Intimate

you're calling to me
in your sultry, sensual way
with dusted gold tones
until buds find their way out
and open
with celestial voices
echoing
behind the scene:
a secret garden.

Are you dreaming tonight?

I dream with you
just about every night.
And in my dreams
you love me just as deeply
as I do you.
I can't resist you,
and the attraction
impels me to kiss you
all night long.
You know me by now,
how deeply I feel.
It is in the dark, at night
that I get closer to you.
Where are you tonight?
Are you dreaming too?

Paradise

You grace me with your beauty. 

Million of years have passed,

and the rain still caresses your face

with softness and intention.

You know how to seduce me,

with your luscious slopes, energetic fields,

richness unending. 

And you show me how ephemeral human life is.

Ash turns to dust, and into earth, and moisture

gives life.

Then you grow and develop into

a voluptuous being.

We are having a serious relationship you and I,

and I don't want it to end.

By Andi Rivarola

Photo: Paradise is near Waipio Valley, on the North East Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii.

I look to the skies

I looked to the skies
For inspiration
For love
And understanding

I flew away
To the open spaces
Of the Universe
In my heart

And, then it happened
Understanding, love and inspiration 
Came to me.
I don't know why or when

Since then I've broken free
Don't feel the bounds of humanity
Weighing me down
Making me feel unworthy

So, I look up to the skies
And the beauty I see
Carries me ever so... gently
Softly, to a cradle of peace.

In The Depths of Solitude

In The Depths of Solitude
By Tupac Shakhur

i exist in the depths of solitude
pondering my true goal
trying 2 find peace of mind
and still preserve my soul
constantly yearning 2 be accepted
and from all receive respect
never comprising but sometimes risky
and that is my only regret
a young heart with an old soul
how can there be peace
how can i be in the depths of solitude
when there r 2 inside of me
this duo within me causes
the perfect oppurtunity
2 learn and live twice as fast
as those who accept simplicity 

Photo: *Lake Tahoe, California & Nevada*

Where I'm Going

Victoria, British Columbia

Where I'm from
And where I'm going
Are two different places

One saw my birth
The other will give me peace
Peace that I've been searching

My entire life.

My breath is held within your power
And, when I try to escape you
My will is surrendered to your every action
So, even though I try
You still hold the key to my existence.
And, the aroma of you leaves me breathless nonetheless.
How can I resist?

Spring

Poem by Hafiz-e-Shirazi

Spring and all its flowers
now joyously break their vow of silence.
It is time for celebration, not for lying low;
You too -- weed out those roots of sadness from your heart.

The Sabaa wind arrives;
and in deep resonance, the flower
passionately rips open its garments,
thrusting itself from itself.

The Way of Truth, learn from the clarity of water,
Learn freedom from the spreading grass.

Pay close attention to the artistry of the Sabaa wind,
that wafts in pollen from afar,
And ripples the beautiful tresses
of the fields of hyacinth flowers.

From the privacy of the harem, the virgin bud slips out,
revealing herself under the morning star,
branding your heart and your faith
with beauty.

And frenzied bulbul flies madly out of the House of Sadness
to unite with the flowers;
its love-crazed cry like a thousand-trumpet blast.

Hafez says, and the experienced old ones concur:

All you really need
is to tell those Stories
of the Fair Ones and the Goblet of Wine.

Swiss Alp, Texas - 2008

Some places are immortalized in our memory because they make an imprint in our brain; happy moments, sad moments or simply because they're just there and keep coming back to the forefront of our consciousness in plain flashbacks. This is just one of those places for me. (Make sure to click on each image for a larger view).

Swiss Alp Dance Hall

Swiss Alp, Texas sign (triangle, plus TX star)

 

Swiss Alp Dance Hall entrance

Longhorn ready for picture taking

Swiss Alp, Texas and beyond

The Sum of a Person's Life

Character: Carter
From the movie: "The Bucket List"

"It's difficult to understand the
sum of a person's life... Some
people will tell you it's measured
by the ones left behind. Some
believe it can be measured in
faith. Some say by love... Other
folks say life has no meaning at
all.

Me, I believe that you measure
yourself by the people who measure
themselves by you."

