thru my lens lightly

December Views - 31 - The Sun Sets on 2008

 

The last of the late afternoon light, overlooking James Island, with Orcas Island in the U.S. beyond.

It's hard to believe that 2008 has come and gone already.  Time is speeding up with each passing year...and it has nothing to do with age. (I'm in complete denial about this and that's where I'm staying)!

What was this year about for you?  Did you experience any opportunities of major (or even minor) growth?  Any rights of passage?  Crisis?  Incredible joys?  For me, this year has been like the Chinese proverb "May you live in interesting times" which, while purporting to be a blessing, is in fact a curse.  An interesting year it was but I choose to view it as a year of blessings rather than a curse for by December, that was the result.

It was't exactly the "Joy" filled year I had in mind when I picked my word for 2008.  It ended up as a time of preparation for the joy that has followed.  About a third of the way into the year, I realized I had bypassed an important building block to "Joy" and that was "Trust".  I've twisted into an untrusting pretzel of knots, worry and anxiety for most of my life, so letting go of this was huge for me.  Life changing in fact.  For years, I've walked around feeling as though I'd been punched in the solar plexus without being aware that what I was experiencing was constant anxiety.

I recently read the following about stress...

 "Wherever you find stress, you will find feelings of victimhood.  Anger at being forced beyond one's willingness is the essence of stress."  Doreen Virtue

The bluntness of this startled me at first but the more I thought about it, the more I felt the truth of it. 

Making the decision not to live with that any longer was huge, but it took a major event over which I realized I had no control, to take that step.  I've written before of just what I did do to help myself, but in short, I made it the priority in my life. The "Trust" is present now...a trust in myself and in the Universe...that everything will work out alright...no matter how it all turns out.

This piece was created last summer for a traveling journal group that I belong to.

"Joy" is a really, really great word but in retrospect "Trust" would have been the better choice for 2008.  I was trying to go directly from A to Z, without taking any of the steps in between but life has a way of self correcting!

And now we're on to 2009.  I've finally chosen my "one little word" for the year and I'll write more about that tomorrow!

December Views - 30 - Winter Apples

As the snow begins to melt we're finding all that was hidden for the past few weeks.  I like that about snow...that it gives the world a clean and shiny polish.  It's always bitter sweet when it melts and the dead and decaying leaves, or in this case...apples, are exposed. 

The tree they fell from produced a bumper crop last September and I felt a little sad that no one cared enough to make pots of apple sauce or a delicious apple crisp. Were the people who lived here elderly and not able to pick the fruit?  Were their lives just too busy to start cooking and jelly making?  Or were they simply too tired?  Maybe they didn't even notice them.

 

It's odd sometimes...the things you notice on walks and begin to wonder about.  Homes do that for me.  I wonder about the people who live in them...who are they?  Are they happy?  Is there sadness in their lives?  Are they lonely?   Do they sit around the dinner table together or alone in front of the TV?  Is there laughter within those walls or tears?  Does someone get tucked in at night?  Do they love and are they loved?

It's the neglected homes that make me want to hug them.

December Views - 29 - Dining al Fresco

I have to be honest and tell you that I stood inside the french doors to take this photograph, although the door was open.  Not even my big toe went outside!  To be fair, I was almost lying on the carpet to take this shot and I couldn't do that in the snow now, could I?

  

Well, maybe some would, but not I!

Enjoy more December Views here.

December Views - 28 - Snow Bound

The table is set and the candles lit.

Christmas dinner this year was at the winged wonder's brother's home (and that's a mouthful in itself!) on the mainland.  They live high in the hills where the snow fell.  And fell.  And fell.  We were snowed in, so we ate.  A lot.

We were royally spoiled!

Enjoy more December Views here.

December Views - 27 - Furry Friends

This chubby little guy was sitting at the back door shoveling down as many sunflower seeds as he could, in as short a time as possible!  I couldn't get too close so it's a bit grainy.  I'm having so much fun watching all the wildlife trundle through my yard this winter.  We usually can't see who's been visiting but with the snow, there's no hiding their tracks!  Yesterday we found a beautiful deer with a full rack of antlers, nibbling on our precious arbutus tree but he bounded away before I could get a shot (photo, that is!)

Enjoy more December Views here.

December Views - 26 - A Conspiracy of Love

Christmas berries hung on a rack

This is a conspiracy I endorse!

December Views - 25 - Christmas

Wishing everyone a sharing of love today...even if it's just you with you, for you - each one of us - are a precious gift to the world.  I'm mindful that not everyone has the traditional, storybook "perfect " Christmas (having been through one or two of those myself) and it can be a very, very difficult time.

Whatever your day is like today, I send you love and thank you for taking the time to stop by.

Enjoy more December Views here.

December Views - December 24 - Wonder and Excitement

Is there anything that says Christmas more than Christmas carol's sung at a school concert?

I think a nursery school Christmas concert must top them all!  These little munchkins were singing Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer with hand gestures...all that is, except for my grandson in the middle.  At three years old he's a natural performer and never at a loss for words but here...here, he was so entranced with his teacher's singing that he just couldn't get the hands and the mouth going at the same time!

I have a feeling we'll be hearing more from the little performer on the right in a few years!

The wonder and excitement of Christmas shines through these eyes.

December Views 23 - A World of Joy, Happiness and Abundance

 

It may seem a little odd to some to be depicting a joyous Christmas season with the Buddha but I like to think of Christmas as a time when we become more aware of the importance of love and inclusiveness towards all the issues that divide our world...including that of religion. 

The Laughing Buddha (also known as Hotei in Japan or Pu-Tai in China) is thought to be based on an actual wandering Chinese monk who lived at the time of the Liang Dynasty (907-923 AD). He's a part of Buddhist, Taoist and Shinto traditions and is most often depicted with a large round tummy, laughing or smiling. He sometimes carries a cloth sack which never empties which is filled with sweets for children, food, precious items, rice plants etc.  He's  like a patron for the weak, the poor and for children.  As well as giving, it seems he takes away our woes and sadness. He symbolises good luck, contentment and abundance. Sometimes he also carries a wishing fan, granting peoples wishes.  In Feng Shui he is a symbol of wealth.

A laughing Buddha helps remind us that a prosperous, loving, giving life is possible on earth. So often we are convinced that we cannot have a plentiful and abundant life and live in balance.

...well, the Laughing Buddha says we can!

(I found these Buddha's at our local garden center, still smiling despite the cold and snow)

December 21/22 - Light Returning

 

I had plans today to walk a nearby labyrinth but it's covered under a foot of snow! 

Tonight, on this winter solstice, I will light candles and make a list of those things that I wish to "shed light" on in my life for the coming year...what I want to bring to light and what I want to let go of.  For me, this is a magical time of year when the retreating light hovers momentarily and then slowly begins it's return journey.  It brings hope that darkness in our lives is a passing thing.  Now is the time to focus on the vision of what we want to create in our lives and in the lives of our loved ones.