DAY 220

often a real sense of peace comes from the simplest acts

We usually think that we have to do lots of inner work, mindset preparation, meditation and things like these to achieve peace or any other characteristic commonly related to personal fulfillment. Indeed, those things work very well, but we can also learn to create peace using not so complex materials

This demands a certain dose of naivety, and we have to be able to deliberately reject sophisticated behaviors and intricate knowledge... but it is possible

In a sense, this means being natural and unaffected (spiritual development is far away from conceit and arrogance) but mainly it means that we have to focus on what we have at hand

We can create peace from our everyday experiences, interweaving homely moments, plain feelings, our most ingenuous musings; our secret ramblings, ordinary events, unexpected finds and so on

Doing such thing we will create a beautiful fabric that will appease our mind... and if we have peace in our mind, there is to be peace in our hearts and if we have peace in our hearts, there is to be peace in our lives



here: flower arragements using fallen flowers that I found along my walk

this or that thursday: peacefully

DAY 219

praying artlessly


"Hold on to what is good even if it is a handful of earth.

Hold on to what you believe even if it is a tree which stands by itself.

Hold on to what you must do even if it is a long way from here.

Hold on to life even when it is easier letting go.

Hold on to my hand even when I have gone away from you."

Pueblo Blessing




wordless wednesday: today I am praying 

DAY 218

Life can be Soft

 Life can be sweet, subtle and seductive

Life can be singular, serene, and simple

Life can be safe, sensible and soothing

Life can be solicitous, sincere and sensational

Life can be singsong, sparkling and stunning


Life can be sacred... if we want it to be so

DAY 217

buddhahood

"Love yourself and be awake,
Today, tomorrow, always.

First establish yourself in the way,
Then teach others,
And so defeat sorrow.

To straighten the crooked
You must first do a harder thing
Straighten yourself.

You are your only master.
Who else?
Subdue yourself,
And discover your master."

DAY 216

when everything fall into place

I´ve been a few weeks without going outside to explore around with my camera. First, I sprained my ankle then my schedule at work started to be too hectic and the weather was too hot... but finally this weekend I managed to go for a walk and it was marvelous

It was like I was connected to the world heartbeat.  I had the sense that all the things around me and time were expanding a minute and they were becoming shorter and tighter the following one. And I realized that this sort of repetition was the earth´s energy made by sounds, colors, movements, sparkles of light, scents and textures: layers upon layers of meaning and beauty

For a moment I held my respiration and I noticed that I could harmonize my energy with the regular rhythm of nature and just then, a wave of life rose high and came to dwell in my heart...


favourite photo monday:  amazement

DAY 215

apprentice observer

"In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order"


Carl Jung

DAY 214

we are never too old to play


Never too old to dance, to joke and fantasize 

Never too old to imagine, to develop our curiosity and sing a song loudly 

Never too old to blow bubbles, laugh and feel free

Never too old to have fun, feel a sense of amazement and be carefree 

Never too old to dream, to be creative and use our senses 

Never too old to believe in magic, to have a lighthearted mood and a vivacious mind 

Never too old to let our most fanciful side in charge of our life 

Never too old to use cheerfully our whole self as we engage in the world each day 

I am sharing a 52 weeks projects with this group, this week´s theme is toys. Since I read the group assignment I realized that I didn´t feel like taking just a photo of an object. I wanted to be part of it as I´ve been exploring my own playfulness and spontaneity as part of my inner work lately. So this has been also a sort of practical exercise, so to say, and it did me a lot of good 

DAY 213

synchronicity

While I was writing my last post, I came across the following poem filed away long ago and this photo taken a few days ago and realized that both together could be the perfect epilogue for my previous words:

" He who knows his soul knows this truth:

I am beyond everything finite; I now see that the Spirit, alone in a space with Its ever-new joy, has expressed Itself as the vast body of nature.

I am the stars,


I am the waves,


I am the Life of all,


I am the laughter within all hearts,


I am the smile on the faces of the flowers and in each soul.


