you!
Posted by: meristem at October 5, 2004 06:23 PMAndrea,
Often I peek in at your website to read your lovely stories and see your pictures. It is my ritual. Recently, my ex-partner of five years began another serious relationship and my heart has felt very heavy and sad. Your stories remind me...urge me to find that joy again. Peace to you.
Morgan
great post! such a lovely photo and such profound thoughts and words.....glad you're back! :)
Posted by: Julia at October 5, 2004 03:44 PMVirgin Gorda is one of my favorite places on the planet...thank you for reminding me of it's beauty and wonder!
Posted by: Jill at October 5, 2004 03:29 PMYaaay, u're back! Great photo and I'm happy u had such a wonderful time! Aloha!
Posted by: Olgica at October 5, 2004 02:37 PMoh you....lovely shot, lovely words. i so understand this....
beautiful.
Sounds amazing and the visuals you provide bring me there. I love the virgin islands - what a great place to go and find your true self again...
xo
Beautiful Picture...Awesome Post! I needed that.
Posted by: Sallie at October 5, 2004 01:39 PMI love this pic. Where's that beach?
Posted by: jj at October 5, 2004 01:23 PMI play a CD of ocean waves as I go to bed and which loops throughout the night. It is so soothing and almost like white noise, blocking out passing cars, neighbor's music, etc. I highly recommend this one: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000001V38 - it will remind you of Virgin Gorda...I guarantee it.
Posted by: amy at October 5, 2004 01:07 PMMeditating while in the shower may also stimulate the sound of the beach. If you have good shower gel, that can also help.
Andrea,
I know that feeling of release one gets while snorkeling....Coincidentally, a trip I took while I was married (it was my belated honeymoon)involved tons of snorkeling and the Virgin Gorda (and many of the other islands of that region of the British West Indies). The coves are protected as such that the waters are teeming with life (some of it perilous -- you saw sharks -- I saw a barracuda) But it is truly a heavenly place. I would love to go back one day. My marriage only lasted 13 years but I don't associate the place with bad memories -- it's just too beautiful.
Love-beams to you,
Karen
such beautiful scenery. i can only imagine how it felt being there.
andrea,
i just started wearing ear plugs when going to sleep at night. it's that in out in out sound that makes me let go of my day and actually get some sleep at night. it's become a calming ritual for me.
what a lovely entry. congradulations to your friends. i wish them love and joy over their first year of marriage. what a wonderful event to witness in what sounds like a georgious and exotic place.
it's so great to hear you were able to reconnect with yourself. i think we get to busy we forget ourselves to easily. our spirits take the back burner so often. just rember this trip, this entry over the next week as you re-enter into the city. stop more often and just listen.
glad to hear you are back home safe.
jenn