Religious Education Update: June 18
Magic Moments
I hiked to Secret Beach Friday morning, a beach in Point Reyes accessible only at minus tides. The early morning air was warm and the sky cloudless as my son, Kurt, and I arrived at an empty parking lot at Limantour Beach. It was too early for other hikers but perfect timing for our hike three miles down the beach to the Keyhole.
The Keyhole, which is a tunnel through a rocky point, was high and dry at the lowest point of the -.8 tide. We squeezed through the Keyhole, using outcroppings of tightly packed mussels as handholds. The tunnel walls were covered with gooseneck barnacles, limpets, and brightly colored seastars. When we passed through, we had to scramble over large boulders completely covered by slippery red and green seaweed. I moved gingerly over the rocks, avoiding a kneedeep step into tidepools.
Just past the Keyhole is the Secret Cave. Passing through the cave entrance, we entered a large room with no ceiling and sheer walls on all sides.
Some of the sheer walls were covered with wildflowers and the natural amphitheater was brightly lit by the summer sun. It was a magical moment.
Some of my most moving religious experiences happen in these moments, when I am immersed in beauty and surrounded by life- bat stars, giant blue green anemones, and flowering cliffs, at this particular time.
Two of my three children are enthusiastic hikers, who appreciate outdoor adventures despite the natural hazards of poison oak, stinging nettles, and occasional missteps into cold ocean water. The third child finds more inspiration in the theatre and music. She’s the one who attended 3 or 4 plays a week while enjoying a semester in London.
In any case, summer seems to me to be the perfect time to explore, to go on great adventures, whether it be a hike around Shollenberger or a trip to faraway lands. I’ll be leaving on Tuesday for St. Louis and part of General Assembly, then I’ll be camping at Mendocino Woodlands for two weeks in July. I will find those magical moments to inspire and renew my soul. I wish Magical Moments for all of you until we regather with Water and Stones in the Fall.
Marlene Abel
Director of Religious Education.
I hiked to Secret Beach Friday morning, a beach in Point Reyes accessible only at minus tides. The early morning air was warm and the sky cloudless as my son, Kurt, and I arrived at an empty parking lot at Limantour Beach. It was too early for other hikers but perfect timing for our hike three miles down the beach to the Keyhole.
The Keyhole, which is a tunnel through a rocky point, was high and dry at the lowest point of the -.8 tide. We squeezed through the Keyhole, using outcroppings of tightly packed mussels as handholds. The tunnel walls were covered with gooseneck barnacles, limpets, and brightly colored seastars. When we passed through, we had to scramble over large boulders completely covered by slippery red and green seaweed. I moved gingerly over the rocks, avoiding a kneedeep step into tidepools.
Just past the Keyhole is the Secret Cave. Passing through the cave entrance, we entered a large room with no ceiling and sheer walls on all sides.
Some of the sheer walls were covered with wildflowers and the natural amphitheater was brightly lit by the summer sun. It was a magical moment.
Some of my most moving religious experiences happen in these moments, when I am immersed in beauty and surrounded by life- bat stars, giant blue green anemones, and flowering cliffs, at this particular time.
Two of my three children are enthusiastic hikers, who appreciate outdoor adventures despite the natural hazards of poison oak, stinging nettles, and occasional missteps into cold ocean water. The third child finds more inspiration in the theatre and music. She’s the one who attended 3 or 4 plays a week while enjoying a semester in London.
In any case, summer seems to me to be the perfect time to explore, to go on great adventures, whether it be a hike around Shollenberger or a trip to faraway lands. I’ll be leaving on Tuesday for St. Louis and part of General Assembly, then I’ll be camping at Mendocino Woodlands for two weeks in July. I will find those magical moments to inspire and renew my soul. I wish Magical Moments for all of you until we regather with Water and Stones in the Fall.
Marlene Abel
Director of Religious Education.
posted by Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma @ 6:33 AM
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