Thursday 30 June 2011

Living in Beauty

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With beauty may I walk

This last post in my Beauty series is also the first one I was inspired to write. It started with a photo, but came together through a news article and the shared words of friends and family. Here’s the photo:

This is Judith, she’s one of my internet friends. :-)



It’s a beautiful photo and it’s pretty clear to see that Judith is a beautiful woman. She really glows, doesn’t she? Her friends and family can all vouch for the fact that she’s just as beautiful in character too. Judith is my inspiration for a third reason too, but I’ll explain that further on. First I need to get back to that news article.

It was a fairly regular news item about the dangers of everyday things and how to avoid them in order to live longer. I’ve been sent dozens of things like that in emails too. You know the thing – don’t eat this, don’t expose your skin to that, watch for this, be aware of that… they make living start to sound like an ongoing battle against ageing and dying. And the fear doesn’t stop there - there’s also the other fears of being too fat or too old, not smart enough or not pretty enough. So much fear and so many people spend their lives worrying, or working frantically on staying alive, that they forget the far more important issue of making sure they LIVE while alive.

With beauty all around me may I walk

There’s a big difference between being alive and LIVING. Anyone breathing is alive, but probably only a handful of people remember to LIVE every moment they are breathing.

Do you? Do you remember to listen to the birds singing in the street as you dash to work worrying about tomorrow? Do you remember to taste the food and enjoy every joyful experience of eating instead of wasting it on guilt or worry about not eating healthy enough or getting fat? Do you still stop to feel the raindrops on your face or do you see rain as annoying? Do you pause to watch rainbows in oil puddles, stop and listen to the street musicians, talk to the person next to you on the bus or in the shop… or do you move quickly so that you’ll be on time for that important “something” that probably isn’t that important really? Do you see flowers or weeds growing between the paving slabs? Do you remember to live or are you just alive?

With grasshoppers about my feet may I walk

It’s not just about quantity of time, it’s about quality of experience. To be here on Earth for a long life is only a blessing if it’s a life that is truly lived. Living in Beauty is choosing to live every moment completely, in joy and wonder, not simply trying to exist as long as possible.


For that reason I can think of no-one better to acknowledge as Living in Beauty than Judith because not only is she genuinely beautiful… she knows how important it is to LIVE while you’re alive.

I check her Facebook page every week, because she always has something uplifting to share about her life. Her comments are replies are full of smiles, love and gratitude. It’s not that her days are exceptionally wonderful, or that her life is that much better than yours or mine, it’s her attitude to living that makes the difference. In fact… Judith’s life is pretty complicated, but I’ll let her daughter explain that to you:

My mum, Judith, is 53 and was diagnosed with Bowel and secondary Liver cancer last Feb 2010. Since then she has had two major surgeries to the Bowel and Liver removing the tumours. After over 6 months chemo she was told the cancer had spread further to the Lungs and she now has 5 inoperable tumours over both lungs & one in her pelvic lymph gland. Her prognosis is that the cancer is now incurable... and she has been given a statistic of 2 years to live.

Now go look at that photo and tell me what you see…

I know what I see - I see the face of a mother, daughter, friend and wife, but mainly I see a woman most beautifully living while she is alive.

In beauty may I walk
All day long may I walk
Through the returning seasons may I walk

With beauty before me may I walk
With beauty behind me may I walk
With beauty above me may I walk


In old age, wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk
In old age, wandering on a trail of beauty, living again, may I walk
It is finished in beauty
It is finished in beauty

None of us truly know how long our lives will be. We might lengthen our time, make ourselves as healthy as possible, but none of us have the power to stay alive forever. What we do have though is the power to live each moment of our lives as fully as possible

…and that is what Walking in Beauty means to me.

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Tuesday 28 June 2011

Touching Beauty

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The next part of my Navajo inspired Beauty series. An artist with a difference. I hope you enjoy the videos, but do go look at John's paintings on his own website. They're brilliant, in every sense!

With beauty all around me may I walk...



Beautifully I will possess again



Best to finish with a quote from the artist himself:

“Everyone has an artist somewhere in them;
sometimes they just need a little help letting it out.”


John Bramblitt
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Saturday 18 June 2011

Hearing Beauty

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With beauty all around me may I walk...

If the secret to creating beautiful art lies in seeing clearly, then finding the beauty in sound is no different. It's fairly easy to find the beauty of sound in your favourite music but what about the everyday noises we often take for granted? What if we took an old sound and looked at it from a new perspective? That, in a manner of speaking, is what another artist did a few years back...

and a 'manner of speaking' is exactly what these videos are all about!

Marcus Coates, shaman-artist, looks at the connections between humans and animals - and humans as animals. He blends humour and amazement. The videos below are of his art exhibit 'Dawn Chorus', which was shown in 2007. It's my choice for the second in my 'Walk in Beauty' series.

