Life From a Writer's POV
Have you ever met someone who seems to radiate light?
And you wonder, is it magic?
Or love?
Or faith?
Or creative passion?
Or the simple joy of being alive?
i
It is inspiring.
Even contagious!
May you find whatever it is that makes your cheeks glow…
…your imagination take wing…
…and your heart sing.
All words and images copyright Naomi Baltuck.
Click here for more interpretations of The Weekly Travel Theme.
If a tree falls in the woods and I don’t photograph it, did I really see it?
Last week, amidst the throes of last-minute packing for spring break in Hawaii, I was mentally outlining the next chapter of my manuscript. That’s the only excuse I can give for walking out of the house and onto an airplane…
Without. My. Camera.
So Thom gave me charge of his new toy, a Pentax underwater camera, for use in or out of the water. My hero!
Its zoom wasn’t as powerful, but I was grateful. As they say, “Any port in a storm!”
I snapped a handful of shots before it died. We changed the battery and…nothing. Arrrrgh! I thought about buying a new camera, but it seemed wasteful; I’m happy with the one at home. Maybe just a one-use camera, a single roll of film in a recycled plastic case? No, those photos always look washed out. Then I thought, I’ve been to Maui, and I’ll be back. How many sunsets do I need in my archives?
I don’t need to chase rainbows
I decided to make a clean break of it, go cold turkey. Perhaps my travel experience might even improve without a lens between me and my world.
Look, Ma! No cams!
I confess, I felt the pangs of withdrawal. My photographs help refresh memories I might otherwise forget.
With my camera, I am never alone.
I anticipate with pleasure the sharing of pictures with friends, family, my blogging community. Even sans camera, I was constantly framing shots in my mind’s eye. Sea turtles gliding in ocean currents. Two hotel maids walking arm-in-arm down a deserted hotel corridor. The underwater service station run by a pair of enterprising Cleaning Wrasse, with bigger fish lined up like cars at a car wash, patiently waiting their turn to be picked clean of parasites.
Oh, yes, and the kid in neon snorkel gear who shouted, “Mom! Dad! I can hear the whales singing!” Eli and I smiled indulgently at his vivid imagination.
The next morning we were snorkeling off that same beach when Eli said, “Mom! Dad! I can hear whales singing!” I thought he was teasing, but I ducked under the waves, held my breath, and listened. And I could hear them too. For an hour or more, we held perfectly still, just letting the whale song wash over us. I’d been coming to Maui for twenty years, but had never heard them. Had they been there all along? I was an astronaut, observing an alien planet from my little floating bubble, and was unexpectedly invited in for tea! And inside my snorkel mask I cried.
When we staggered onto the beach and looked out at the water, we saw them spouting, teasing us with glimpses of their fins and shiny black backs. We also saw the whale watching boat hounding them. Had they been communicating distress or just watching out for each other? Finally the boat left. And the moment it did, the whales began breaching and splashing, showing their big white bellies, time and time again! I suspect they were jumping for joy and shouting,”Woo hoo! We ditched ’em!”
It was like discovering your house is haunted with friendly ghosts going about their business, oblivious to that other world, except on those occasions when your worlds intersect. I decided the rolling ocean is The Poker Face of the World, and just beneath the surface, a swirl of emotions, life and death struggles, joy, pain, drama, and countless stories play themselves out.
There was no way a camera could have recorded that breathtaking experience, and no way I would ever need the help of a camera to recall it. Just when I resolved and resigned myself to a camera-free existence, Eli and I went for an afternoon walk.
And he taught me how to take photos with his Smart Phone.
Okay, forget everything I just told you about a camera-free life. Because then Saint Eli indulged me completely, taking me back to revisit all the beautiful sights I’d admired. We snapped all these pics and more with his Smart Phone.
Pretty pictures of stationary subjects…
…that practically come when you whistle for them.
Other photos depended upon conditions like weather.
Or light.
Or where our feet happened to take us.
My favorite shots are the unexpected ones, that dropped like ripe fruit falling from a tree into my lap.
Sweet.
Sweeter.
Sweetest!
As we sat on the beach watching the sun set, directly ahead of us a whale leapt out of the ocean so close I could see the lines on its belly. It thrust one long fin into the air and waved goodbye. Exhilarating! A flash of wonder! A glimpse of the sacred just for us! It is forever engraved in our memories and upon our hearts.
But I’m THRILLED that Eli caught it on his Smart Phone!
Okay, time to come clean. I ADORE chasing rainbows…
…and I will ALWAYS go for the gold!
WOO HOO!
All images and words copyright Naomi Baltuck (and Eli Garrard!)
Click here for more interpretations of The Weekly Travel Theme: Clean.
