equanimity

Finding the balance

in the walk

even slow breathing

in the artwork

even slow breathing

in the evaluation

even slow breathing

in the joy

even slow breathing

in the slow walk home

even slow breathing

'The answer to everything can be found in slow breathing'

TheLateAfternoonMagicLightShow

I walked my daily kilometers today

at that time when the sun 

sits quietly on the horizon

while making the most 

of a glorious autumn day

It peers deep into the forest

and illuminates the trees with its magic

'just before going under' light tricks

warm tones of a somewhat mysterious quality

The moment is short, very short

It is therefore very special

to be savoured

wrapped up and taken home

for a special evening meditation

'The pace of happiness is calm'

 

 

TheWeaverSupreme

A fine ephemeral work

 

the forest is full of special surprises

a slow walk daily will reveal some of them

today I found this

and was grateful

'Is not the core of nature in the heart of man'

HotCrossedBuns

I made some hot cross buns today

I make them once a year
it used to be something special
bread with fruit, like cake.

there used to be lots of food

which appeared only once per year

for special events and festivities
which used to be special

now you can buy them year around

more of it? Not so special anymore.

Then there is seasonal food

once this was available only in the season

now it is available year around
Not so special anymore

By having so much

very little is special

'First we raise the dust, then we claim we cannot see'

EasterBunnies

The illegal Immigrants of Manningham Gallery

have moved to be viewed at the 

Convent Gallery, Daylesford

where from a menace 

they have become Easter Bunnies

'When I awake in the morning, I always think: 'Be surprised'

and there is always moment in my day that I am'

ForestTotem

After the devastation of the harvested forest,

there rises the totem of new growth

it is thus

a continuum

ad infinite

'Poetry is when you make new things familiar and familiar things new'

 

 

InTheMoment

In the moment

there is a thought

In the moment

there is empty mind

In the moment

there is the nothing and the everything

only in the moment

can we find eternity

 and in the forest

I found the moment

'We are sleep walking in The Garden of Eden 

and may awaken to it'

TheMostBeautifulWord

BREAD

One of the most beautiful words in our language

BREAD

A loaf of Bread, one of the most beautiful things to behold

I make bread weekly. I do not measure. This is what I do.

I take a bowl and put some dry yeast into it

I add warm milk, a spoonful of sugar (to feed the yeast)

and enough flour to make a runny mixture.

I place a tea towel over it and let it rise.

I pour some warm milk over a bowl filled with rolled oats

when the bread starter has risen to three times its volume,

I drop 2 eggs into it, some poppy seeds, some sunflower seeds,

a handful of wholemeal flour, the soaked oats
and enough plain flour to make a soft pliable dough.

Mix it all together and knead it so that it becomes nice and stretchy.

Let it rise, when it is twice its volume, punch it down to get rid of the gasses 

which helped the dough to rise. It is necessary to get rid of them so that they do not kill the yeast

Let the dough rise again and once more punch it down. 

Now add a little salt (last because it kills the yeast)

form the dough and drop into loaf pan

Rise in a warm place and when risen place in an 160 degree oven

you know when the bread is done,

when you push a knitting needle into it and it comes out clean.

BREAD

One of the most beautiful smells on earth

     

'The poet and the baker, both nourish the world'

JustAnAutumnMorningImage

Just one of those somber grey mornings

when the spirit needs a bit of a lift

that is when I re-visit

some of the sunnier places

I have stored in my memory,

and physically in my computer,

If you are having a similar day

I hope these images will also lift your spirit

"Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present".
     

 

 

     

ColouringIn

When you reach just that little higher 

than you can imagine

you enter heaven, 

that space where the creative process places you

I didn't think so last Sunday afternoon

when I filled in the negative space 

between the two trunks and the lot collapsed

I rebuilt is three times

the problem was that the wind moved the trunks 

just enough to make the project unstable

but that didn't stop me

'The function of the artist is to provide what life does not'

SlowSculpture

 walking the trees

stopping here and there

to place a rock on top of another rock

a Korean zen like activity

therefore seeing the trees

'Honour the playfulness of spirit that lets everyone win'

MonkThoughts

A nun once asked the abbess:

"What is the meaning of life?"

The abbess replied:

"What motivates your question?"

 The nun thinking for a while said:
"Fear."

The abbess said:

"Resolve your fear and you won't need 

an answer to the meaning of life."

                                           Gil Fronsdal

MonkThoughts

A visiting monk asked the abbess,

 "How do I know if I am wasting my time?"

The abbess replied:

"If you are suffering."

                                           Gil Fronsdal

 

MonkThoughts

The Abbess taught:

"If you want to discover 

what you don't know yet about yourself, 

investigate why you say what you say."

                                           Gil Fronsdal

 

MonkThoughts

A young monk asked the abbess:

"How can I recognise if someone is enlightened?"

The abbess replied:

"The first thing to consider, 

is if they are helpful to other human beings."

                                                      Gil Fronsdal