This way you get two kinds into one; one side is HOT & Spicy broth with red chili peppers floating; the other side is the Vegetarian mushroom broth delicately flavored – EARTHY but LIGHT – no those red stuff is not chili peppers but Gogi berries floating about. Chinese style hot pot … what’s Japanese style hot pot? It’s a little different – depending on the family, place of origin …your personal preferences. What are we talking about ? Hot pots?
I shared the story of how I finally framed Amaey’s painting acquired from Kids & Art fundraiser awhile ago. I hadn’t posted the actual final framed painting because my limited photography skill does not seem to capture what I see – what is it that I see that the everyday camera does not capture? It’s a soft shroud of light, there’s sort of what you might call an aura about this painting. The frame I found was wood with golden wash of paint … simple, elegant and … golden to bring out the colors of the painting:
See what I mean – whenever I hold the camera in front where it hangs, there’s always a reflection … here you see the white dotted lights I have no idea where they came from … so I took it down to see how I may take a better photo of it and here comes my helper …woof, woof.
It hangs in a room with much foot traffic, as it is a place of gathering. Thus, I am constantly reminded of this precious gift we are given. Quite central, it comes into my view often. How lucky we are to be in this particular “home”, how lucky we are for our souls are abiding within us, our eternal home. I live with gratitude, that we all live under the sun and the moon, the rays of light that does not dispel the darkness, but sometimes shines onto the darker shadowy corners and deeper pits hidden under the layers – light and darkness; happiness and grief … yes, joy and sorrow; health and disease; laughter and tears, or is it anger, sweet and bitter – polar opposites and all the subtle range in-between that are the undeniable human experiences. Through acceptance, learning to know that opposites are actually complementary and finding to calibrate that homeostasis in the middle.
This unpretentious painting sends a powerful message to me. It’s pure; it’s innocent and honest like children are. Thank you for leaving behind such beauty Amaey, the brave soul who faced death squarely so early in life with …hope and faith. I know you didn’t even think in such terms when engaged and focused in doing what you loved doing – all the while there might have been dread, fear, sadness … a longing for normalcy by “going home”. Just painting, creating, expressing in the moment; never thinking past that. Living in the present.
More often than not, we learn our profound teachings of resilience from our youngest teachers.
Gratitude to my teacher Judith for this reading assignment:
In an age of speed, I began to think, nothing could be more invigorating than going slow.
In an age of distraction, nothing can feel more luxurious than paying attention.
And in an aage of constant, movement, nothing is more urgent than sitting still.
You can go on vacation to Paris or Hawaii or New Orleans three months from now (well, I wish), and
you’ll have a tremendous time, I’m sure. (Yes:)But if you want to come back feeling new – alive and full of fresh hope and in love with the world –
I think the place to visit may be Nowhere.(!!!)
– Pico Iyer
And this … this is precious:
Movement makes richest sense when set within a frame of stillness.
These words hit home as I nestled and melted into a yoga practice tonight. Give it a try – it’s rejuvenating without relying on any outside force…
Saw Star Wars 3D. I usually avoid 3D as it makes me feel a bit dizzy – a vertigo – BUT surprise – absolutely no problem with 3D for this film – whatever the criticisms you hear out there, you’ve got to love it if you loved the original. The special affect seats might have made the difference – it’s in our ears – that sense of balance …so that seat vibrations, that movement synched to the screen – that is, maybe bumping along with the visuals made the difference. No dizzy spell to take it all in.
