re: but seriously, happy easter

much more serious… or we could just call it truthful insight… found it on paulo coelho’s blog… yes, he has one… and yes, i think it’s worth checking out….

Revolutionary and Rebel

Khalil Gibran had said that twenty centuries ago, men loved the weakness in Jesus and did not understand his power.

Jesus did not live as a coward and did not die complaining and suffering. He lived as a revolutionary and was crucified as a rebel.

“He was not a bird with broken wings, but a violent storm.”
“He was not a victim of his persecutors and had not suffered at the hands of his executioners – he was free before all.”
“He came to awaken a new and strong soul, which made every heart a temple, an altar, and every human being a priest.”

Looking carefully at his life, we see that, although he knew that his passion was inevitable, he tried to give us a sense of joy in every gesture.

He must have thought long and hard before deciding what his first miracle should be.

He must have considered the healing of a paralyzed man, the resurrection of the dead, the expulsion of a demon, something that his contemporaries would have considered as “noble”. After all, it would be the first time to show the world that he had come as the Son of God.

And it is written: his first miracle was turning water into wine – for a wedding party.

May the wisdom of this gesture inspire us, and be always present in our souls: the spiritual quest is compassion, enthusiasm and joy too.

Passion: let me not beg for the stilling of my pain

“Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers,
but to be fearless in facing them.

Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain,
but for the heart to conquer it.

Let me not look for allies in life’s battlefield,
but to my own strength.

Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved,
but hope for the patience to win my freedom.

Grant that I may not be a coward,
feeling Your mercy in my success alone;

But let me find the grasp of Your hand in my failure.”

by Rabindranath Tagore

connect with strangers on a human level

or be kind… or (seeing as it’s easter and all) wwJd

regardless of the title, i thought it a touching story…

Thomas Hawk:“Every so often you take a photograph that has personal impact on your life.  This photo is one of those for me.
I took this photo on the Burnside Bridge in Portland.  The Burnside  Bridge is one of the areas of Portland where homeless people congregate.   There are a few homeless shelters there and lots of homeless people  hang out just underneath the bridge.  I was up shooting the bridge at  night and the “Made in Oregon” neon sign that can be seen from the bridge.
While I was shooting I was wearing headphones and listening to music  on my iPhone.  As I was walking across the bridge this man, this man, approached me saying something while I had my headphones  on.
In a moment that I am very ashamed of I did not remove my headphones.   Instead I said back to the man that I didn’t have any money.  I said  this to the man without having heard what he was asking me.  I could  tell from his expression that he was annoyed by my response.  At this  point I took my headphones off to hear what he was saying.
What the man said to me was that he didn’t want my money.  That he  was not asking me for money, that he was asking me if I would take his  photograph.  I was very embarrassed.  First off, I didn’t even have  enough respect for another human being to take my headphones off and  hear him out in the first place.  And secondly I’d jumped to a  conclusion that the man simply was trying to get me to give him money.  I  felt bad that I’d insulted this man.  And I felt ashamed of the way I’d  treated another human being.
After our interaction on the bridge I could not get my interaction with  this man out of my head for the next few days.  I was so ashamed at  myself for jumping to the conclusion that I had and for not removing my  headphones to speak with the man when he approached me.  This beautiful  man had approached me and wanted nothing more than to be photographed by  a stranger.  He was giving his image to me and I felt that I’d treated  him so badly.  I also felt bad that I didn’t even try to get his name or  an address or something afterwards to send him the photograph.  I had  been taken by surprise by the interaction and was flustered and had  acted poorly and thoughtlessly.
This interaction made me decide to try and make a greater effort in the future to connect with strangers on a human level.”
complete story here

Thomas Hawk:

“Every so often you take a photograph that has personal impact on your life. This photo is one of those for me.

I took this photo on the Burnside Bridge in Portland. The Burnside Bridge is one of the areas of Portland where homeless people congregate. There are a few homeless shelters there and lots of homeless people hang out just underneath the bridge. I was up shooting the bridge at night and the “Made in Oregon” neon sign that can be seen from the bridge.

While I was shooting I was wearing headphones and listening to music on my iPhone. As I was walking across the bridge this man, this man, approached me saying something while I had my headphones on.

In a moment that I am very ashamed of I did not remove my headphones. Instead I said back to the man that I didn’t have any money. I said this to the man without having heard what he was asking me. I could tell from his expression that he was annoyed by my response. At this point I took my headphones off to hear what he was saying.

What the man said to me was that he didn’t want my money. That he was not asking me for money, that he was asking me if I would take his photograph. I was very embarrassed. First off, I didn’t even have enough respect for another human being to take my headphones off and hear him out in the first place. And secondly I’d jumped to a conclusion that the man simply was trying to get me to give him money. I felt bad that I’d insulted this man. And I felt ashamed of the way I’d treated another human being.

After our interaction on the bridge I could not get my interaction with this man out of my head for the next few days. I was so ashamed at myself for jumping to the conclusion that I had and for not removing my headphones to speak with the man when he approached me. This beautiful man had approached me and wanted nothing more than to be photographed by a stranger. He was giving his image to me and I felt that I’d treated him so badly. I also felt bad that I didn’t even try to get his name or an address or something afterwards to send him the photograph. I had been taken by surprise by the interaction and was flustered and had acted poorly and thoughtlessly.

This interaction made me decide to try and make a greater effort in the future to connect with strangers on a human level.”

complete story here

VIA

speaking of earth day

Under the title, Trash is Not Trash, photographer Gaby Herbstein worked with illustrator Pablo Bernasconi to come up with this wonderfully whimsical series which asks us to reflect on the importance of recycling and think about what we can do to reduce our ecological footprint. (Ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the Earth’s ecosystems. It compares human demand with planet Earth’s ecological capacity to regenerate.)

With sweet children as her models, Herbstein does a great job in delivering an important message, gently reminding us who we’re ultimately leaving this world to. The series was created for a 2011 calendar.

Gaby Herbstein’s website

VIA