PL calendar day 30
Your surroundings are a mirror of your thoughts
When you think “this is going to be hard” then your situation will become difficult Instead think,” Let’s do this!” and face your situation with determination. Then you will be surprised to see how smoothly things will go.
Oyashikiri
bottom photo -M&N
Have you ever been walking on a clear day, just going about on your every day travels, when you find yourself suddenly shrouded with a fog, that seemed to appear out of nowher…..There is an old expression, “i was blind sided” means something happens and you never saw it coming. It happens. Sometimes more often than we would like it to.
Lessons in life are never straight forward, they are a way for life to remind us that we have gotten slack or lazy in how we are living or proceeding in life. We do not walk alone on the earth, we are surrounded by others who are going about their lives in the same way. Each with feelings, miseries and problems of their own. It is how we deal with the challenges in life that sets us apart and makes us unique in who we are, and what we are. Not just towards others, but to ourselves. We must never forget that we count, and that love, and light comes from within.
We need not look far to see the signs of distress, loneliness, and abandoned dreams, we need only turn on the telly or a radio to hear about the conflicts happening all over the world. The reality is that is only one side of the coin. In this creative photo manipulation, instead of the foot coming down – causing gloom and doom, it is being lifted and kept away by the steady, reliable protective hand of GOD/TAO.
The TAO/WAY is always there … ALWAYS, we decide we can look at it in the distance, or we can walk through the door/portal and discover what lies beyond self imposed restrictions. We are responsible for our choices and our actions.
Believe, have faith, cross over – discover new realities, you are and never will be alone – God is everywhere, in the air you breathe and the essence of your life.
Surreal… … no life … is real
Namaste – Oyashikiri
*A special Thank You to my friend Mollie who got me started on this, when I found one of her pins.(Pinterest)
** bridge in China (Zhangiajie,Hunan)
***last picture, Bt images
I attended a wedding yesterday, the bride wore a beautiful white wedding gown, the groom and his best men were all dressed in a classic tux, bridesmaids all wore lovely gowns, it really was beautiful to see. The service took place in a lovely garden, the setting was perfect for the union of two people who so in love they have committed not only to themselves that they will love each other and enter into that very special bond of man and wife… they are now making that vow public, for their friends and the world to share in their happiness. The picture, the water, all so inviting.
When one looked beyond the pretty ambiance, fashion, decor, and “stage” settings, and took in the people and the overall vibe of the place, suddenly the picture wasn’t so pristine and pretty, it took on a different season, and the water was less inviting. Couples were not sitting in harmony with each other, they were many of them simply there. Some I knew were openly negative with each other. Others were simply there because it wasn’t “polite/right” to not be there.
Life is like a river that is always on the move, sometimes it is raging and driven with purpose, other times it is mellow and simply meandering, but always it is active.
A wedding ceremony to me is like a moment in the building of a bridge between two people. How well that bridge is built and then maintained will determine how long the two parties will remain connected.
Always however, they will be joined in the Universal bond of ONENESS, their roots will be forever entwined.
The cosmetics of the rituals that humans put on the sharing of one’s life with a partner or soul mate, or self defined.
The reality is, that we are all ONE.
How we reach out and interact with our other “selves” is very telling on where we are in our personal journey of growth.
Like a tree in the forest, we don’t always get to choose where we will sprout and grow, but grow we will, it will be the depth of our roots and the determination of our will, and our faith in our ability to grow that will see us survive.the test of time.
I am a firm believer that in using the word love ( a word that captures a lot of imagination, and can me so many different things to anyone who uses it) … LOVE … if we replace it to say ..in GOD, I will, or I am, our actions will be/would be entirely different, and our thought and commitment would also be different.
We all need air to breathe, and we all need love in our lives.
When we commit to being with someone, sharing our lives with that person, we are saying, you are the air that i breathe, the bridge between us is strong, and I will work very hard to maintain my part of the bridge. Our roots will grow stronger, and though we may not always see the same view in or of the forest, our roots will be forever entangled and our commitment to live together on this earth will be evidenced by the security and strength of our bridge.
