Dear Endearing Souls,

I clambered down a long steep set of stairs to a nearly deserted beach on the California coast to take a walk.

While walking on the beach, I almost tripped over a sea lion lying on the sand. He lifted up his head and looked at me with large brown eyes and then dropped his head with a sigh. He appeared to be struggling to breathe, and my heart lurched with fear and sadness and a desire to help him.

I moved away and sat down on the sand to contemplate. The message I received was to leave him alone. This felt very difficult to accept, and I quickly scanned through options like pulling him into the water, or bringing him water.

The message came through again:
Leave him alone.

Then I remembered reading about some people who wanted to help newly hatched sea turtles. When the sea turtles are just born, they must cross the sand to get to the water, and the people observed that birds were attacking the baby turtles as they crossed the expanse of sand. So they carried the turtles to the water to “help them.” All the baby turtles died because they weren’t strong enough to swim without having crossed the sand.

I wondered whether I would hurt the sea lion by trying to “help” him. I couldn’t stop thinking of how he had looked at me with those brown eyes. Since I’m still grieving the death of my cat Jupiter, it felt exquisitely painful to walk away and leave the sea lion alone. I walked away, crying, and climbed the steps back to my car.

As I drove up the road, I saw a park ranger and stopped to tell him what I’d seen. He told me I’d done the right thing by leaving the sea lion and suggested I call the Marine Mammal Center and let them know what had happened.

I then spent a long time on the phone with a lovely man who asked me questions like these:

How large was he? Would he fit in a shopping cart or a pick up truck?

Did you notice any discharge around his eyes?

Did he have a plume of hair that stood straight up from his head?

At any time, did he flick sand onto his body with his flippers?

Was he breathing heavily like a bellows?

How much time did you spend with him?

Did you alarm him?

Was his skin mottled?

There were about 30 more questions, and I felt sure that this must have been a dying sea lion.

The man at the Marine Mammal Center then announced:
“Congratulations! You’ve just witnessed a healthy elephant seal, probably about 1-2 years old. It’s common to mistake them for sea lions. Each year at this time, they heave themselves out of the water and shed all of their skin. It’s a terribly painful process, and they go into a kind of sleep apnea, which can look like they’re dying or suffering, but they’re perfectly fine, doing a perfectly natural process. Elephant seals can dive a mile deep and hold their breaths for over an hour. This skin shedding process is necessary for them to be able to do these things.”

I felt that this elephant seal taught me about letting go and about letting things be. This is a good lesson for me because I tend to over function and try to hold on to everything. And, so, I celebrate my teacher the elephant seal.

I wonder what else I can let go of or not interfere with?

Your very dear Susan (SARK)

www.artellawordsandart.com
Marney Makridakis’ site and incredible magazine, “Artella, the Waltz of Words and Art,” the Dreamworld issue, is out now and is positively bulging with great art, words, and celebrations. I’m honored to be in this issue.

SARK’s New Creative Companion: Ways to Free Your Creative Spirit is now out in bookstores, and that means SARK will be on tour celebrating her new book. Summertime is just ripe for nourishing and reveling in our creativity with kindred spirits. SARK wants to share gifts, games, inspirations, and surprises -- in person, with YOU. Be sure to check out the dates and mark your calendars!

SARK’s 2005 Events and Book Tour Schedule:

• July 11 – Capitola Book Cafe, Capitola, CA
• July 25 – East West Bookstore, Mountain View, CA
• July 30 – Shakti Foundation, Aspen, CO
• Oct 15 – Shakti Foundation, San Francisco, CA
• Oct 28 – East West Bookstore, Sacramento, CA
• Nov 11-14 – Celebrate Your Life, Scottsdale, AZ

Find out more about SARK’s Ecstatic Events on PlanetSARK.com

Have you been searching for the color-full and inspirational text and art in How to Really Love a Child by SARK?

How To Really Love A Child endures as one of SARK’s most popular offerings. It frequently sells out! We receive requests all the time telling us how much you enjoy sharing this special gift item on occasions such as baby showers and birthdays.

We’re now delighted to tell you that we have just issued a NEW limited-run framed art print of How to Really Love a Child, available for purchase through the eShop on PlanetSARK.com.

Check out all the latest products under New Arrivals in the PlanetSARK.com eShop.

Thank YOU for supporting PlanetSARK.com! Purchasing books and products through the eShop directly supports the creation of new SARK products and the development of the freebies offered through our website.

Check out all the Free Stuff.

Need a creative nudge or a juicy jolt? Take a stroll through the Society of SARK Web Spaces. The succulence of the Web Spaces continues to expand and inspire, thanks to the kindred spirits who share their creativity. Membership in the Society of SARK features a personal Web Space that gives you a home on PlanetSARK.com where you can articulate and share yourself and your creative dreams. Moreover, you get an online Journal -- a blog area where you can write, ponder, and exclaim to all the marvelous souls who visit.

Intrigued? Explore Society of SARK Web Spaces.

"SARK's gentle and effervescent work is a festive, creative catalyst that throws open a wide and generous gate."
-- Julia Cameron, author of The Artist's Way

SARK's New Creative Companion: Ways to Free Your Creative Spirit is now available for you!

Filled with new material, new color, and new full-page artwork, including Ways To Play More Often and Creative 'Mistakes' You Must Make, Creative Actions You Must Take, SARK's New Creative Companion overflows in abundance. Discover how to be an artist ("learn to watch snails"), be really alive ("make YES your favorite word"), really love a child ("if they get crabby, put them in water"), and more! SARK's New Creative Companion opens the heart and mind, and reminds us all that it's never too late to kindle-or rekindle-the loving and creative spirit within.

Purchase SARK's New Creative Companion in our eShop on PlanetSARK.com.