Australia
Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic Of
The future is always beginning now. Mark Strand
What do you call the light that permanently imprints itself into the deepest corner of your cerebral real estate? Just a memorable one, divine, sublime? The star was going down fast, as it was just a matter of ‘to get it over and done with‘ a daily sunset routine – until that moment. Like it was switched on by some all powerful hand residing somewhere in the center of a kingdom of light, the sunbeam reached across the valley, bringing all the associated attributes with it, like joy and warmth, just for a few moments, before disappearing altogether. The blue cold haze drowned the beautiful Hawkes Bay valley, but not before the last ray of sun got there first. I was standing in awe … for a while in fact, still in disbelief. Review button and LCD screen confirmed it did happen. Sweet. I’ll treasure selfishly the melody of breeze passing through the treetops, the smell of golden grass and feel of fallen leafs under my feet. Not to worry, I left something to share with you. Here it is.
I caught up with my thoughts just before Greytown, the storm caught up with me shortly after.
Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow. Swedish Proverb
And remember, no matter where you go, there you are. Confucius (551 BC – 479 BC)
I had to get lost in Otane fog to find enlightenment .
The road to cloud nine, where our new attitude energy is supposed to come from.
I was seldom able to see an opportunity until it had ceased to be one. Mark Twain (1835 –1910)
A fact never to be underestimated – someone, out there, may still call this their birthplace. It captured my attention while in the car on my way south. A short walk on the gravel road is all it took to reach the old house that parted with its best years sometime in the last millennium. That colour, the textures of decaying wood, rusting roof and the remains of the dead tree, fallen where it lived, still searching with its long fingers for the occupants, long gone. I was mesmerised by the scene. There is something profoundly sad about the remains of buildings, any kind of ruins. Is it because they remind us of the inevitable and our disposability in this world. And all the usual questions: how old is it, who lived in it, and will it make it to the next autumn or even next week? Time to go, I had better move. The sky of ‘I mean business’ colour has been gathering strength for a while. Its forward party already seized the strategic heights from the playful patches of the late afternoon sun. When it hits, it will hit hard. On the way back, just one more look … enough time to take another breath of impressions, to treasure, and an image to share, with you.
We don’t have to protect the environment, the Second Coming is at hand. / / James Watt
Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old. Franz Kafka (1883-1924)
What is it that I love about the mountains? Is it the shape, the one I remember I used to draw as a kid, the grandeur on such a scale that easily outsize anything ever made by man, or just the special kind of atmosphere that always seems to linger around these giants. This is a striking mountain. I couldn’t stop looking at it, and just like with a beautiful women, you seem to notice a new set of attractive details with each pass your eyes make. The light was soft, the sun generous but the clouds were restrictive, creating deep, strong and wide shadows. At the end it didn’t matter, only giving the whole sight a rich, painting like quality. Enough talking. Indulging in beauty is a hard job, I know that better than anyone, and the moment is perfect for a rest-stop. The usual muffin and a flat white would give me enough strength to push the release button until the day expires, but where? That’s an easy one – the mountain house on the slopes of the volcano, where else.
If you are not prepared to give up your past, you may as well ride back into it.
Ah me! Love can not be cured by herbs. Publius Ovidius Naso (43 BC – 17 AD)
Sunshine cannot bleach the snow, nor time unmake what poets know. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you. Maori Proverb
In the failure to find a meaning, we traded wisdom for success.
Love of beauty is Taste. The creation of beauty is Art. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
“If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough“. Robert Capa’s wisdom echoes as fresh today as it ever was. If you accept the truth that you can’t be too close, how far is too far? I was sharing the afternoon with my computer, all the light stuff, browsing and shifting files around, when events in the harbour hijacked my attention Just one look through the window, and you know it’s the moment you should be part of, somehow. As a dedicated instinct driven photographer you grab your camera and run into the oncoming rain, braving the wild wind and the clusters of objects, which on an ordinary day don’t reside in mid air, just to get a shot, or better, The Shot. Not quite, not me. I did take my compact camera but observed the menace for a while behind the safety of a closed window. The dark clouds extinguished the sunlight within minutes, and what was left of it refracted considerably before hitting the harbour from different angles, creating an extraordinary dance of light and shadows on the motionless surface of the ocean. I took a couple of shots from left to right with the clear intention of stitching them together. Shortly after, the darkness descended. How come the most threatening events can look so spectacular? The storm climbed uphill and started to shake the house, rattling windows in an attempt to rip the glass from the frames, as it wished to suck in that couch potato and spit him out there, where he should be. Yeah baby, just go hard; you may be angry but the structure is sound, and I know it. I casually walked back to my seat and continued browsing the Net as if nothing had happened. What else can you do on a day like this?
Peace is not something you wish for; it’s something you make, something you do, something you are, and something you give away. Robert Fulghum
Memory feeds imagination. Amy Tan
If I can put one touch of rosy sunset into the life of any man or woman, I shall feel that I have worked with God. G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936)
A fireplace with no home to keep warm, in the peak of a dry season.
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