I am the Wisdom and Power that sustain all creation. "

Paramhansa Yogananda




this or that thursday: messages from the universe

DAY 212

Don´t label me, please

Yes, I have a lot of grey hair, now, I am not that young anymore

My dermatologist says that I should consider to take extreme measures to preserve a youthful skin because I am a middle-age lady (I´ll be 48 years old next December)

Some of my acquaintances are opting for surgery and other invasive treatments because they want to look better

Every time I turn on the TV lots of unrequested advices about how to stop time invade my home

When I start to leaf through a magazine, women, young and old (who look so similar that sometimes this frightens me) try to change my mind about slight retouches

Girls who still are in the process of developing from a child into an adult, are used as role models to follow for advertising purposes. They are meant to point out what I should be doing to stay young

Indeed, everything around me drives me to pretend to be younger than I actually am and make the time moves back. The art of ageing nicely and naturally is undervalued and the beauty of old people goes unnoticed

But I don´t feel like taking that path:

Excuse me if I don´t want to change my face and erase my wrinkles. Excuse me if I don´t show reverence and adoration for eternal youth. Excuse me if I don´t want to get involved in the market´s play, which is a play of deceptions. Excuse me if I don´t have the feeling that time is my enemy. Excuse me if I opt for power and uniqueness. Excuse me if I don´t feel like a piece of old junk... 

Excuse me if I feel simply divine just as I am right now...

DAY 211

cherished memories

"I was taught from childhood of the sanctity of food. Not a piece of bread could be thrown away without kissing it and raising it to one's eyes as with all things holy"

Attia Hosain

My mother taught me this too and my husband´s mother taught him the same, so we still kiss our bread before thrown it away

I appreciate very much this teaching that holds a whole philosophy of life and a particular conception of the world which is focused on the sacred importance of everyday things

This simple gesture (full of an amazing innocence and an almost lost wisdom) is, moreover, a way to stay connected to gratitude, kindness and respect

DAY 210

source of strength

"The world is groping in the shadow of egotism and vulgarity. Knowledge is bought through a bad conscience, benevolence practiced for the sake of utility. The East and the West, like two dragons tossed in a sea of ferment, in vain strive to regain the jewel of life. (...). Meanwhile, let us have a sip of tea. The afternoon glow is brightening the bamboos, the fountains are bubbling with delight, the soughing of the pines is heard in our kettle. Let us dream of evanescence, and linger in the beautiful foolishness of things."


Kakuzo Okakura (The Book of Tea)

DAY 209

calm after the storm (so to say)

When the heat wave and my migraine subsided, I started to feel, of course, a great relief but also, a sweet tranquility and a sparkling joy. It was like I was looking at my life for the very first time and I found it so interesting and rewarding

Waking up Sunday morning was a tiny epiphany, a moment of great and sudden revelation:

I realized the stunning light which was coming through the windows, the silence only interrupted by the strokes of the clock in front my house, the fresh air in the kitchen, the shrill of the kettle, warning about the boiling water, the savor of a  delicious cup of tea (the first one in four days)

I drank it calmly, while in the bedroom, husband and kitties were sleeping like angels. I went for another one and ate a couple of simple cookies.

...And   I sang softly  to myself: what a wonderful life!

DAY 208

lemons & photos: the multipurpose remedy


X-ray of a bad day: heat wave, migraine, tiredness, sprained ankle (in recovering), anxiety/depression (due to migraine), lack of appetite (due to pills intake), work behind schedule, no joy around (due to hot weather), cough (who knows why?), lack of inspiration, high emotional sensitivity, frustrated plans...

