Photo: lookyoungersite.com
I once sat in a darkened room,
no sliver of light under the door,
a thorough black.
Though, I wasn’t alone.
I sighed, just a contented sigh.
The sigh of a good day’s end,
astringent wine and camembert,
and you.
The day has now flown,
night has encamped.
We forgot the light and
sat knowing without seeing.
I asked if you remembered.
You know, that time?
Your smile sparkled,
a galaxy of its own.
©Paul Cannon
Paul,
pvcann.com
It’s the simple things that bring lasting pleasure. Dawn at looking out from Big Swamp. Too good not to stop and take the shot. It’s not a swamp it’s a wet land. European settlers misunderstood, these are not waterlogged land, but authentic wet lands. To use the term swamp is to identify land as degraded, but this is not degraded it is an ecosystem. The city council won’t change the name. Fortunately this one is protected, but many have been lost because they were viewed as swamps and filled in by developers. This one has a variety of bird life as well as other creatures.
“Pleasure is very seldom found where it is sought; our brightest blazes of gladness are commonly kindled by unexpected sparks.” Samuel Johnson
Paul,
pvcann.com
Filed under bush walking, environment, nature, quote
The moon slightly above Uluru, late afternoon.
“The full moon – the mandala of the sky” (Tom Robbins)
“The moon does not fight. It attacks no one. It does not worry. It does not try to crush others. It keeps its course, but by its very nature, it gently influences. What other body could pull an entire ocean from shore to shore? The moon is faithful to its nature and its power is never diminished.” (Ming Dao Deng)
The recent blue moon drew crowds outdoors to have a look, as did the blood moon before that. Eclipses are a particular draw card. I think many people look up when they go out at night, they like to see the stars, but I think everyone likes to catch a glimpse of the moon. The moon draws us just like it draws the tides. There is nothing slight about the moon.
We desired the moon, we had to conquer it, and so we went there. We’ve serenaded the moon in song, and we’ve painted it in poems, we’ve seen it’s dark side (but not our own).
But, following Ming Dao Deng, I love the mindful moon. It is a beacon in the night, the sun has not abandoned it, it is not alone, it works with the sun and the stars to light the night, just enough for us not to feel alone either. Deng’s description of this faithful sentinel is of course a metaphor for life. The moon contributes to life, it doesn’t take, it isn’t greedy, it isn’t egotistical. Instead, the moon is gentle, proof that just being is sufficient for us to shine. By its faithfulness to being its true self, the moon retains its power, it is never diminished in any way, yet it is always giving.
If only we were to take that example, and be, just like the moon, gentle, faithful, calm, cooperative, and reflective. And in our being, draw others. Imagine that! To be light for others in their darkest nights, to shine hope in to the world, to remind the world that our light reflects something deeper, that our life is gentle, giving, inviting. In our true self we are ever undiminished, shining (“Like the moon, and the stars, and the sun” John Lennon) as gift to the world.
Paul,
pvcann.com
Filed under astronomy, bush walking, Country, life, mindfulness, nature, quote
Abrupt and welcome. A day of alternating sun and cloud as autumn rolls on, and suddenly, this simple but joyous moment (a day of joys in fact) of light play. I love the subtle tinge of light and colour.
Perhaps a metaphor for life itself. A journey of alternating sun and cloud, the beauty of light and colour counterposed with dark, but also greys. As the cliche goes, life is never black and white. Instead it is a shifting pallette. And the grey? – a reminder of the blend or blur, telling us that perception, imperfection, missing the mark, are actually the rough and tumble of life, but yet there is still the light play. We shine in spite of our own self-view, we shine in spite of the clouds – or rather, because of them, we shine even when others cannot see us. Without the clouds of life we might not shine so well. The dark clouds provide opportunity for depth of colour. In our case, life’s trials are the canvass of courage and purpose, our colour shining through.
Noted photographer and filmmaker Robert Frank said: “The eye should learn to listen before it looks.”
Paul
pvcann.com
Filed under life, mindfulness, nature, quote
(Image: hdwalpapers2013.com)
I love the night sky, the glimmer of light, those stars, planets, refracting the sun’s light for vast distances we call light years. As a child I wanted to go out there and see how it all fitted together, and to see if there was life out there in some form. Space always captivates me, it is, as Captain Kirk said: “Space, the new frontier.” And with an ever expanding universe, there will be an ever growing new frontier, and one we cannot consume.
There is always a divide over space exploration, those who criticize it, for a variety of reasons, and those who support it. Constructive criticism is worth hearing, but that which is borne out of ignorance or fear is not. Fear closes us down, shuts off our creativity, our capacity to dream and think big. It’s easier to be negative than positive, but it is positive energy that will help us, negativity will be our death.
On a tangent here check out, and thanks to Skirmishes With Reality, Jaron Lanier on How We Need To Remake The Internet, where he talks about how negativity is destructive: www.ted.com/talks/jaron_lanier_how_we_need_to_remake_the_internet
Martin Luther king Jnr. said: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” No wonder that the great spiritual guides of the past all made that connection in a variety of ways, because as you say that quote it it seems logical.
