Imagine a coffee table style book miniaturized to fit into your purse or backpack that you could tote around with you and open a page at random. What you would discover is a treasure trove of exquisite photography paired with profound quotes by such ‘heritage’ writers as Henry David Thoreau, Emily Dickinson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Marcel Proust, Albert Einstein and William Wordsworth.
Although I have never been to Yosemite, I found myself transported cross country to what looks to be one of the most gloriously beautiful places on the planet. Yosemite Meditations is the work of photographer Michael Frye whose eye for capturing the essence of the place is highly attuned.
A cascading rainbow dancing waterfall and a quote by John Muir graces a page: “We are now in the mountains and they are in us, kindling enthusiasm and making every nerve quiver, filling every pore and cell of us.”
Julia Parker observes: “We’ve always been here. You know we’ve been here, in the plants and the trees, in the animals and the birds. We’ll be here forever you might say,” as a lone coyote stands in profile, its golden coat camouflaged by the waving brush.
Towering sequoias stand sentry as Sharon Giacomozzi waxes poetic: “Everything about this ancient race of trees is heroic in scale and cannot be absorbed in a single glance. You must spend quality time among them.”
Perfectly timed, Frye captured the red and black of a lady bug juxtaposed with the golden, orange and green surface of a fiddleneck and the wisdom of Diane Ackerman: “We can’t enchant the world which makes its own magic; but we can enchant ourselves by paying deep attention.”
This tenth anniversary version of the book is an exceptional companion whatever path you traverse.
Written by Edie Weinstein
Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW (Bliss Mistress) is a colorfully creative journalist and interviewer, internationally known transformational speaker, licensed social worker, interfaith minister, Bliss coach and the author of The Bliss Mistress Guide To Transforming The Ordinary Into The Extraordinary. Over the past 25 years, she has interviewed such notables as Jack Canfield, Marianne Williamson,Dan Millman, Shirley MacLaine, Ram Dass, Ben & Jerry and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She is a regular contributor to Beliefnet, Elephant Journal, Wisdom Magazine, The Whirling Blog, Identity Magazine and Bellesprit.