Naps, showers and lemons (in this exact order) seem to be the only things that make sense... and suddenly, while my migraine and the heat was becoming less intense, I was preparing a lemonade and remembered my camera

I started to take photos and after every single take, I felt a bit better... it was only a few minutes (usually my migraines only give me tiny respites till they definitely are gone) but, after drinking my lemon juice, I went to my next nap with a smile in my face


Is strange how from a not very good day can emerge a beautiful something that can rescue us from our miserable mood

DAY 207

morning mandala

This photo is part of the 52 project I am sharing with this group, whose week´s theme is fruit. I´ve been dreaming all week long about how to compose a beautiful photo using different fruits, playing with colors and shapes... but finally I decided to "stay true to my reality"

I´ve never been good at eating fruits  (yes, I know...), so I´ve ended up looking for a fruit that makes it less complicated to me, and apart from bananas, I´ve found the kiwifruit

It is not my favorite fruit, it´s not even one of the fruits I like best: I love strawberries and figs and watermelon, and I like cherries and mangoes, but it´s the one I eat more and easily. Don´t ask me why.

Maybe this happens because they are usually available throughout most of the year or because I can cut them in half and I can scoop the flesh out with a spoon. Maybe because its wonderful visual appeal and its invigorating taste...  but the thing is that I´ve got used to eat them on regular basis and they are helping me to want to enjoy other fruits now that my daily fruit intake is well settled (baby steps usually work!) 

So today I pay tribute to kiwifruit. It´s healthy and delicious, it´s nutritious and versatile and really, really beautiful. My mornings are much better since I started to eat them... 

DAY 206

worthwhile wistfulness

Sometimes, when I take a photo like this one I feel a sort of slight -and strange- nostalgia. I don´t usually yearn for the good old days, but often when I see these images, I indulge in a little reminiscence of my old dreams. They come from my early childhood and they have shaped my character and personality in a way that is not always obvious

I like this tiny nostalgia not because it is a way to live in the past (something that anyway, I don´t like) but because it helps me keep track of who I was and who I really am

Indeed, I still am the girl who dreamt to be independent and shared with her mom their common love for all things domestic

The girl who wanted to have a very demanding profession and dreamt to make jam with apples from her own orchard (someday...)

The girl who wished to change the world and wanted to stay at home reading and having a peaceful life

The girl who believed that she could defend a PHD Thesis (in fact, I did it) and adored to create and alter things by hand

I still am a girl who swings between competitiveness and contemplation, between intimacy and outer attraction, between little things made with much love and great projects

To sum up, I am a girl who loves to compose this sort of photos while she is reading the papers of her post grade students because she needs to remember that she can be anything she wants to... regardless what the world can say

DAY 205

"This is the real secret of life
to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play"

Alan Watts 

DAY 204

play mate

Sometimes -actually, I should say many times- I have the feeling that I could be more playful and spontaneous

As a child who grew too fast, I have not many personal references about this issue, so I´ve had to create ways to translate these qualities into adulthood since I realized that I needed those childlike traits as a way to improve my flexibility and open-mindedness

These are some of them:

I invite smiles and optimism to my life. I practice a more positive -and more relaxed- attitude and try to laugh a lot

I promote my own creativity. I use it not only as a hobby, but to approach unexpected fields

I cultivate curiosity. I let it leads me to unexpected places

I see things (and use them) in new ways. I try new options and uncommon responses

I keep a sensory way of living. I am aware of external world through my senses and not only through my mind

I play more and am less severe. I engage in activities not for a practical purpose and I try to have fun every time I can

This has brought happiness and joy in my life, maybe because this has made me discover that I can live with ease, savor the moment and create balance and this is a priceless gift

DAY 203

musing on complete trust

DAY 202

just one

I have learnt to love simplicity and to appreciate it. There is a temptation to overload our lives with to many stimulus and to think that having the double of something good should be even better... but it is not true and often this ends up ruining all the fun, the pleasure, and the joy

We don´t need to have more, experience more, achieve more or to go for more and more every single day of our life. This is an option, and we can be free of the burden of too much possessions and obligations. In fact, we can become conscious of what we genuinely need and we can embrace a simplified life

Having overwhelming quantities of everything won´t make us happier. This doesn´t mean we can´t truly cherish something, but we must identify the real treasures in our lives and let them tell a story