Namaste – Oyashikiri
text Q
pics,Pinterest
My name is Rev. Tiago de Medeiros Chagas, and I am a Brazilian minister of a church founded in Japan. I consider the Church of Perfect Liberty a universal church.
In the end of last year, I decided to buy a camera to take some pictures of my family. I always had cameras (point-and-shoot), but I was never a big enthusiastic about taking pictures. I used to do it in big family events and so forth, but that’s it! My level of photography could be considered below beginner. For those who understand about photography, I didn’t even know the difference between a point-and-shoot camera and a DSLR!
Rev. Eugene (the head minister of the Church of Perfect Liberty in Ottawa, whom is my supervisor) studied about photography in school, so, he knows a lot about photography. One day, when I was trying to take an impossible photo with my camera, he kindly explained to me why I wouldn’t be able to do what I intended to, as well as, what I should do in order to take that photo. Maybe as a response to his kindness, I became very interested to know more about photography, understand more about words, such as ISO, aperture, and shutter speed, which by the way, I had never heard before.
Since then, I’ve been trying to learn more and more about photography.
I bought a very basic entry DSLR camera, because it was the cheapest one I could find and went online trying to learn more about photography. I was able to find several websites, blogs and channels on youtube of photographers who have been teaching people for FREE.
At first, my wife was not completely happy about it. She said that I was spending most of our free-time watching those videos, and that she wanted me do something else, but since I started taking pictures, and she could notice that, gradually, I was taking better pictures of her and our daughter, she got very happy and excited. In fact, she started to encourage me to watch more and more videos to better understand the fundamentals of photography, in order to take better pictures.
If I could say something about my own skills in photography, I would say that I am still in the level below beginner if that exists. There are so many things I need to understand about photography in order to call one of my photos an artistic expression, however, if we compare present photos with the ones I took in the past, I can say that there was a big improvement.
I am very impressed by those people who can learn by themselves about anything. I am not like that. In order to learn a little bit about anything and now especially photography, I have been asking questions to many people, watching many videos of those photographers who use their time to record photography lessons to post on youtube for anyone out in this entire world. Even though I am not a very intelligent man, thanks to assistance of many people, my questions about photography have been kindly answered, for which I am truly thankful.
In our lives, it is very difficulty to improve ourselves without others’ assistance. Maybe it is impossible to do it. We do need assistance all the time. Since the moment that we were born, we receive assistance from others like the doctors and nurses for the labour, our parents for pretty much everything, our teachers for education. When we grow up, even though we are completely healthy and we can work, if there is no job for us, we will be very difficult to survive. Also, one can be self-employed as a photographer for example, if there is no store open to buy a camera, it will be impossible for anyone to do their job.
If one is a very skilled chef, probably it will be easy to find a job in one restaurant, but if all the stores close down and there is no ingredients, despite of great skills, there won’t be anything to be done to express one’s self. Therefore, the great results one produces are deeply related to the great effort of many other people. We should never forget that. So, now it comes the one question. What can we do to honour those people who helped us so much?
For the Church of Perfect Liberty, appreciation has the meaning of expressing your gratitude for others, but also, do something in return. Transform your feeling of appreciation into action. And how can we do that? For those you have contact with, you can return a favour with something else, but for those who you don’t have contact anymore, like the physician who performed your labour, the nurses, teachers from kindergarten, or even your parents who did so much for you, that there is nothing you can do that can pay this ‘debt’ you have with them.
As human beings, we can put wholehearted effort into whatever we do, in order to honour those people and try make them feel proud of us. Based on our actions, they can feel that it was worth all their effort to help us.
Thank you very much,
Rev. Tiago de Medeiros Chagas (all photographs in this post by Rev.T)
Thursday and the start of the spring season. LOL Mother Nature is still not decided in our neck of the woods. We are going to have a mixed bag of weather. No matter, I’m sure there will be a lot for us to enjoy and friends to greet, new places to explore. What is on your agenda today?
