Beloved sangha member, John Patterson, who hales from Ireland, shared these photos this week:
He wrote, “The whole Murcia/Almeria coast seems to be composed mostly of these
shell deposits and farther inland too, I’ve found oysters, clams and
scallops, quite high up in the hills.
Some remains of venerable crustaceans are pretty funky, strange,
intricately detailed shell fragments and spines. I found several Lemon
shark’s teeth, which I’ve read could be some 400 million years old.
I waited mindfully for about ten minutes to get the shot of the bird
above the open cave. I was expecting a seagull but it was actually one
of two small birds of prey skimming the headland. It is actually flying
backwards and upside down in a split second evasive manoeuvre when it
saw me.”
John says seeing the cliffs, which are a composite of uncountable numbers of sea shells, remind him of our practice visualizations of ‘all beings’. I have enjoyed studying these photos and using them as supports for practice—layers upon layers of compassion—and Johnny was happy to share.