On the other hand, having a life full of irrelevant social engagement and trivial activities, won´t do it, either. But this is not about having a secluded life, it´s about having a meaningful one; we can recognize what is really important in our life by determining what nurtures us

Even when sounds like a cliché, there are moments where less is more. Those are moments where we allow ourselves to make room for clarity and awe, which are some of the underlying basis of a fulfilled life

DAY 201

a free morning at home is...


unhurried, slow and deliberate

an opportunity of moving around without haste or urgency

noiseless and peaceful

contemplative or lively

unassuming yet delightful

postponed ambitions and concerns

smooth sentiments, low voices

bird´s trills

clarity and light

room for creativity

the muffled sounds made by husband while preparing his coffe

playful cats

a calm mind estranged from its usual hectic thoughts

the smell of toasted bread

having time to leaf through a magazine or a book

tiny prayers and even tinier miracles

a happy cup of tea

a slight sense of freedom

naturalness: nor disguises nor masks

a chance to work at my own pace 

meaningful pauses and whispered prayers

a sort of gentle solitude 

uncluttered hours

a path to nowhere (and to everywhere)

soaring hopes

mild mood

calm


I wish I could have a whole life made of this...

DAY 200

keeping good company


Finally, this morning I had the opportunity of taking this photo. It is part of the 52 project I am sharing with this group, whose week´s theme is pets

This is my cat, Miel, she is fourteen years old, and she is living with me since she was two months age. She came to my house with her sister (they both born at one time),  who passed away a year ago. Since November there is a new kitty living with us, because Miel was so downhearted after her sister´s death, that my vet said she could become seriously ill, and this was the last option we tried. Luckily, it worked

I´ve been waiting all week long to take a photo of my cats that really illustrates my relationship with them. Unfortunately, it´s not easy to take a picture of my both cats (this was my initial idea) because the youngest one only wants to play when they are together

Anyway, I think that this is the photo I was looking for...

My job allows me to work at home at least once a week. Most of the times, I must get up to date with papers of my students; my correspondence and so on. So I have to spend many hours in my studio, sometimes from morning to night. Even when I like the chance to stay at home, because it allows me to do things at my own pace, it can be also a very solitary work, but my cats are always around me -  no matter how long my working day can be- and this makes it much lighter 

Sometimes, like in this photo, one of them is sleeping on my working table and the other one is sprawled on the sofa or even on the top of the book shelves, but they never leave me alone.

I don´t know how many hours we have spent "working together", but no doubt, it has been a great pleasure

DAY 199

about past, memories and forgiveness II


No matter how traumatic or pleasant our past was. The only important moment is the present one, and the only reason why we should explore our memories is to improve our current life. Of course, this won´t happen automatically, when we face up our past consciously, we´ll have up and downs, but our aim must be finding a true healing. In other words, our aim must be seeking for balance and inner peace

According to my experience, this will involve huge doses of forgiveness, benevolence and compassion. When I first start this task my usual anger increased alarmingly. But in fact, I was making this work to stop anger and unease, so I had no option but keep on trying

To be honest, it hasn´t been a bed of roses: like any other cleansing process, some of its parts have been painful but once I rid of the unwanted feelings, I started to feel its benefits

One of the most powerful practice that I have done with regard to this issue (and I still do it from time to time), was forgiving everyone for everything, even myself

During a long time, every evening, I lighted a candle,  I started to recite my series of names and after every name, I said: I forgive you and I apologize for any damage I could cause you

At the very beginning, I found hard even mentioning some names and I felt shocked for my own sentiments because they were bitterly hostile. Curiously enough, and painfully enough, my own name was among those names

It took time, but a moment arrived when I started to feel less angry and calmer. This was one of the most important step I have ever taken to conquer serenity and joy. It  triggered a lot of reactions and decision making that helped me to keep on healing... but this is another story

