BE the ripple

“Bad things do happen; 

how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. 

I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, 

immobilized by the gravity of my situation, 

or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have 

- life itself.”

~ Walter Anderson

I will always choose life.

Even when everything that’s happening makes NO sense at all.

No sense to me that is.

Embracing the change is mandatory.

Thriving on it ISN’T always easy.

Laughter helps.

Believing in the magic of moments helps too.

Magic, in the words of Dynamo the magician, 

is about creating a moment of wonder where anything, 

even for a short time, is eminently possible.

Life IS magical.

I see it on a daily basis.

Even when it’s pissing down with rain.

Another entrepreneur and photographer who’s wisdom 

and talent I admire immensely, 

said it quite succinctly.

“Make a difference.  You are like a stone in a pond

... BE the ripple.” 

~ Marlene Neumann

She's SHARING the love ...

I love ripples 

and ponds 

and water.

And reflections of course.

Tiny little ripples touching everything.

Unavoidable.

Magical.

Ripples of kindness behave in the same fashion.

One kindness begets another.

And the ripples continue.

Touching.

Expanding.

Enhancing.

Kindness IS an exchange

... with unpredictable consequences.

It changes people.

Both giver AND receiver.

It’s changed me.

It changes all of us.

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.

SEE no evil, HEAR no evil, SPEAK no evil .... chook style!

“It is in the moments of emotional crisis that human beings 

reveal themselves most accurately.” 

~ Anais Nin

Friday the 13th's Full Moon

Despite the situation I find myself in, life is STILL magical.

I just have to choose 
to look for the magic.

It really IS as simple as that.

CHOOSE to see the magic.

It’s always there each and every day.

This weekend had it in abundance.

From heading out to Huntly for sustenance after visiting 
the significant other on Friday,

to a market in a special little spot in Warkworth on Saturday,

to a fun day out with Em’s on Sunday, 

it’s been filled to the brim with fun, friendship and food.

The Waikato River overflowing it's banks

Between the middle lemming, Julia and Em’s we’ve discovered some 

of the most tantalising treats for our taste-buds too.

The middle lemming ... love her to bits.

She wants me to make this my profile pic .... hmmmmm

Carrot cake to die 
for on Friday.  

So good that I HAD 
to bring a piece home for 
the oldest lemming.
  

There were only 
2 slices 
left on the plate though 
so I bought 
BOTH.  

My tastebuds were
happy 
to be tantalised a second 
time around. 

Fortunately the youngest lemming DOESN’T 
like carrot cake.

My village in the early hours of Saturday morning ... there's that Full Moon in the sky.

The most decadent citrus tarts were the taste-bud sensation on Saturday.  

Julia found them at a little bakery/coffee shop in Warkworth Village.  

They were so good that they prompted a SECOND 
taste sensation visit as we exited Warkworth for home.

Saturday morning's market

Decadent doesn’t quite describe the deliciousness of them.

The very same CITRUS tarts as we had on Saturday ... TWO days of Citrus tarts!

Sunday saw Em’s and I heading BACK to Warkworth.

Not to a market this time but for lunch and a ramble at the Brick Bay Sculpture Trail.

Brick Bay Winery

Lunch included liquid sustenance.

Fruit of the vine type of liquid sustenance.

Yummy lunch!

Several glasses of wine later we attempted the Sculpture Trail.

It’s testimony to the quality of the camera that the photos are as good as they are, 

as the body behind the lens WASN’T functioning QUITE as well as the camera.

We made magical moments happen.

.... in abundance.

No matter the chaos in life, nothing and no-one can take them away.

They pervade and invade my very being.

“Almost all sadness comes from thinking about the past,

and all worry from thinking about the future -

present-mindedness is your only safe haven."

~ Bryan McGill

Just magical reflections.

Panarama of the bay below Brick Bay Winery ... so pretty.

Sunday night's sunset

It's ok to be afraid.

“Making art is showing your insides.  

Sharing art is asking the world to like your insides. “ 

~ Kal Barteski

Life overwhelms me at times.  

It leaves me raw and vulnerable and without courage.

It’s an emotion I’m rapidly becoming accustomed to.  No matter the frequency of the fairs and festivals I participate in, there’s still that moment just before the doors open when I question my right or ability to be there.

I am my own worst enemy.

I’d always thought vulnerability to be a weakness until I listened to a TED talk by one Brene Brown called “The Power of Vulnerability”. 

There were sheep EVERYWHERE .... as far as the eye could see.

According to her we all DO vulnerability ... everyday.  The courage is in recognising it, feeling it and ultimately making a choice on how to deal with it.  Whatever I chose to do with the feeling should reflect WHO I am and what I believe in.

For me that means slowing down, taking a deep breath and repeating a mantra to myself.

Just be WHO you are.  It's ok to be afraid.

Not what you'd expect to find on a run to Hawkes Bay ... a variety of African animal artworks.

At the end of the day success is only built on failure.

These cows were playing KIng of the Castle!

Not that it wasn’t a successful weekend.  It was.  

It’s a marvellous opportunity for networking and exposing ... figuratively, not literally ... one’s work to a wider audience.  I arrive home feeling I’ve left a part of myself behind.  In some ways I guess I have in the form of artwork sold .... and it wasn’t  just my Kingfisher this time.

Just what we need for the domestic warfare that takes place in our abode ... COMBAT PILLOWS!

Participating in a festival of this nature allows me to witness the abundance of talent in this little country I now call home.  There are some amazingly gifted artists and crafters out there who turn the mundane into the magical ... the failures into success.

Would that I could buy all the magic I see!

Magic was in the air on the drive home too.  The significant other is used to my rather frequent requests to stop.  He’d draw the line at calling them requests though.

Even he, philistine that he can be, was blown away by the unexpected magic in the sunset on Sunday.   It MORE than made up for the indeterminable number of times I'd asked him to stop. 

Finding the right spot to photograph it was an adventure of its own, but find it we did, even if it meant high-tailing it to the middle of the bridge in semi-darkness to get the right shot.

I will NEVER tire of the awesome artwork Mother Nature paints in the skies every evening. Some evenings she outdoes herself and last Sunday was one such evening. 

“Fear is the secret ingredient that makes things magical.  

Go out and be awesome.” 

~ Kal Barteski