61 posts
Latest Posts by sparklemiranda - Page 2
Do We
Do we need to make a special effort to enjoy the beauty of the blue sky? Do we have to practice to be able to enjoy it? No, we just enjoy it. Each second, each minute of our lives can be like this. Wherever we are, any time, we have the capacity to enjoy the sunshine, the presence of each other. We don’t need to go abroad to enjoy the blue sky. We don’t have to travel to enjoy the sunshine. We can be in touch with these things right now.
Author Unknown
Perfect
“These roses under my window make no reference to former roses or to better ones, they are for what they are; they exist today. There is no time to them. There is simply the rose; it is perfect in every movement of its existence. Before a leaf-bud has burst. its whole life acts, in the full blown flower there is no more; in the leafless root there is no less.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), From “Self-Reliance”
South Of France Festival
Mostly every year we go to The South Of France. We tend to stay at small villages not far from the beach. One of the villages we stay at is Pomerols. In August every year the local villages hold their own festival. This was the first time we attended Pomerols festival. Other villages take part as well. It was really good and enjoyable.
The Smallest House In Great Britain, Conwy, Wales
The house was created in the 16th century. The smallest house in Great Britain measures 72 inches across, 122 inches high and 120 inches deep. The house has a living area and bedroom. It was last occupied in 1900 by a fisherman called Robert Jones. Robert was 6ft 3″. The rooms were too small for him to stand up in fully. He had to leave as the house was declared unfit for human habitation.
Chateau du Clos Luce
Chateau du Clos Luce - the home of Leonardo da Vinci. Invited to come and live in France by King Francois I, Leonardo da Vinci settled at Le Clos Luce in 1516. Leonardo da Vinci happily lived in this residence for the last three years of his life, painting and working on his passions. Leonardo da Vinci creations and his main inventions are displayed in a garden setting - Parc Leonardo da Vinci. I was amazed and taken away by what I saw. One word to describe the place "Wow!".
To Be Present In All One Does
“To be sensual is to respect and rejoice in the force of life itself. and to be present in all that one does, from the effect of loving to the breaking of the bread.”
There is no calm like a quiet sea a space of stillness under the width of sky. A gently shifting flow of shadow. A silvering. A breathing silence that restores the heart.
Pam Brown 1928
The Smallest House In Great Britain, Conwy, Wales
The house was created in the 16th century. The smallest house in Great Britain measures 72 inches across, 122 inches high and 120 inches deep. The house has a living area and bedroom. It was last occupied in 1900 by a fisherman called Robert Jones. Robert was 6ft 3″. The rooms were too small for him to stand up in fully. He had to leave as the house was declared unfit for human habitation.
Even in the heart of a city there can be a place of calm. Doors shut and curtains closed, a light against the dark, wrapped round in dear, accustomed things we can withdraw and find ourselves again.
Pam Brown, B. 1928
Andorra
Mmmm I would say Andorra is an unusual country, reminds me of lego blocks just put on a green piece of green plastic. We went to Andorra la Vella which sits within a natural environment of beauty. We took a route path which continues towards the mountains, through a wild valley, the Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley. It was a breath taking view! Remarkable to see efforts made by man in order to live here. It was lovely to see our son drink fresh water from a stream instead of a tap!!
You do not need to leave your room.... Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait. Do not even wait, be still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It has no choice. It will roll in ecstasy at your feet.
Franz Kafka (1883-1924)
Time to breathe In the bustle of life. In the pressure of decisions, peace has become a luxury. Take it when it comes, and cherish it. It gives you the time to breathe. It gives you rest and hope and life.
Pam Brown 1928
The Great British Pub
Nothing finer than sitting by a roaring fire, while you sip a pint of your favourite beer....
According to the Campaign for Real Ale, 21 of our finest pubs are closing every week. Shocking. A pub is like a church, the heart of the community, with barstools instead of pews.
Long Live The Local!
There’s no better time to wrap up in your favourite wolly jumper, put on your walking boots and get a deep breath of the great outdoors.
Breathe, drink, taste... Live in each season as it passes: Breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.
Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)
Take your time to be friendly -
It is the road to happiness.
Take time to dream -
It is hitching your wagon to a star.
Take time to love and to be loved -
It is the privilege of the gods.
Take time to look around -
It is too short a day to be selfish .
Take time to laugh -
It is the music of the soul.
OLD ENGLISH PRAYER
Taking Time To Just Be
Look to the day! For it is life, the very life of life. In its brief course lie all the varieties and realities of your existence: the bliss of growth, the glory of action. the splendour of beauty. For yesterday is already a dream and tomorrow is only a vision but today, well-lived, makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well, therefore, to this day! Such is the salutation of the dawn.
FROM THE SANSKRIT
My heart is tuned to the quietness that the stillness of nature inspires.
Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882 - 1927)
… there’s the real danger of overlooking a very important day… today. For this is the place and the time for living. Let us live each day abundantly and beautifully while it is here.
Esther Baldwin York
(via sparklemiranda)
Are We Kissing Goodbye To The Local?
Another one bites the dust. The Jester pub, Cockfosters being demolished. 3 pubs a day close their doors for good. Pub closures have an impact on communities. Pubs have been at the heart of our culture for generations and remain one of our most valuable assets. 1 in 4 of us fall in love in a pub!
Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn. Elizabeth Lawrence
With grateful thanks
Bold, Vivid Colours
Wow! This staggering skyscraper is sure to turn a few heads!
Inside the Extraordinary 190m Atrium (World Tallest) Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects
New photographs have emerged of the Zaha Hadid Architects-designed Leeza SOHO, a mixed-use office tower in Beijing’s Leeza Financial Business District. Featuring the world’s tallest atrium, the twisting, contorted structure weaves two separate sections of the tower in a visual infusion. The new images celebrate the 190-meter-tall atrium rising through the full height of the building, designed to “rise as a single volume, divided into two halves.” The 172,800-square-meter scheme sits atop a new transit hub straddling a subway tunnel currently under construction.
... there's the real danger of overlooking a very important day... today. For this is the place and the time for living. Let us live each day abundantly and beautifully while it is here.
Esther Baldwin York
Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn. Elizabeth Lawrence