Beholding

Curlew, photo: Lorne Gill/ NatureScot

Where we set our gaze matters.

What do we look at? What do we notice?  Where does our attention lie?

I’ve been hearing the call of a curlew not far from my house.  The calls have ramped up and become more urgent as the  mother protects its growing young in the grasses below, warding off potential predators.  I am so touched by the guarding of these vulnerable creatures, the parent’s vigilance, and how much hangs in the balance enabling those chicks to grow to adult beings.  I want to will those chicks to live and thrive.

Sadly, the curlew is one of many British birds under threat.  According to the RSPB website, the UK breeding population of Curlews is of international importance, with around 30% of the west European population spending winter in the UK. Despite this, there have been worrying declines in the breeding population in much of the UK. In 2015, Curlews were added to the Red List on the UK Conservation Status Report. Red is the highest conservation priority, with species on this list needing urgent action.

Curlews are struggling, with big declines in breeding populations and ranges. They urgently need our help.

How sad it would be if we didn’t hear their glorious haunting calls over the landscape anymore.  For those that have learned to hear them, and to see the graceful design of these creatures, that would be a travesty indeed. 

I recently heard the phrase ‘How we see someone or something can change that person, that creature’. That’s a big claim, but I believe it to be true.

I think of the fires ravaging parts of France and Spain at the moment.  Fires affected us here in Scotland and flames were even coming close to Nethy Bridge. My heart cries for the stately trees and precious creatures of these areas, creatures that have no chance.  And I wonder if there is something that we could have done. 

As the fires are being followed and reported on in the news, there is a message that has come through from various fire specialists and climate scientists, that if these countries had only looked after their forests and taken precautions through clearing underlying brush on a regular basis, leaving cattle and sheep to graze naturally on the hillsides, they might have prevented the immensity of these blazes and the serious risk of losing their homes.  

Our world is moving so fast, but if we stopped to gaze and took the time to look past our noses and notice the created world around us, what would we see?  And what could we learn?

The Native Americans and First Nations tribes of Canada and the US had their finger on the pulse. Over the centuries they have been sensitive to the rhythms of the natural world around them, learning lessons that we could only hope to understand in our fast paced need for success and recognition.

I’m convinced that if we took the time our eyes would adjust to the intricacies and rhythms of nature, and we might put down our worldly aspirations and find wonder. 

Of course, as a painter I am well aware of the power of art to refine our sense of observation. The current Caithness Arts Exhibition is an opportunity to stop, gaze and consider; to see what others see. There are few enough opportunities in life to take time like this. The natural world, the arts, people around us, noticing, paying attention… it leads to love of what we behold.  

What is it that you notice? What is it that you love? What we spend time looking at - that is what begins to define us. Our gaze changes us and also what we observe.  

Are there things we could shift our gaze towards to make a change in this world?

____