Last summer I saw a baby Stellar Jay perched on my arbor, resting after trying out its wings. I looked away for an instant; when I looked back, it was gone.
It reminded me of something The Venerable Bede once said. Bede was an Anglo-Saxon monk born in 672A.D.
In The Ecclesiastical History of the English People he compares a person’s life to the flight of a sparrow. Imagine sitting in a mead-hall at supper by the light of a blazing fire, while outside a winter storm rages.
A sparrow flies in one door of the hall, into the light, then darts out out another door, back into the cold dark night. “So our lives appear for a short space,” said Bede, “but of what went before, or what is to follow, we are utterly ignorant.” 
People have many different thoughts, feelings, beliefs and explanations as to what or if anything comes before…
…or after the sparrow’s flight.
Sooner or later each of us will fly out into the night.
That seems to be the only thing everyone can agree upon.
I don’t need to know all the answers before I fly back out.
I am right here, right now, basking in the warm and beautiful light of life.
Whatever happens outside the mead-hall won’t change the way I live my life here and now.
I have work I am passionate about…
..family I love and good friends to play with.
I care about issues in the wider world…
…and in my own little sphere.
I hope I can make some small difference…as a writer, a storyteller, a parent, a friend…
…and to leave even just a little nightlight shining…
…when my flight is done. 
All words and images copyright Naomi Baltuck
Click here for more images of The One Word Photo Challenge:Storm.
Click here for more interpretations of The Weekly Photo challenge: Let There Be Light.
Click here for more interpretations of Nancy Merrill’s Photo a Week Challenge: Flight
Belle Bath Cooper wrote 10 Simple Things You Can Do Today That Will Make You Happier, Backed By Science for the Huffington Post. I highly recommend it. I intend to apply Ms. Cooper’s advice on a daily basis to cultivate a habit of happiness. In case you want to try, I’ve compiled visual aids…
#1. Exercise
#2. Sleep
#3. Move closer to work
#4. Spend Time with family and friends
#5.Go outside
#6. Help others
#7.Practice smiling
#8.Plan a trip
#9. Meditate
#10.Practice gratitude
All images and words copyright 2013 Naomi Baltuck
Click here for more interpretations of The Weekly Photo Challenge: Habit.
Thanks to my FB friend, storyteller Carol Connolly, who shared Ms. Cooper’s article.
The king was plagued with the heavy burden of responsibility. “Drought and famine, war and rebellion, disease and disaster, one after the other! I must find a way to quiet my troubled heart, so I can sleep at night!” He offered a reward to the artist who could paint him a picture of perfect peace. Artists came from all over the kingdom, each bringing his own vision of peace.
One painted a sheltered mountain valley.
Another a pristine lake, still and calm, a perfect mirror to reflect a clear blue sky.
There was an orchard in full bloom.
Fluffy clouds with silver linings.
Cheerful sunny days.
And so many sunsets!
The king studied them all, and at last he decided. He chose a painting of a waterfall, tumbling down a mountainside, beneath a dark, angry sky.
“But your majesty,” said his counselor. “Why this painting? This is a portrayal of chaos.”
“Look closely,” said the king. He pointed to a sheltered spot behind the waterfall, where there was a ledge between the jagged rocks. Upon that ledge a mother bird had built her nest. Snuggled beneath her wings, safe and warm, were her precious chicks.
“I understand now,” said the king. “Peace happens not only where there is an absence of strife and suffering. In the midst of chaos, if there is calm in your heart, will you know the true meaning of peace.”
(Mrs. Bradford Ripley and Her Children, 1852. By Robert Walter Weir, Detroit Institute of Art)
(Sculpture for his friend Robert Arthur by Samuel Murray, Detroit Institute of Art)
Copyright 2013 Naomi Baltuck
Click here for more interpretations of The Weekly Photo Challenge: Enveloped.
Click here for more interpretations of the Weekly Travel Theme: Peaceful
Like a brilliant sunset, it’s here and then gone.
As fleet as a bird on the wing…
Passing as unnoticed as the morning dew…
…even as it goes speeding down the track of no return.
From here.
To here.
Like a river, it flows, with its twists and turns, its highs and lows.
But mostly highs.
But it’s just as they say.
Time…
…and tides wait for no one.
Childhood, theirs–not ours–slips away like water through our fingers.
Or a kite caught up in a strong wind.
As warm and wonderful as a hug, but just as fleeting.
Suddenly they’re all grown up; intelligent, creative, compassionate human beings, ready to make their contributions to the world. Which is the whole point, isn’t it?
Their childhood is a gift…
…we gave to each other.
It has its season, and then it’s gone…
Off they go to seek their fortunes.