DAY 198

about past, memories and forgiveness

 An important part of our lives are filled with memories and even, based on memories. We may think that these memories are representative of how our life was, but this is not true. The true is that our memories are an example of who we are

As we cannot remember everything that has happened and we can´t remember things objectively, our memories are influenced by our personal feelings and opinions and can be inexact. That doesn´t mean that they are not actual.  It means that real facts have been partly elaborated by us and depend on our mind which has added additional details to things that happened

This creates an interesting paradox:  the memories we choose to preserve are conditioned for the person we are and -at the same time- they will always have a significant influence on the way we see ourselves. So when we decide to go into them in depth in order to understand our lives better, we usually become trapped in a vicious circle, because what we find only confirms what we already know

The reason why we don´t find new information is because we interpret memories too literally and indeed, they are mainly symbols and metaphors that should be decoded before their utilization

So our challenge is trying to understand under which conditions we created our memories  and what they tell us not only about factual events, but also about our weak spots and strengths, our dreams and our fears... and mainly about how our present character and personality has emerged from an unique combination of our own energy and the way we have responded to a sequence of experiences, not always nice

If we find the key to our present identity through our memories, it is worth doing the journey. However, if we examine them in order to delight in what happened (either with pleasure or with anger) and we don´t look for any positive learning or a way to overcome past and keep on walking, we will come to a standstill

DAY 197

mild nature

"The great mind knows the power of gentleness"
Robert Browning

DAY 196

willing to persist

Back home. My mood is not that good and I haven´t had a single minute to take a photo. Work is hard these days: my classes will end in two weeks so I have to finish off my program and check that my students are ready to take their examinations. I spend the hours when the light is better in my office and I am too tired early in the morning or late in the evening even to go for a walk

Browsing through my files I´ve found this photo that was taken the day before I went to my mom´s house. It was just the photo I needed to see. I like its composition but mainly I appreciate its content

This photo talks about the simple things I love, and also

about nourishment, nature and its secrets

about tradition and family, garlic and onions are basic ingredients to make our recipes

about the way I want to perceive this world and my intention of looking for beauty around me

about acceptance in the widest sense of the word, because when I look at this photo I see how things evolve, I see cycles and also my attitude towards food, that can be summarized using two words: naturalness and disorganization, something that I´ve gotten to admit

and mainly about life itself which keeps on reemerging no matter our behavior or mood, which is strong, wise, decisive, keen and really amazing

DAY 195

love can flower once and again

At mom´s home flowers and sweets are everywhere these days, but I haven´t been able to capture the atmosphere. We have also enjoyed a pretty good celebration this Sunday, but most of my photos don´t reflect its uniqueness.   I´ve been so emotionally shocked that I haven´t been quiet enough to focus on photography but every single moment will be etched on my memory... in particular, when I kissed my mom goodnight and she told me: I didn´t believe I could deserve such a wonderful tribute 

Indeed, it was simply a very nice, and well planned, lunch that allowed my mom to enjoy something different now that she can´t almost walk and go outside.  I am so glad we (my eldest brother, my sister in law and me) decided to organize it, because it has told my mother how much we love her, in a way that I had never imagined she could appreciate so much. As the old proverb says, a timely kind act can change a whole life 


...We give many things for granted along our lives, we don´t suppose time will pass so very fast and we live postponing, thinking that we will be able to make up for lost time but we won´t: the time is now. 

DAY 194

"Empty and fleeting my years are gone
And now, quivering and frail, I must fade away.
 
My legacy
What will it be?
Flowers in spring,
The cuckoo in summer,
And the crimson maples
Of autumn... (...)"

