“It was not that the jagged precipices
were lofty, that the encircling woods were
the dimmest shade, or that the waters were
profoundly deep; but that over all,
rocks, wood, and water, brooded the spirit of repose,
and the silent energy of nature stirred
the soul to its inmost depths.”
Thomas Cole
“I am still determined to be cheerful and happy,
in whatever situation I may be;
for I have also learned from experience that
the greater part of our happiness or misery
depends upon our dispositions,
and not upon our circumstances.”
Martha Washington
“Love is always thirsty
and looking for a thirsty lover.
Love and lover follow each other
like day and night.”
Rumi
“One ought never to turn one’s back on
a threatened danger and try to run away from it.
If you do that, you will double the danger.
But if you meet it promptly and without flinching,
you will reduce the danger by half.
Never run away from anything. Never!”
Winston Churchill
“In your light I learn how to love.
In your beauty, how to make poems.
You dance inside my chest where no-one sees you,
but sometimes I do, and that sight becomes this art.”
Rumi
“Life is full of beauty. Notice it.
Notice the bumble bee, the small child,
and the smiling faces.
Smell the rain, and feel the wind.
Live your life to the fullest potential,
and fight for your dreams.”
Ashley Smith
“Don’t underestimate the value of
doing nothing, of just going along,
listening to all the things you can’t hear,
and not bothering.”
Pooh’s Little Instruction Book
“His laughter, which was never far below
the surface of his conversation,
now sparkled like a splash of water in sunlight.”
Joseph Lelyveld
“The artist is a receptacle for the emotions
that come from all over the place:
from the sky, from the earth,
from a scrap of paper,
from a passing shape,
from a spider’s web.”
Pablo Picasso
This graceful landing was hard won for that little spider. While doing my best as a photographer to preserve the experience of standing on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the Pacific Ocean with the Tillamook Lighthouse out at sea, and capturing the beautiful sunset… it was dancing in the wind, dangling several feet from a safe resting place, but slowly gaining web, getting closer and closer to the branch. I kept a close eye on it and was honored to bring to life it’s success in the final rays of day.
“The soul walks not upon a line;
neither does it grow like a reed.
The soul unfolds itself,
like a lotus of countless petals.”
Kahlil Gibran