Dang! And just when they learned how to cook!
But here’s something they won’t know until they have children of their own. Long after our kids are parents, long after they’ve gone gray, long after they are elderly orphans…they will still be our babies.
Neither time nor tides can ever change that.
All words and images copyright 2013 Naomi Baltuck
Click here for more interpretations of The Weekly Photo Challenge: Nostalgia.
I’m a bad dog! Aside from 2012 Blog of the Year Awards, I haven’t posted an award since last May! Those bloggers who honored me with these nominations have probably forgotten all about it, or long since given up. But I’ve kept track, because I knew I’d get around to it……………………………………..eventually.
Here are the four simple rules of the Sunshine Blogger Award.
1. Display the logo on your blog. 2. Link back to the person who nominated you. 3. State 5 facts about yourself. 4. Pass the award on to 8 (or 10) other bloggers, and link to one of their specific posts so they get notified by ping back.
As long as I’m spilling the beans, all five facts will be the true confessions of a tacky tourist. I hope you will still respect me in the morning.
5. Yes, we are the tacky tourists your cool friends warned you about.
4. We didn’t get a magic carpet video in Cappadocia because we were running late, and our travel companions would’ve shunned us. But we wanted to.
3. We have discovered many practical and economical uses for a quality zoom lens.
2. I must also confess that, in our travels, as hard as we tried, we were rarely able to embarrass our teenagers…
1. …Or get ourselves arrested.
Sarah Potter of sarahpotterwrites is pursued by the muses of prose, poetry, and music. She is a very fine poet, a heavenly singer, and a novelist.
Micheline of Micheline’s Blog features art, music, books, history, and current events. Very classy!
Paula of stuff i tell my sister shares just that–all the stuff she shares with her best friend who is also her sister. It’s like sitting at their kitchen table.
Carol of Loethen Art Designs, Creativity, Camera, and Computer!
Rara of rarasaur, where frightfully wondrous things happen. She has a fun, quirky, natural voice that I really enjoy.
Maggie Myklebust of flyawayhome is an American author living in Norway. She shares her life on her blog and in her memoir Fly Away Home.
Now I get to pass forward The Sunshine Award to the following bloggers. Please take a minute to pay them a visit.
Nikki of imayfly has a fun fresh voice with a wry sense of humor.
Island Traveler of thisman’sjourney is refreshing and inspiring. If you ever need a little hit of sweetness–and sunshine–check out his blog.
Tess at How The Cookie Crumbles is a sharp writer, and I really enjoy her flash fiction.
Naomi at The Teatime Reader has excellent taste in books, and reviews them for her readers intelligently, perceptively, and eloquently.
Christine of Texana’s Kitchen is funny and smart, a great storyteller, and she always leaves you with a great recipe to try out.
Russel of Russel Ray Photos will give you great photography tips, as well as share pearls of wisdom from his wise old Grandma!
4AM Writer will give you tips on how to balance your writing and your life.
Ruth of Ruth E. Hendricks Photography will give you sweet glimpses of sunshine and shadow in her beautiful photography.
The Geek Goddess of Two Different Girls will take you to interesting out of the way places and make you smile every time!
I have more be-very-lated awards to post, and many more great blogs and bloggers to introduce you to. I don’t want to overwhem you, so I will dole them out like Blog Candy. Thanks for stopping by. Warmly, Naomi
My kids grew up with certain given truths. Any party at our house is going to involve costumes.
Any snow day will involve staying home from school to play in the snow, even if school is not officially canceled.
And Mom doesn’t go in the water. Not in pools. Not in lakes. And especially not in oceans. That was their Dad’s province, and just one of the reasons I married him.
These truths were held to be self-evident, until our first trip to Hawaii.
Not since I was a child had I experienced such a personal relationship with water, warm night air, and moonlight all at once.
Snorkeling changed my life.
Just under the surface was an alien world, wonder-full, completely new to me. As close as I’ll ever come to being a virgin again!
My kids even coaxed me into the swimming pools there. Especially at night the atmosphere was surreal.
Warm, clear, and calm, but with sound of the surf ever present.
For a little while, we were amphibians.
Merfolk.
Golden.
My kids still know that any party we have at our house is going to involve costumes. They know that snow days are for staying home and playing in the snow, no matter what anyone else thinks. And they know Mom doesn’t go into the water. Not in pools. Not in lakes. Especially not in oceans.
Except in Hawaii!
Click here for more interpretations of The Weekly Photo Challenge: Nighttime.
Click here, for more interpretations of Ailsa’s Weekly Travel Theme: Liquid.
All words and images c2012 Naomi Baltuck
Writing Between the Lines 