I Fade into the Shadows

Because no one apparently reads my blogs, it becomes a chore to even post anything. 

Out of having nothing to post comes an emptiness, a loss of purpose, a search for meaning.

Like a flower that has fallen from the tree, the colors, the vigor, the energy all fade away.

Washed by the rain and scorched by the sun, it dulls and becomes nothing.

Nothing but food for the renewal of the earth.

Rise with the Birds

It was a crummy evening yesterday when the car broke down and had to be towed away for repairs. As I scrambled to make alternative transport arrangements this morning, I ended up at the office long before the first rays of the morning sun turned the sky ablaze.

It's peaceful now. The air is fresh with a hint of the morning rain. I can even smell fragrance of the Water Jasmine around me.  In the skies, the birds are breezing through the morning air, chirping away like the world belongs to them.

It's really peaceful in the early morning hours before the mad rush of the work day overtakes us and stresses us out. I now understand better why Grandma would rise long before everyone to take her cup of tea outside in the morning chill - it's that hour when one can be most at peace with the world.

The Purple Flower revisited

Recalling a post from March 2014 when I first put a photo of this flower and a poem by Joseph Kolawole.

Strangely, while we know who wrote the poem, the name of the flower escapes us.

This appears to be Aystasia instrusa.

We pass by people everyday - on the streets, in the bus, on the train, in the store - and they are often faces without names, without life.

What does it cost to take a second to share a smile or a hello.

Life as with the flower at the top? Or life as with the flower at the bottom.

And the words of Etienne de Grellet echoes in my head, again.

Solemn Bird

A toucan, strange looking with with excessively large beak.

Yet beautiful in many ways.

How often do we judge others merely by the way they look?

How often do we judge ourselves?

Looking Back, Looking Forward

We are always looking back even as we are moving forward. The back is the past we leave behind - familiar settings, familiar people, familiar things.

Ahead of us lies the unknown, the uncertain, the fears.

White cliffs of Dover, in leaving England for an adventure ahead.

We also remember that in our cars, the windshield in front of us is a lot bigger than the rearview mirror we use to look behind us.

Then, let this be a reminder that while we will still look back, it's the front - the future - that beckons in our journeys.

The mysteries, the excitement, the adventure that awaits.

Loss

The earthquake struck. People die. Young people. The pain, the grief, the sorrow.

Beyond words, beyond understanding, beyond reason.

The loss is real. No words, no deeds can change that.

Balance

The yin and the yang, the good and the evil, the ups and the downs, the strengths and the weaknesses - all bear witness, not of one force opposing the other. Rather, it is of one force working with the other to create the equilibrium.

To create the balance.

Bread of Life

It's the Easter season again. And though I remember a great friend I had lost to cancer many many years ago at this time of the year, I know that to live life is to move on and make the best of each opportunity.

It's the Easter season again and at church we sing of resurrection and new life - and I will raise you up on the last day. I think of Mom, gone six years ago. It seemed only like yesterday. I look at Dad and I think he misses her more than he says.

It's the Easter season again and late in the evening as I prepare to turn in, Dad walks in and says he's experiencing chest pains. We rush him to the emergency room. I flip through his wallet and finds that he still has Mom's photo in there. I think he is counting his days.

And I worry a little that he may be giving up.

After the sun the rain. After the rain the sun.

It's beginning to make sense to me now.

We will overcome each challenge in life.

A Day Not to be Forgotten

You never forget the day you enlisted into the armed services. And you never forget the day when your son enlisted.

One wonders if there will be a time when he is called to combat. One wonders. And worries.

In this conflict-ridden 21st century, we never know.

So perhaps it is apt that the first plant I chance upon today was the Plumeria rubra - the Polynesian red version.

So here's to all the men and women, drafted into service throughout the world. May courage find your heart as you strive to defend the peace. My hope is that they will never have to use their training, skills and equipment for the destruction of humanity.

John 21:18

There have been too many changes in life in the past month. Some changes that I relish and some changes I seek to postpone.

Life has taken a turn and I am back to where I was in my career. It's not a return I wish to make, having gotten so used to the current work I do and the people I work with. And yet, there are things in life that we don't want to do.

I recall John 21:18

And where I am now is not where I really want to be. Or is it?

 No original photos to share today except this Cockscomb. A reminder not to think too hard but to live life more.

Turbulent Waters

Turmoil. Troubles.Turbulence.

The troubled soul needs to find solace within the turbulence.

Somewhere in the midst of everything, we will find quiet comfort.

A high-speed exposure of moving water in a fountain with underwater light.

Reflections

Quiet solitude in troubled times.

Retreat from the noise and bustle just beyond the doors.

Recluse from the world where everything moves into a world where silence reigns.

Even the footfalls fear to raise the dust from the ground.

Less the tranquility be broken.

Marriage

I used to clean my wedding ring regularly. Take it to the jeweller's and get it polished and from time to time, have the jeweller use his ring mandrel to make sure the ring is perfectly round.

All the symbolism associated with the wedding have been drummed into my head since I was a child.

The eternity of a the circle, the one-ness of the couple, the completeness of life - these were some reasons why I had spent time and energy keeping the wedding ring in near-mint condition.

Over the years, I have stopped cleaning the ring, or getting it polished or ensuring the roundness of the circle was perfect.

The countless dishes I have washed have tarnished the golden glow that once reflected the glow in my heart the day I said those two magic words.

The bits of soap that need to be scrubbed off are still there (I will get to this someday).

No, its not that I don't care about the marriage. It's just that the ring in its present condition represents marriage perfectly.

The dents, the tarnish, the loss of the golden glitter - these ARE the real symbols of marriage.  The difficult moments we have gone through, the arguments and bickering, the periods of "leave me alone" are part of a real marriage that includes the together moments shared, the joys of watching the children grow, quiet times spent.

That's what a marriage is really about - in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health - not the "happily ever after" we remember from our childhood stories.

I still remember the words I said that day - I will love you and honor you, all the days of my life.

And despite the kinks and dents in married life, I intend to keep those vows.

There was a time when the sun never set on the British Empire. There was a time when we believe that the Western powers had the secrets to progress and modernisation. There was a time when we had doubts in our own ability to create, to achieve, to succeed.

That time is long past. We need to realise that we have the power within us to make things happen, the will within us to create a new tomorrow, the desire within us to leave a legacy that the generations to come will appreciate.

Make a difference to our world. Now. Because there may not be a tomorrow.

After the Rain, the Sun will Shine

After the dreariness of winter, the world awakens to the new life of spring.  After the rain dampens the earth, the sun brings the warmth back again.

Everything in life will pass.

The pain will go away.  The joys too will be replaced with other concerns and worries.

Life is a cycle.

Smart lad, to slip betimes away

I've been away and meant to post the lovely photos taken during my travels. But I came home and heard that my friends lost a son. He was only twenty-four. I couldn't bear to attend the funeral today. I've seen too many young ones going before me. I have seen the sorrow many times over and still don't know how to deal with it.

I can't tell them that the pain will go away. I can't tell them that time will heal the sorrow. I can't tell them that their son is in a happier place. I can't tell his siblings that their brother will be okay.

I said a prayer for the family. For the parents - people I have known for decades - that they may find the strength to live on for their other children and each other.

I said a prayer for me. That even having lost so many family and friends, I will find strength and courage in facing the pains.

Goodbye, Andrew.

Eyes the shady night has shut.