"Finale" by Bodhi Smith

Aug 11, 2023

 
finale ending
hope sending
lup dup
dup lup
thump bump
bump thump
beating heart
then skies part
the show
yellow glow
breathless 
wordless
believe
receive
​renew
love true
​a higher love 
from above 
 
MY THOUGHTS
There is nothing more beautiful than a beautiful ending  ― bodhi, finale
 
The word “Finale” is defined by Merriam-Webster as meaning:
1. the last part of a piece of music, a performance, or a public event, especially when particularly dramatic or exciting
2. the climactic ending of something
 
Some endings are just spectacular, to name just a couple that come to the forefront of my mind--the romantic fairytale finish of the movie "Pretty Woman"; or the perfect ending when the wedding ring rolls out onto the floor in the movie "The Sixth Sense"; or the climactic volley of cannon fire, ringing chimes, and a brass fanfare to finish off the Grand Finale of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture; or the massive flurry of fireworks to cap off a Fourth of July celebration; or the glowing sun looking like a giant ball of fire as it slowly sets over the Pacific Ocean...there is nothing more beautiful than a beautiful ending…
 
Endings are necessary in finding a new beginning. Think about it…You can never see the glorious stars and glowing Milky Way in the night sky without first experiencing an ending to the daylight…you have to let the light go and embrace the darkness to see the beauty of the night…and likewise, sometimes an ending, or a finale, is necessary to move on with your life, let your light disappear into your darkness …you’ve gotta say goodbye before you can say hello again…
 
​You say goodbye, and I say hello. Hello, hello.​  ― Hello Goodbye by the Beatles
 
An ending always gives me hope of a new beginning…it’s the reason we all love seeing ​a happy ending in movies, or reading about them in real life, or seeing them with our own teary eyes…
 
It’s hard to understand and fathom, but sometimes you have to say goodbye and walk away from your soulmate in order to say hello again one day…see the beautiful finale of what you shared, and let it be what it was for what it was, simply just let them go; let them be to follow their own path, which they must walk in their own footsteps, by themself…
 
Set them free, and if they fly back to you one day, then you know your beautiful ending was just a pause in the path, the path for both of you before it converged together once again…
 
I’m glad I said goodbye to her…now I’m right here boldly saying “Hello”…are you listening, can you hear me?
 
remember, just because something beautiful ends, it does not necessarily mean goodbye​ forever...the sunset is a ​finale to the day, and the sun disappears into the night, but always returns once the darkness ends..​.​ ― bodhi, finale
 
 
SOME MUSIC
​Grand Finale of the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky
 
Strength of a Woman By SHAGGY
https://youtu.be/_eZ0zgSIGdE

So amazing how this world was made
I wonder if GOD is a woman
The gift of life astounds me to this day
I give it up for the woman
She's the constant wind that fills my sail
Oh that woman
With her smile and her style, my
She'll protect like a child
That's a woman
She'll put a smile upon yah face
And take you to that (ah) higher place
So don't you under estimate
The strength of a woman
The strength of a woman
Woke up this morning
I got up with the scent of a woman
Jus picture if you would what life would be
Ain't much good without a woman
She can nag and be a constant pain
Oh that woman
But those hips she's got me whipped
And it's just to hard to resist
What a woman
She'll put a smile upon yah face
And take you to that (ah) higher place
So don't you under estimate
The strength of a woman
The strength of a woman
Tosses in
Tender lips that's so so sweet
Gentle words she softly speaks
Such an angel when we need
GOD bless the ground beneath her feet
She can take you on a high
Be your comfort when you cry
But if you look into her eyes
You'll see the strength of a woman
Strength of a woman
She'll put a smile upon yah face
And take you to that (ah) higher place
So don't you under estimate
The strength of a woman
The strength of a woman
 
here is another beautifully poignant song with beautiful apropos lyrics to give listen, a true classic of wisdom to help anyone find some peace in their life in times of trouble, or ego, or nothing going right, by breathing and just letting things be: "let it be" by the beatles ...(just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the song)...  
 
"when i find myself in times of trouble, mother mary comes to me speaking words of wisdom: let it be. and in my hour of darkness, she is standing right in front of me speaking words of wisdom: let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be...whisper words of wisdom: let it be...and when the broken hearted people living in the world agree, there will be an answer: let it be...for though they may be parted, there is still a chance that they will see. there will be an answer: let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be. there will be an answer, let it be let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be...whisper words of wisdom: let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be...whisper words of wisdom: let it be...and when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me. shine until tomorrow: let it be...i wake up to the sound of music, mother mary comes to me speaking words of wisdom: let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be, yeah, let it be. there will be an answer, let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be, yeah, let it be...whisper words of wisdom: let it be" ― the beatles, let it be
 
N​o matter how turbulent the waters in our oceans become, a beautiful sunset can seemingly always help to calm our souls​ ― bodhi, finale
 