Coates worked with wildlife sound recordist Geoff Sample to record a real "dawn chorus" of wild birds singing in the morning. He then slowed the sound down to a speed humans can cope with... and taught these "songs" to real everyday humans. He filmed these people singing their songs in their natural morning "habitats" - kitchens, offices, bedrooms, etc. Once everyone was taped he sped them up to bird speed and the results are amazing - human voices chirping and singing like birds. For the exhibit he had all the videos playing together in a room and the result sounds EXACTLY like real dawn birdsong.

Beautifully I will possess again
Beautifully birds

The first video shows each person singing their song individually. I so love the doctor and the old lady in bed. The cab driver and the old man reading the paper made me laugh.



The next video is about the making of the tapes and shows one of the people "singing" his song at normal speed. It also ends with the actual exhibit in the gallery with all the "birds" singing together. Do go to the end to hear them sing, it really is worth it to hear the entire chorus.

Beautifully joyful birds
On the trail marked with pollen may I walk




It is finished in beauty
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Friday 17 June 2011

Seeing Beauty

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With beauty may I walk...

Years ago I read a book on Art where the author pointed out that what makes an artist great is not their ability to paint or draw, but their ability to SEE. It's not enough to have the skill (or the equipment, in the case of photography) - you have to have the ability to really look. This week I was reminded of someone who sees clearly and he is going to be my first post in my "Walk in Beauty" series, because...

To truthfully show beauty you first have to see it clearly.



Since my hands and fingers started to play up I've been reading websites and doing artwork more than typing. One of my favourite places to find shared photos I can use for art is morguefile.com - and one of my favourite photographers there is called 'hotblack' (real name Scott Liddell). I've used some of Scott's photos for my YouTube videos, especially his scenery and skies. This one below I've used behind the girl's face (Daen) in the video for my book, 'First Light.'



but I often go look at his pictures just to enjoy seeing beauty through his eyes...



All day long may I walk



Through the returning seasons may I walk




With dew about my feet may I walk




With beauty before me may I walk



With beauty behind me may I walk




With beauty above me may I walk




With beauty all around me may I walk

It is finished in Beauty
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Side note: If you think those photos (shared by Scott Liddell on morguefile) are great - go look at Scott's own photography website where he keeps all his work. Gorgeous photos! He has a very interesting blog as well and... he's recently written a book! You can find his new novel, 'The Beetle Man', on Amazon or on his website here.


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Thursday 16 June 2011

In Beauty...

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This post is the first of a series I've been thinking about and planning for a while. It started with three photos and a video, but it begins here with a Navajo chant which I intend to use as the theme throughout my forthcoming blog posts.

This chant is used in a ceremony called the "Beauty Way" or to 'Walk in Beauty'. I'm not an expert on Navajo customs, but from what I've read it all relates to the idea of living Life in awareness, harmony and balance... which is what true Beauty is all about!

In beauty may I walk
All day long may I walk
Through the returning seasons may I walk
Beautifully I will possess again
Beautifully birds
Beautifully joyful birds
On the trail marked with pollen may I walk
With grasshoppers about my feet may I walk
With dew about my feet may I walk
With beauty may I walk
With beauty before me may I walk
With beauty behind me may I walk
With beauty above me may I walk
With beauty all around me may I walk
In old age, wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk
In old age, wandering on a trail of beauty, living again, may I walk
It is finished in beauty
It is finished in beauty



To walk in beauty…
nothing to do with what you look like, but everything to do with who you are.
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Sunday 12 June 2011

Having a Blast

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I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since I posted! wow... :-| My hands and feet are swelling up a lot - water retention. I go for more blood tests in 10 days time. The only thing that helps the pain and swelling is keeping all my joints straight - elbows, knees, etc. So... I'm not doing much of anything. My shoes don't fit = no going out and even holding a book to read hurts.

Slow and boring is the theme of this month so far! But I do have about an hour or so before bent joints go numb and hurt, so I've been busy doing artwork on the computer. :-) It takes less finger movement to use a mouse than typing and it's fun. When you're sore and fed up you need fun. ;-)



This week I had a real "blast" creating some badges for Mimi's BlogBlast for Peace 2011. I'm putting them all up in this post and they are designed to take, use and share.



You can see them on her Peace Globe Gallery, along with some other gorgeous designs by other Peace Bloggers.



BlogBlast for Peace is now an "official" (legal) name and has it's own Facebook page.



It just keeps growing and growing. Bravo Mimi - you are an inspiration. :-)

..and you can be an inspiration too! Join us on Nov 4th, ~ on blogs, Facebook, Youtube and Twitter.


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