I just heard a car drive by, it sounds wet out there, the snow must have turned to rain, just like it was predicted. The drive to work today could be very sloppy, not to mention slippery in places. Today’s lesson in Pl is about how we do things, how we use materials and events to express ourselves. What value to we put on things and money. Hmmm, I confess to being someone who is not necessarily money driven, my creative side leans more towards activity and productivity. On a day like today, I would get up earlier so that I could miss the other commuters and if I was walking enjoy the walk through whatever weather was being offered up on that day, of drive through the silent streets towards my destination. I would enjoy the pelting rain, or freezing ice for what it was, an expression of Mother Natures many forms of artistic displays.
The other day, a friend told me he’d gone snowshoeing in the woodlands behind his home. It had been a day of clear blue skies, and fresh fallen snow. His little adventure had sounded so peaceful. This morning when I heard that car drive by, I was taken back to the days I would walk several miles from my home into the office through the downtown of one city, (Hull,Quebec) in one Province over a bridge past E.B.Eddy ( an operating paper mill, with frozen water along one wall, which tempted me to do some ice climbing.(which I never followed through on). My feet would make crunching sounds in the snow, since I was early and most others who would walk this way, had yet to make their way across into Ottawa. Other days it was like walking over shards of ice some parts of the journey required ice cleats, or the really wet days when you walked through big wet puddles) =^_^=.
In this same location there is the sound of rushing water where the rapids churn and gurgle over the rocks. It is a beautiful spot at any time of year. When you got over the bridge, you were in Ontario, and in Ottawa (Canada’s capital). The trek led me across open fields where buildings that had been, were now long gone, and the buildings that were to come, were still ideas on some drafting table. On the left there was a hidden gorge, where below the rapids provided a training ground for kayak enthusiast. If time permitted, I would stop to watch the activities.
There was/is a definite difference in the two cities, yet in their differences they merged into one giving this area a diversity that is both charming and inviting. Sophisticated,yet in many ways, so “down home”. Those walks were peaceful for me, they allowed me time to commune with nature and my thoughts .. by the time I walked through the now busier downtown core of the waking city, and got to the office, I was ready for my day. How do you prepare for your day? Whatever you do, remember to practice using full Makoto (sincere effort).
Hey, wow, I enjoyed my walk down memory lane with you this morning, but of course, I enjoy all my time with you. smiles at you and offers up these pretty flowers to brighten your day. Blessings.. today, tomorrow and always… Oyashikiri
As an artist I love to discover the artistic creativity of others who share this passion. In SL last night (Second Life) I found bridge, it was late when I came across it, and the sim I was on was experiencing the night cycle. I turned my settings to noon so that I could glimpse what I would find today when I plan to return…
A bridge is always an invitation to explore. But look. see what the artist has done here, one one side of the bridge one is in a fall setting with all the wonderful bright colours of fall. When I took a peak on the other side of the bridge, I saw that the winter wonderland had arrived.
Today when we get back from our hoped for drive (so the dogs can have a proper run in the dog park in Morrisburg) I’m excited about the possibilities of some great camera shots.
For those of you following my latest adventure in SL, I started out thinking I’d be a neko then that changed, and I bought a Possat avatar, I quickly learned that this new society I was entering had/has many many faces. The artistic need in me emerged and my inner self has been challenged to put a visual expression to just “who” Asia is. (name of the current avatar)
I will save the musing on the creation of physical representation of who I am for another blog, suffice to say, the lessons I am learning with this experiment, is that I still have an ego that is healthy and functioning. =^_^= at top capacity.
This is where I currently am in my transformation. A new friend I met yesterday (Elle a stunning furry with a number of different looks to match her feeling and mood of the day) gave me LM (landmarks) for places to shop for accessories to my AV (avatar) and clothes that are made for the “Furry” communities.
Come on now.. how can you resist those eyes….=^_^=
Just deciding who and what you will be is fun, reminds me of when I was a preteen and loved living in a world of fantasy, dress up and designing clothes for my dolls. now I’m the doll. 
dymoonblog 
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on November 5, 2013