Flowers; Anthurium

Silently a flower blooms,

In silence it falls away;

Yet here now, at this moment, at this place,

The world of the flower,

the whole of the world is blooming.

This is the talk of the flower,

the truth of the blossom:

The glory of eternal life is fully shining here.

- Zenkei Shibayama..

Someone kindly asked me in a comment where I bought my flowers. I used to go to the market to buy them, but since I started taking pictures of flowers I get them for present from people. I haven't been to the market in weeks hihi. It is so lovely that everybody is so supporting and brings me flowers.Two days ago my mother brought me this beautiful green coloured Anthurium. Although she doesn't have a computer and can't see the pictures she knows how much I enjoy photographing them. To me a gift like that is truly from the heart.... :) Every time my mother, sister or Toek see a beautiful flower they bring it home to me.
To me it is so lovely to make a still life of flowers which are brought to me with so much love. I hope it shows in the pictures, because I always have a very lovely and warm feeling while photographing them. And it would be beautiful to share that feeling with you :))

Today I am going to visit my mother and she has already told me that she discovered two new flowers in her garden for me. You will see them too in a short while my friends, take care ;)

It is at the edge of a petal that love waits.

- William Carlos Williams

A cold

Let us rise up and be thankful,

for if we didn't learn a lot today,

at least we learned a little,

and if we didn't learn a little,

at least we didn't get sick,

and if we got sick,

at least we didn't die;

so, let us all be thankful.

Buddha

I am having a cold snif :) It suddenly hit me at breakfast this morning and I have been sniffing since then. The plan was to take my time to answer the blog comments of the past days and visit my mother later on, but it all went differently. Instead of being busy I just stared at the beautiful clouds floating by while Toek and Pork were muddling in the garden. And yes...it felt lovely after all :)

After a while it was to cold outside and once inside again I wanted to catch the lovely blue tones of the clouds in a still life. It became this simple scene, but it perfectly represents this soft and lovely Sunday mood. I guess sometimes life just put us on hold for a moment, like saying; slow down and just relax for a while.

Have yourself a relaxed Sunday evening and take care :))

Glass room

Each day I live in a glass room

unless I break it with the thrusting of my senses
and pass through the splintered walls

to the great landscape.

Mervyn Peake

I really don't like changes and when I have the choice I will stretch things as long as possible hihi. But yesterday I read this quote and I decided to step out of my glass room, and do the things I have been delaying for a long time. And now it feels so good pfffff :)

What a lovely way to start the weekend. Strange don't you think, now that I have handled it and put it through, it doesn't feel that big anymore. I even wonder what took me so long hihi ;)

I wish you all a nice weekend,
enjoy it and take care :))

Flowers; Tulips

I love tulips with their bright colours and fleshy petals. The loveliest about tulips is that they keep on growing in the vase. To me it is such an expression of life and it always moves me.The only thing I don't like when I see a flower in a vase is the feeling that it would have lasted much longer in the field. For that reason I decided not to pick flowers from my garden. Sometimes I just can't resist but there is always a bit of guild when I put them in a vase :)These beautiful tulips lasted more then a week before they began to wither. Their petals began to curl and their colour became even more intense. In their swansong they seemed even more beautiful then before.Each day I collected the petals laying beneath the vase and wished I could paint them like the old masters did. Somehow I wanted to capture this moment of beauty and decline. For that reason I love it to take photos. This way I can preserve what I see and share it with others :))The tulips are all withered now and tomorrow I will search for new flowers on the market. But today I wanted to share them with you because they have brought me so much pleasure :)
I hope you will have a fine and lovely weekend my friends, take care :))

Reading; Tagore

"When I stand before thee at the day's end,

thou shalt see my scars and know that I had my wounds

and also my healing."

Rabindranath Tagore

Tonight I read this beautiful saying by Tagore again. It made me realize that a lot had changed since the last time I read it. The words have a completely different meaning to me now. And I want to share the reason why with you :)

Since six months I have a new relationship which is very warm and beautiful but also very confronting. In our relationships with family, friends and lovers we see ourselves confronted with things about ourselves that we don't notice when we are alone ;)

I suddenly felt my scars from the past itching again and old insecurities and fears suddenly were there again. It was a great disappointment because I thought that when I would find true love it would all go away, conquered by love hihi.

But then something beautiful happened, instead of hiding them away again like I have done for years, I showed them to my love. I was terrified for his reaction but he looked at my ignorance with the same loving eye as he looks at my abilities.At that moment I realized that by facing my fears and ignorance I released myself from a great weight that I have carried around for a long time. I was searching for certain answers in all kinds of books, but I had them within me all along :))

Tonight I read the words of Tagore again just like I have done years ago, but it feels different now. It feels like there is a tiny plant growing inside of me which is filled with love. It grows at the same spot where I once hided my fear and shame. There is room now for it to grow.... :))

So far this 'sharing' post :) I wish you a lovely day and leave you with another saying of Tagore which I dedicate to Toek; the gentle warm-hearted man I truly love :))

"Clouds come floating into my life,
no longer to carry rain or usher storm,
but to add color to my sunset sky."

A closer look

What is a weed?
A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Good morning :) I am writing this post in the middle of the night hihi, but I wanted to share this little weed I found. When I took a closer look at it I saw that it actually was a beautiful little plant. Guess everything in life becomes more beautiful when you take the time to really look at it.

Have a nice day with many close looks

(I am going to sleep now and dream of weeds :)

Flowers

Let us open our leaves like a flower,

and be passive and receptive.

John Keats

To me nothing is more easy and lovely for a simple still life than a small vase on a coloured plate with one or two flowers. Choose a plate in the colours of the flowers and add a contrasting vase and you will get a lovely composition.

These round vases are ideal for simple still life decorations because they underline the shape and the colour of the flowers. Above that you can use just one or two beautiful flowers for a composition. When I go to the florist I never buy a bouquet but always a few beauties for my little vases :))

This is my mother's favourite; Fritillary. A fragile but incredible lovely flower. With a beautiful pattern on the petals and powdery colours. Just one or two in a small simple vase is enough for me. Here I have added sea shells and a plate with powdery colours and texture.

Beautiful little thing don't you think? Flowers keep amazing me with their appearance. Tomorrow there will be market again and I hope to discover some new beauties to share with you. Take care and I hope you will see a lot of flowers today :))