 
MORE QUOTES FOR EXTRA MEANING
in the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you ― gautama siddhartha buddha, sayings of buddha 
 
what the caterpillar calls the end, the rest of the world calls a butterfly ― lao tzu, tao te ching 
 
new beginnings are often disguised as painful endings" ― lao tzu, tao te ching  
because see, a sunset is proof, my dearest eternal sweetheart, that endings can often be beautiful too ― beau taplin, remedy 
 
i’ve always been enchanted by the endings of things. series finales and sunsets. last paragraphs and encores. i think for the way they remind me that losing something you love isn’t always sad and heartbreaking, but sometimes breathtaking and beautiful. ― beau taplin, buried light  
 
by taking risks. by ris​king failure, disappointment, disillusion, but never ceasing in your search for love. as long as you keep looking, you will triumph in the end ― paulo coelho, brida 
 
life begins where fear ends ― osho, fear  
 
even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise ― victor hugo, les miserables
 
i may not have gone where i intended to go, but i think i have ended up where i needed to be ― douglas adams, the restaurant at the end of the universe
 
and, in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make ― paul mccartney, the beatles illustrated lyrics
 
this is your life and it's ending one moment at a time ― chuck palahniuk, fight club
 
those who don't drink dawn like a cup of spring water, or take sunset like supper, those who don't want to change, let them sleep ― jalaluddin rumi
 
 
STORY BEHIND THIS PHOTO
Endings can be seriously beautiful, especially when they ring in cheer and hope of better days beyond the horizon. ― bodhi, finale
 
This impression is my best selling image of all time by a longshot. Usually printed on metal as a triptych, it has easily out-sold every single one of my other photos by a substantial margin…in my early years as a professional photographer, this picture single handedly helped to create the entity of Bodhi Smith Photography as a viable business…
 
Pictured here is the perfect alignment of the sun setting directly centered underneath the Scripps Pier in La Jolla, California. Also known affectionately by locals in San Diego as "ScrippsHenge", this event happens twice a year as the relative positioning of the setting sun (due to the 23 degree tilt of the earth's axis) moves toward its highest latitudes at the summer solstice, and then returns back to its lowest latitudes at the winter solstice. In the case of Scripps Pier, those dates are May 1-3 as the sun moves northward towards summer solstice, and then again on Aug 11-13 (these very days right now as sure as I’m typing) as the sun moves back southward towards winter solstice...
 
This Picture was captured 9 years ago on May 3rd, 2014 and is an example of following through with excellent vision and planning. For quite a while leading up to this, I'd been desiring to take pictures of the sun's alignment under Scripps Pier. I did all the detailed planning logistics using the Photographer's Ephemeris and Tides Apps to get a clearer picture of when the sun would be perfectly centered in the "window" at the end of the underside of the pier...I came to the conclusion along with another good friend that the best date for 2014 was going to be May 3rd at 7:31pm PST...
 
We went down to La Jolla around 5pm to find ourselves as the first and only photographers there, so we had our choice as to where we wanted to set up under Scripps Pier. We chose the spot partway up the pier that we predicted would be perfect for the incoming tide level and getting a nice reflection in the smooth wet beach sand...
 
At the time, it was a little known event and was no way near the frenzy debacle of photographers huddled tightly together under the pier as it has become in recent years due to the popularity of Instagram hyping the event to a crazy iconic  status...and on this night, only 5 other photographers showed up before the sun eventually set (oh those were beautiful days back then, not like the maniacal zoo it's become now)...
 
And on this evening, it looked like the clouds were going to be socked in and the sun would not show its face as we waited, and hoped beyond hope. Clouds were covering everything with no signs of budging even an inch to break apart and let some sun rays trickle on through. But we hoped and hoped, and stayed the course under the pier waiting for a miracle…
 
And seriously, really, come on and think about it…any night at the beach for sunset is a great night to be alive, sunshine or clouds or rain or under the stars, glorious all the same, I’m lucky to be living here with the beach right at my doorstep…
 
But then it appeared, the miracle of light we were praying for—right at 7:15pm, a crack appeared in the clouds right at the horizon, and continued to get wider as 7:30pm approached. Still, I could see no sun, just a shit-ton of low laying clouds from the infamous San Diego marine layer of late spring (often called May-Gray and June-Gloom here by natives)...
 
Then it happened, all of a sudden the setting sun hit the gap in the clouds, and the whole length of sky along the horizon lit up brightly yellow, bold and radiant like the finale in a fireworks show...my god, so gorgeous, climactic and transcending. I swear the Grand Finale of the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky https://youtu.be/SHWFwJ23JaU​ was playing in my head as the excitement in my heart and spirit built up, and I took the picture you see here before you...
 
So beautiful, beyond my hope and anticipation…the colors, the striking reflection of the sun in the waters and wet sand…
 
Still it was all quite different than how I visualized my photo would be during all my planning stages...the end result of all the yellow contrasting the blue like the old San Diego Chargers colors, with the vibrant yellow creating the bold form of a Cross through the blues of the photo, giving it an impression of godliness along with its brilliance…wow, truly a beautiful ending, truly a wonderful finale to another lovely day in Southern California…
 
So now you can see that the choice of naming this photo as "Finale” was an obvious and easy one for me...
 
contemplate without thinking. be certain only in your uncertainty, content to be completely incomplete. stop the rush. slow down time. breathe and notice. slow down everything. let it all be. shut off the noise. hush. relax. seize this higher moment. reconnect. feel and sense what surrounds you. listen to all the colours of light whisper as they envelope you. see the melody and harmony that float about unnoticed. taste the solitude of all this wonderment. smell the beautiful silence. now discover your peaceful serenity. then, reach out and touch your faith with all your senses. this is my world. awaken! ― bodhi, my world
 
you were blessed with 84,600 seconds today, have you used one of them to say thank you? ― bodhi, blessed
 
leave you today wishing that bright joy 
and spiritual peace fill your life...
imploring you to make every moment count, 
no matter what, always and forever, 
for that is the only thing that truly matters... 
 
And above all else,
I hope this message and impression find you well.
 
​Namaste,
​Bodhi
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