Muted Silence

“All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness.” ~Eckhart Tolle

Today had a sense of renewal as temperatures broke above freezing.  A desolate place yesterday is now springing with movement as water and air slowly melt ice.  Much more attention must be paid to the ice during a melting phase like this. Although strong, it is a matter of time before the ice starts fracturing.  Like I’ve said in the past, knowing the general creek depths wherever I am is important for safety… It was actually really fun to feel the ice for weak points and break out sections.  These pictures however, show a naturally occurring channel of water flow through the ice… today the edges of the ice seen here had enough strength to hold all my body weight.

It’s noticeably quieter on the creek when ice muffles the flow. The last few days had an ominous silence in the freezing cold. I hear it each time I look back on the photos…  But for these photographs, although mostly ice, I can hear the pleasant drone of water flow growing as the ice recedes.. There is a great deal of “silence” in the creek’s drone.. Perhaps for the way it cleanses my flow of thought, as if simply taking it downstream with the endless tumble of “stuff”.  Usually if I begin thinking about anything at the creek it’ll be in terms of music rather than words.  And then still deeper are the most intense pivotal moments of stone balance, or “ZERO POINTS”, where focus is 1000% and I can’t really begin to comprehend where my mind is, or what it’s doing…I LOVE this place of “no-mind” as Eckhart Tolle refers to because it is so mysteriously ecstatic AND unaware of time.  Each balance is like a unique journey through a state of no-mind or stillness… There is no way to comprehensively explain the state of mind in words…. maybe..  ZEN… which by nature eludes full explanation..