Monday, October 8, 2012

Nature Day

Today was nature day. I crawled out of bed at 4:30 am to meet my fellow classmates and spend sixteen hours in nature and the car. What a day. What an amazing day. We started off the day on the top of Horse Mountain watching the sunrise. Sure was cold. But the views were worth it. Emotional. Haven't watched the sunrise in god knows how long. We descended out of the clouds and moved on to Patrick's Point where we walked through Yurok Indian Tribe dance grounds and then perched on a fence for an hour overlooking the ocean and watching the whales and sea lions. Our next stop was Fern Canyon and we hiked for seven miles through the Redwoods. Just amazing amazing views. The trees rise so far up to the sky, they just took my breath away. At the end of the forest excursion we walked through a gulf of high walls of ferns encasing a river.

You really can't make up that kind of beauty. It is only found in nature.

I sound like such a hippy. Hurmph.

After our epic hike we drove out to Moonstone Beach to watch the sunset. As the sunset, I looked around at the same forty people that I enjoyed the sunrise with this very same morning. Good bunch. Our teacher and leader of the nature day excursion Matt asked us to hold everything from our past in one hand and then release it. Then he asked us to hold everything to come in our future in the other hand. And release it. And notice the power of the present moment. He finished sharing this idea with us just as the last lick of fire crossed the horizon leaving a deliciously pink and blue sky. The sun off to warm another part of the world. A handful of us threw off our clothes and ran into the ocean. It was real cold and real refreshing.

Reflections. Loads. Too much to say. Key things. Looking forward to working this year with this group of people and learning together. Looking forward to working this week and exploring finding the essence of the natural world in my theater. In my previous training I've often worked to somehow embody the four element exercises of fire, earth, air, and water. However, I've never watched these things with such a careful eye. I have a different sense of them...I am curious to explore how that translates into the theater.

Also it just feels so good to be back on the west coast. The Pacific Ocean reminds me of my childhood. It has a special smell. That reminds me of building sand castles with Carise and Jason and Dad.

The horizontal point way out over the ocean when my eye is unable to see sends me somewhere strange and special. Maybe it is metaphor, or maybe it is real but it makes me think that may be where Jason is. Somewhere that I can see but only sort of. Somewhere just out of reach.

On a more personal level. I am struck by the journey of walking with my self. Being friends with my self. Not sure how that translates into being a more accomplished actor/creator but I do know it is part of my Dell'Arte journey. 

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