Song of the Flower

Song of the Flower
~ Kalhil Gibram

"I am a kind word uttered and repeated
By the voice of Nature;
I am a star fallen from the
Blue tent upon the green carpet.
I am the daughter of the elements
With whom Winter conceived;
To whom Spring gave birth; I was
Reared in the lap of Summer and I
Slept in the bed of Autumn.

At dawn I unite with the breeze

To announce the coming of light;

At eventide I join the birds

In bidding the light farewell.

The plain are decorated with

My beautiful colors, and the air

Is scented with my fragrance.

As I embrace Slumber the eyes of

Night watch over me, and as I

Awaken I stare at the sun, which is

The only eye of the day.

I drink dew for wine, harken to

The voices of the birds, and dance

To the rhythmic swaying of the grasss.

I am the lover’s gift; I am the wedding wreath;

I am the memory of a moment of happiness;

I am the last gift of the living to the dead;

I am a part of joy and a part of sorrow.

But I look up high to see only the light,

And never look down to see my shadow.

This is wisdom which man must learn.”

(From the book Tears and Laughter)

Coming Back From Nature

After ten days in Yellowstone and Great Tetons National Parks, and seeing and experiencing nature, wildlife and dirt, it shocks me how easy it is to disassociate myself from that experience. Back to traffic, back to bad air, and back to rushing to gain one minute of free time. Yet, it seems that the majority of us humans are moving into cities. Why is it?

Only a few days ago I was admiring bald eagles and elk, and watching men and women indulge in a quiet moment of... fly fishing over emerald-looking waters.

How can we live an existence of concrete, asphalt and recurrent urgencies?

Letters to a Young Poet

"… I think that you will not have to remain without a solution if you trust in Things that are like the ones my eyes are now resting upon. If you trust in Nature, in the small Things that hardly anyone sees and that can so suddenly become huge, immeasurable; if you have this love for what is humble and try very simply, as someone who serves, to win the confidence of what seems poor: then everything will become easier for you, more coherent and somehow more reconciling, not in your conscious mind perhaps, which staggers behind, marveling, but in your innermost awareness, awakeness, and knowledge. You are so young, so much before all beginning, and I would like to beg you, dear Sir, as well as I can, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to LIVE everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer…"

By Rainer Maria Rilke
from Letter 4 of Letters to a Young Poet

Rosa 'Mme. Plantier'

I am told that like other Albas, 'Mme Plantier' is shade tolerant. They are supremely hardy of all old garden roses; doing well in adverse conditions, survives with some neglect, thrives well with poor soil and resists desease and other problems, at least in my San Fernando Valley home.

The fragrance is exquisite, one hundred percent old garden rose fragrance - intoxicating. If I continue to immerse myself in its fragrance who knows what could happen... write a book, travel around the world, love everyone.

Learned Helplessness

Author Paulo Coelho talks in his Blog about the issue of "Learned Helplessness," which seems a very fascinating subject.

For example, a person should be able to quit an abusive relationship or a stressful job, but a psychological condition known as Learned Helplessness may cause a person to feel totally powerless to change these circumstances.

The elderly may also express Learned Helplessness as they age and become passive towards life's circumstances, such as aging and illness.

This condition seems also very apparent when expressed by youth who are unable to cope with life and become unresponsive to their circumstances. For example, gang members, or those in extreme poverty who do nothing to overcome their life's circumstance, and instead accept it to their detriment. It is a very sad condition indeed, and it makes me pause, and become more compassionate towards individuals going through these challenges.

Old Victorian

>

> If these walls could talk?
>
> So sad looking at this house. Wondering what could have been. Instead of patched walls and a tar-covered garden.
>
>

Underwraps

Oreos on Mono

Made this for The American Iris Society (The tall bearded irises are OREO, floating on Mono Lake, CA.)

In Silence

"Sometimes your nearness takes my breath away; and all the things I want to say can find no voice. Then, in silence, I can only hope my eyes will speak my heart."

~ Robert Sexton

Friendship

"Friendship is a gift. Treat it well as it goes where it is invited and stays where it is well treated." ~ Neera Verma