Tag Archives: photos

snowflake zen

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This past Christmas my seven year old niece danced out on to our deck while it was lightly snowing (she rarely runs or walks anywhere, she twirls and flits about like a little pixie). Suddenly, she came back into the kitchen shouting, “Look, look, I caught a snowflake and they really do look like snowflakes!” Balancing on the tip of her index finger was a single white snowflake that was so big you could see its intricate shape with the naked eye. The adults laughed gently and went right back to their conversations, but Laurel continued to stare with awe at the snowflake as it melted and disappeared. Of all the gifts she opened that day, none elicited the same amount of excitement and joy as seeing the divine design of a snowflake with her own eyes for the very first time.

My sister Carrie took that photo of a snowflake on our mailbox at Thanksgiving with the macro setting on my Canon G9, it seems to be a year for giant snowflakes here in Michigan. If you’d like to make your own virtual snowflake, click here and start snipping!

Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand and melting like a snowflake… Francis Bacon, Sr.

MLK

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This is an angel photo-manipulation I did last week. Her name is Nyah, which means purpose in Swahili. I thought the name suited her because she looked so confident and wise. When I think about Martin Luther King today, the life he led and the legacy he left behind, that word comes to mind. Purpose. Whether you describe it as a calling, a sacred contract, or a personal legend, Dr. King followed his path despite the hardships he knew he and his family would endure, despite sensing it would bring about his own early death. In his last public speech made on April 3, 1968 he said, “Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land!”

Dr. King set an example of living a life of purpose. But you don’t have to inspire a revolution, become a Buddhist monk, care for the poor in India, or start a megachurch to lead a life of purpose. Each time you make a decision that is unselfish and giving you create a ripple, a moment of goodness that will join others and become part of a swell, a wave in an ocean that will ultimately make the world a better place.

An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968)

book heavens

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bookstore.jpg

The Guardian Unlimited did a story recently about the top ten bookshops around the world. These are not your corner Barnes & Noble’s. One is in an 800 year old church, another provides books to British Royals and has been around since 1796, and the shop pictured above is a converted theater. Below is a photo from my own much more humble home office/library. When we first bought the house my husband wanted to call it “the library”. I think he had visions of retiring there in the evenings, sinking into a well worn leather chair, sipping his favorite red cab and smoking a fine, hand rolled cigar. Well I crushed that dream before the perfect shade of taupe paint on those walls was even dry! I mean, he doesn’t even like smoking cigars, he only does it when he’s with his friends after golf, it’s sooo totally a peer pressure thing (and it’s sooo not good for him). We do have lots of books in there though (my books) and a leather desk chair (my chair) at the computer (my computer) and we ended up calling it “the office”, sorry Mr. bookbabie. That darling collage on the spare chair of me and the mister and our two pets (who are now in pet heaven) was done by artist Claudine Hellmuth. After our dog Nikki died, it made me too sad to look at it, but now I’m trying to find the perfect place to hang it. I just snapped the photo this morning and as you can see the living room is flooded with sunlight. I hope it holds, I plan to go for a walk later (Melynn), even though it’s cold, cold, cold!

andrew

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Okay, I should be paying bills right now but for the past week I’ve been indulging my spirit and my spirit seems to want to create angel photos. I did this one of a little boy angel but I can’t think of a name for him. If you have any bolts of inspiration as you look into his gorgeous blue eyes, please leave me a comment so I’ll know what to call him. I had two of my other angel photos put on canvas recently by uploading them to Canvas on Demand. They came out great and I highly recommend the company. You can choose to have your photos given a light painterly look, which I did with both and they really do look like oil paintings. Very cool! I suppose I should log off now and go pay those bills, unfortunately feeding my spirit will not keep the bill collectors at bay or the lights on 🙂

earth angel

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Instead of packing up Christmas today I started a new photo-manipulation. It’s been a while since I’ve done one. I saw the little girl on iStock and knew I wanted to use her for another angel piece, then I found four other photos and put them all together to complete the picture. I’m happy with how it turned out and glad that I gave myself the afternoon off to do something that has no other purpose other than to nourish my soul. When is the last time you lost yourself in an activity that you enjoy?

step by step

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If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step,
you know it’s not your path.
Your own path you make with every step you take.
That’s why it’s your path.

Joseph Campbell

May all of you find your own paths in this coming new year and may they lead you exactly where you need to go. Happy New Year dear readers and thank you so much for visiting my blog in 2007!