As with light, so with love, love is a glimmer of hope, and a more down to earth hope. Like light, like the universe, love is a positive and ever expanding energy. When we become love in all its forms for others, we become glimmers of hope. Together we can dispel the darkness that haunts our world, our communities, our homes, and our selves. We can be that energy where we are. Love is a new frontier, lets explore that.
Paul,
pvcann.com
Filed under astronomy, environment, life, mindfulness, nature, Science, Space, Spirituality
(Photo: http://www.wallcoo.net)
When I was a child, we often suffered from power cuts, either by striking workers or storms. I didn’t begrudge the workers their rights and I thought storms were awesome, and so candles, and paraffin, or kerosene lamps would be lit. It changed the whole night’s activity, and for us as kids it was just fun, we built blanket cubbies, played hidey games, camped around the wood fire, or played board games by candle light. I never forgot the capacity of one candle to dispel the darkness, the single wick, luminescent, warm and glowing would light a whole room.
We too light a whole room when we have that inner glow of humility, grace, compassion, love and forgiveness. The heart when loving is luminescent. I’ve met many enlightened people along the way, and the reminder they impart is that we can glow when we are self-focussed but not self-centered, yet no one is perfect, but we still glow.
Light also helps us. The late Leonard Cohen put it beautifully when he wrote (Anthem): “Ring the bells that that still can ring, forget your perfect offering, there is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” That way we shine in the world. If we let light in, we share it.
There are different types of light, spiritual, philosophical, scientific, goodness, selflessness, sacrificial, knowledge … but the real light, the primary light, is love. Love shines, glows in the darkest places and moments of our lives, it nurtures us when received, and strengthens us when given. Such love is gift not possession, it is unattached, free of expectation, lacking judgmentalism and power. It seeks to heal and make whole. It shines, glows, even when we are broken, and that’s the best bit.
Paul,
pvcann.com
Filed under creativity, life, mindfulness
As the sun starts to go down the light dims inside and the stained glass is accentuated, allowing the colours to shine and wash over the reveals, and framed by the darkness, they look fabulous.
It only takes one candle to light a whole room, a sliver of light to reduce the darkness, the sun refracts and lights the night. The dimming of light is not an end, it is a change, a moment to focus the light. Light in the dusk, in the night, before dawn, is appreciated, more precise, much more beautiful. The colour of sunsets could not be unless the light dark contrast occurred. Without some dimming, we’d never see the stars as we do at night.
Sometimes we might feel a bit dim, as if the light has diminished somehow because the struggles of life lay us low, and perhaps we don’t feel that we shine. But it is the struggle that enables us to shine in our own way. I think of the many people I have encountered in life so far and the brokenness many of them have experienced, and yet the hope, the love, the spark of life was still there at the core, just needing nurture, a response, a friend, a touch … just like the stained glass window, as the light shines through into the darkness, the colour washes through, the light shines in, and there is beauty, warmth, energy … Sometimes, without ever realising it, we are that window.
Maya Angelou’s words speak to this: “Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.”
Paul,
pvcann.com
Filed under art, nature, Spirituality
The darkness is pierced by the fibre optic light show in the Field of Lights at Uluru, it had shifted to a red glow in the sequence of colours. Dawn will come and that greatest of stars, the sun, will replace the darkness completely. And the night is never completely black, there is always some light piercing the darkness from the vast reaches of the galaxy. I like to think of people like that, that there is some light, even in those we believe to be the worst people. Darkness cannot extinguish the light.
Paul,
pvcann.com
Not that old by world standards, but getting old at 92 (I took the photo in 2013). Those windows have looked out onto at changing farm heritage on two sides, and native bush on another. The windows have let light shine into it’s school room, its Church gathering, its wedding breakfasts, and a few wakes, the odd public gathering, and many, many dances. Windows can tell stories.
Paul
pvcann.com
Filed under life
A beautiful sunny September day out in the wheat-belt, at a favourite spot – Baladjie Rock. I love the way the light streams down, and the effect on the clouds. The dark line in the centre is a bird, a wedge-tailed eagle, a magnificent bird to observe. It had been raining in previous days, but this was a beautiful sunny and warm day and spring was certainly in the air.
pvcann.com
Filed under nature
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Welcome to my personal blog site. I see myself as a free thinker, life explorer, and wisdom collector. Some of my favorite subjects are psychology, philosophy, relationships, society, reading, writing, technology, and lifestyle.
Climate Change
this love fairy fell in love with her ghost
A Love Affair With The Past
Writing, blogging, journaling
Tales from the Life of a Lost Soul
¡Gracias por pasarte! :)
Easiest GF DF recipes that ANYONE can prepare. No BS.
Gonna fill this page with breathings of my heart 💞
Welcome to my personal blog site. I see myself as a free thinker, life explorer, and wisdom collector. Some of my favorite subjects are psychology, philosophy, relationships, society, reading, writing, technology, and lifestyle.
Climate Change
this love fairy fell in love with her ghost
A Love Affair With The Past
Writing, blogging, journaling
Tales from the Life of a Lost Soul
parallax 