Daigu Ryokan 

I am at my mom´s house this weekend because the first Sunday of May we celebrate Mother´s day. Every time I am here my musings on our legacy, the importance of memories and the need to preserve our story take on a new fresh impetus. Of course, this is due to my emotional mood: my mother is growing old -she will be 88 next November- and she is the last member of my family who belongs to a  generation who were born during the first decades of the past century. So when I´m back home I have the feeling that all those things (their legacy, our shared memories, the story of my ancestors) is somehow vanishing

On the other hand, I also experience a sort of detachment when I analyze this issues from a more spiritual perspective because from this viewpoint I am clear about the following premises:

This is the cycle of life, so we shouldn´t react to it in an excessively dramatic way

Nothing is going to be lost: all the experiences of my mother will stay not only filed away, but also will keep on exerting their influence on next generations, no matter if they know it or not

This influence will survive throughout time because every person who is here change the world in infinite ways... and leave a trace that lasts because we all connect meaningfully with someone along the way

We can conceive the mentioned concepts –legacy, memories and story- in much more complex, wider, nicer and subtler way and not so linked to tangible goods or immediate events…

DAY 193

allegedly imperfect

As I´ve already said I am developing a 52 weeks project. I am sharing this project with a group and this week´s theme is flowers. This group challenges us to upload new photos and not to use only pictures from our archives. As I don´t want to be overburdened with a very complicated task, I want to publish only one original picture every week, not more. However, I have to take many of them to select just one. To tell you the truth, I am not sure that this really simplifies the process (I can be so very indecisive!), but certainly, this is making it more interesting.

I´ve been paying attention to the flowers all week long (another benefit of this project), trying to capture what I see and mainly, enjoying their beauty. I have now lots of them: they are either tiny and modest or exuberant; bright and colorful or subtle and pure; exotic or humble and shy. I don´t even know the name of some of them, and I have a few nice takes, but finally, I decided to edit and publish this one. And of course, my selection speaks volumes about who I am... and not only about my aesthetic orientation

And what does it say? Let me tell you:

I truly believe that beauty is an inner quality that has nothing to do with age, shape, or any other preconceived characteristic. It´s all about the combination of some unforeseen elements that create a pleasing and charming effect

I have struggled hard to see perfection in things that are allegedly imperfect, and I have discovered that this is a source of the constant amazement which precedes joy

I have come to terms with myself: I am going to try to walk with ease my own path, living in harmony with what it is

No matter if I would imagined this moment was going to be more easy, less painful, different... I am determined to live it anyway, I won´t escape. I will accept the inevitable and -depending on circumstances- I will fight if necessary. But in any case, I´ll try to keep my dignity

Life unfolds freely and beautifully from a stage to the following. I am sure that every one contains a treasure, a gift, an opportunity even when any of them can be potentially adverse or delightful. Indeed, I have realized that it´s like a never ending (and awesome) sequence of steps and movements and the only thing I can do is dance in unison with the stunning energy which goes through everything

DAY 192

buddhahood

"Delight in meditation and solitude. Compose yourself, be happy. You are a seeker"

DAY 191

musing on the passage of time

DAY 190

finding beauty in the impermanence


This is my photo-heart connection of April. Since I started to take photos of this little bowl and its mate which had been broken a few days before, I felt an instant sense of profound acknowledgement. This sense increased when I edited the different takes. It was like the photos were talking me, even those which were not so good. They held a message which were resonating deeply with me, although I was not clear about its meaning. I was only glimpsing vague snippets but they were intriguing

The images were going round and round in my head for a few days till I discovered the nexus: years ago I went into wabi-sabi in depth. So much so that, I kept a journal along a whole year musing on its principles, because I realized that this would help me to reorient my vision. That process was not only quite interesting, but useful

Wabi-sabi is an aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience and it´s linked to Zen Buddhism. It is meant to accept imperfection, and its characteristics include unbalance (asymmetry and irregularity), simplicity and austerity, antiquity, naturalness, subtle profundity, non conventionalism, calmness and tranquility

Wabi-Sabi helped me to appreciate the beauty of non perfect things. It also provided some valuable insights into our cultural materialism and consumerism as it promoted an attitude of quiet contemplation 

But as any other learning it must be refreshed from time to time. As you already may suppose, this photo is full of waby-sabi references and brings to my mind (and to my heart) my need to break free from attachment once and again and my soul´s intentions