In Shadow and In LIght

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

We are much less tall, much less strong, our bones readily broken, skin easily pierced. Even the cold can defeat us, steal our breath and slow our heartbeat. And yet, despite it all . . . we are.

We are, in shadow and in light.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Waves

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

The spirits are, and though they speak but softly, they love us all the same.

We are, and the waves — of snow, of sky, of light, of love sent across thresholds in front of us yet more distant than time — are their reminder of our existence, their gift to us.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Purpose

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

And then an ancient spirit appears, a reminder that being is its own triumph. An ancestor, one lucky to have survived for a time, one who endured much so that generations never meant by others to be born would be in spite of it all.

He was strong in body, and now he is strong in spirit: able to cross centuries and miles and barriers greater yet, to remind one survivor that we are . . . and that there is purpose in that.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

The Elder

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

So, too, it is with the elder who sits so high above us, inclined so that he may gaze upward at the sun by dawn, at the moon by dark. In this season, his craggy face, weathered and brown, is dusted with white, long white hair spread out behind him, as though flowing upon the wind.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Survival

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Survival.

It’s more than just being.

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Ice and Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

We are, and we follow our path, even in the harsh cold light dawn at the end of the Freezing Moon, a path spangled with diamond streamers of ice and light.




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For Another Day

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

And for another day, we live.

For another day, we are.

And for that, we are thankful.



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To Inhabit the Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

It is time for us to learn to walk between sun and shadow.

Time for us to inhabit the light.

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Camouflage

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

He was barely visible at that distance, a tiny gray silhouette against the rising sun, easily mistaken for a misshapen bit of wood at the top of the post.

Camouflage.




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Miracle

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A mark has been made. We may not see it, but somewhere, someday, someone who needs to see it will.

And it will be enough.

That is its own gift.

That is a miracle.

We are a miracle.




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Act.

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. 

There will be time for everything, but we must learn to recognize, to know: When.

When to act.



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Dancers

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We are dancers in a world on fire, and soon we will be renewed.



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To Be the Water

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

Here, the little winter came yesterday. It will mostly depart tomorrow.

Here, it’s a herald of climate change, an alarm, an early warning system even as the earth’s hour grows late. It’s also a reminder of the need to be flexible, adaptable: to be the water, and the ice.



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The Land Itself

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We are not merely indigenous to this land: We are the land itself.

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The Dawn Returns

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The fire is fading, the ice ascendant; the dawn returns, and we are here to greet it.



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In the Dark

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And then we know that we are — and we are not alone in the dark.



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We Are Her Children, Too.

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

And so we need her warmth and light, because we are: We live, survive, even thrive despite the winter cold.

We are her children, too.



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Even the Water Is Red

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

Because we are. 

The willow knows; the water knows; the light knows; even the winter knows. In this moon, our moon, even the water is red.



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The War Eagle

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He is the War Eagle: the one who leads the fight, who flies into battle to keep the warriors brave ands strong of heart.

He is the one who reminds us who we are . . . what we are . . . that we are.





All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

The Hoop's Own Lesson

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

And in the cold dusk air, from a distance too far for naked human eyes to see, the red-tails returned, circling, circling in an endless hoop: a final gift for the night, the hoop’s own lesson, a reminder that, like they, we are.




All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.