art

earth friday

“for us to survive, both as individuals and as a species, we need a revolution in consciousness.”

Love Letter to the Earth, Thich Nhat Hanh, April 21, 2019 Plum Village
Poudre Canyon…summer 2018 Nikon D750 f/7.1 1/200s 39mm 4000 ISO

Another with same thoughts
May be gazing at the pale morning moon 
Of the Long-night month– 
No sight is more sorrowful

~Izumi Shikibu,

Trans: AS Omori & K Doi, Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan

BELOVED MOTHER OF ALL THINGS

“I bow my head before you as I look deeply and recognise that you are present in me and that I’m a part of you. I was born from you and you are always present, offering me everything I need for my nourishment and growth. My mother, my father, and all my ancestors are also your children. We breathe your fresh air. We drink your clear water. We eat your nourishing food. Your herbs heal us when we’re sick. …

“Sometimes I forget. Lost in the confusions and worries of daily life, I forget that my body is your body, and sometimes even forget that I have a body at all. Unaware of the presence of my body and the beautiful planet around me and within me, I’m unable to cherish and celebrate the precious gift of life you have given me. Dear Mother, my deep wish is to wake up to the miracle of life. I promise to train myself to be present for myself, my life, and for you in every moment. I know that my true presence is the best gift I can offer to you, the one I love.”

~ Thich Nhat Hanh, Love Letter to the Earth Plum Village

the dead of the night, moon-gazing

In the dead of night, moon-gazing,

The thought of the deep mountain affrighted,

Yet longings for the mountain village

At all other moments filled my heart.

~The Sarashina Diary (Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan)

Image and poem submitted in response to Travel with Intent’s Six Word Saturday challenge.

lens-artists photo challenge: countryside

Sony REX-5N f/9 1/160 70mm

Ten years it took

To build my little cottage.

Now the cool wind inhabits half of it

And the rest is filled with moonlight.

There is no place left for the mountain and the stream

So I guess they will have to stay outside.

~Song Sun (1493-1583) Trans: V O Baron & C S Park

Wyoming landscape and poetry submitted in response to Amy’s (The World is a Book) lens-artists photo challenge: countryside and/or small towns.

i yearn for a tranquil moment

I yearn for a tranquil moment
To be out upon the sea of harmony,
In that enchanted boat.
Oh, boatman, do you know my heart?

~The Sarashina Diary (Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan)

A small section of the Pacific Ocean along the Oregon coastline (2010) and a poem from The Sarashina Diary submitted in response to Travel with Intent’s six word challenge.

lens-artists photo challenge – magical

Rain, hail, snow, and ice;

All are different,

But when they fall

They become the same water

As the valley stream

~Ikkyu Sojun

Horsetooth Reservoir …. Nikon D750 f/8 3 1/2 min 24mm

Image and poem submitted in response to Leya’s photo challenge: magical