six point five

Look on every exit as being an
entrance to somewhere else. - Tom Stoppard

I came across this during my morning reading a month or so ago and, like part of the last name of the person who wrote it, I stopped. Was this just another way of saying when one door/window closes another opens? I pondered for a while, jotted it down to come back to and now as 2015 is about to end, I find myself back to.

Somewhere in between the twelve strokes at midnight that separate one year from the next is the end of one and the beginning of another. We step through some universal portal that takes the world, time zone by time zone, into the New Year, fireworks and lots of kissing to confirm the subtle movement. But the celebration of this shift is far from banal. There is much ado when we ring in a new year from entire broadcasts of partying to countless reminders nagging us about resolutions to end of the year sale emails in our in boxes to gatherings of all sorts to the mood swing that hits once the holidays are over and the bills come due. While what I’m thinking is a valid stream of thought as I revisit the quote, what is becoming clear in my mind has nothing to do with 2016 rolling in or even windows and doors. Rather it is an affirmation, a reminder, a message of support not at all linked to the 6.5 pause between strokes at the midnight hour so...

keep your peepers open!®

effortless

Had to make a run to the airport early Christmas morning and was a bit shocked at the heavy fog that greeted me when I skipped out the door. Already knew it was going to be in the high 60’s temperature-wise, just didn’t expect that it would be somewhat difficult to see down the street. But I embraced the weather and decided to head down to the wharf to capture the mood which was far from gloomy in my eyes…

So it wasn’t a white Christmas here in DC; knowing it was somewhere else made me smile, moving around my neighborhood (where almost nothing was stirring during the hour I was shooting) in sneakers, T-shirt, a red sweater and a foggy cocoon had a Christmas magic I’ve not experienced before. Throughout the day, I kept thinking that it didn’t feel like a Friday or any specific day of the week for that matter. It was a day not to be defined or labeled just lived effortlessly and I did just that, embracing each moment with a joyful contentment, floating from one moment to the next without question ‘til I fell asleep. It was a gift created just for me.

Take a day and just let the moments unfold as they should, no expectations, without force and…

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goodwill

If ever there was a time for these words, it is now -- let there be peace on earth, goodwill to man, woman and child.

Unwrap the celebration of life this season and…

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all we need is

A heart is not judged by how much you love,

but how much you are loved by others. - The Wizard (of Oz)

Last evening, I happened by a movie that holds a big place in my heart just as the Tin Man (my favorite) was getting his. For some reason, when the line quoted above was spoken, my heart thumped causing me to get up and write the words down though I have heard them hundreds of times in my lifetime (been watching The Wizard of Oz forever!). Perhaps the indifference to human life that is playing out here and around the world got me to thinking about how much we need more hearts filled with love, hearts that love so much that the thought of doing harm to another be it in the home, on the street, domestic, international or by terrorist is not a thought at all. Hearts that, if someone stepped to with a message of hate, would not be swayed because all it knows, understands and gives is love. I wonder if those who are consumed with a force that allows them to easily disrespect life have ever known love, been loved by anyone, loved anyone, love themselves. Not naïve, I just wonder.

During this season of, love is what we need. Share it, spread it, ask (a Higher Power, others, or if you don’t believe, the Wizard) for it and…

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frivolous

There’s an air of frivolousness I’ve attached to a season that is taking its sweet time giving way to the one that is supposed to take center stage as the holidays approach, roses still pretty hanging out without all their finery. I feel lighthearted as I think about the fact that Santa sporting a red linen suit as he climbs down the chimney is expected in other parts of the country because it’s hot and wonder if that’s the one he’ll have to don when he visits the east coast this year. Only the days ahead will tell.

But what I like about leaving the house in my red linen top is the unpredictability of it all, this break from the norm and that lends merriment to my step. I have to say, it’s rather refreshing having the windows flung wide open to let in fresh air when for most of my life, they’ve been closed to lock out the frigid winds. I passed an iris with seven or more blooms laughing in the afternoon sun, its fat purple petals enjoying a second opportunity to show off their loveliness and giggled with them as I strutted along wearing something I just didn’t get enough of during the summer. The cherry blossoms are so thrilled that they are budding in December and the funny thing about it is when their petals blow and congregate on the ground in the spring, I’ve called them the snow of that season. Personally, I would welcome a bed of softness beneath my bare feet on Christmas day yet I’m totally ready to pull on my boots if the snowflakes beneath them turn out to be cold and wet. But again, only the days ahead will tell so let us rejoice as they present themselves and as you do...

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vegas, my way

wherever you go, there is more to see if you…

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strip tease

There are so many lights along the Vegas Strip, I thought I'd capture them they way they felt rather than how they actually appeared...

...that last one was taken on a casino floor. I did take still shots during the day and at night, but you can see pictures like that on any given website, so...

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leaving las vegas

I left Las Vegas yesterday after a short business trip to a city I had never visited prior to last week.

As I looked out the window of the plane, I was reminded of just how different the terrain is out west…

 

…it really is quite breathtaking. Now Vegas, well more later as I have a bit of jet lag to contend with, so…

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good read

Pick up a copy of the Nov/Dec issue of Spirituality & Health. It's a great magazine with not only thought-provoking articles but if you thumb through you will find one of my photographs, so..

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