A conversation between Johanna and Michaela.
A view of gum trees - a photo by Johanna
M: Hello Johanna ! Ahhhh…you made it !!
J: Yes!!! Oh gollly gosh! So we’ll be a bit late starting….
M: Never mind. Just get yourself comfortable.Let me know when you are ready to start.
J:Yes, Michaela, sorry I’m a bit dumb with this hi-tech stuff!
M: Nothing to worry. How are you on this fine Sunday ?
J: I’ll be fine directly. Did you receive my picture of the gum trees?
Floor at the Meierei am Stadtpark
I went for a coffee with my friend Lilli. The coffeehouse was crowded and full of smoke. So we changed plans and went to another place close by.
It was nearly empty and we could watch the sunset through the large glass front. We ordered fragrant tea and enjoyed the spaciousness and lightness of being.
Then we took a stroll through the park to catch a movie.
Life can be so perfect.
Graffiti
I wonder
from these thousand of “me’s”,
which one am I?
Listen to my cry, do not drown my voice
I am completely filled with the thought of you.
Don’t lay broken glass on my path
I will crush it into dust.
I am nothing, just a mirror in the palm of your hand,
reflecting your kindness, your sadness, your anger.
If you were a blade of grass or a tiny flower
I will pitch my tent in your shadow.
Only your presence revives my withered heart.
You are the candle that lights the whole world
and I am an empty vessel for your light.
From: Rumi – “Hidden Music”
Translated by Maryam Mafi & Azima Melita Kolin
Saw an excellent movie the other night: “Copie Conforme”. There are parts of the dialogue between the protagonists that reminded me of a particularly clear and persuasive teaching.
The story is set in Tuscany, where a French art dealer, played by Juliette Binoche, who spends a day with the writer of a recently-published book on the value of copies in art . The couple appear to have met each other for the first time that day, but as the film progresses it is left deliberately unclear as to whether they are a married couple attempting to rekindle their relationship by pretending to be strangers, or strangers playing the part of a couple.
Rockford, Michigan in October
by Paul
Perhaps we “store” old memories because we think that if we hold on to them, we can “fix” whatever it is that is wrong about them.
We hold opinions of others and situations, as if these ideas and judgments will actually be helpful to protect ourselves from them. Perhaps we believe that by keeping our mental positions intact, we can prevent what all the Bad Other things can do to us from happening again.
A conversation between Angelika and Michaela
Perfect Harmony
M: Good morning, Geli
G: Hello Michaela!
M: What is going on in your life right now ?
G: I have made an observation, that really struck me. I am bathed in harmony and, although I was longing for this all my life, it is very challenging for my ego to stay with / in this harmony.
Creative expressions by Paula and Hannah
Spent an afternoon with two teenagers decorating cupcakes. Lovely to see creativity in action. They worked for hours, concentrated, focused and happily. I worked after-hours washing the dishes and picking little sugar pearls from behind everywhere.
Finding the result of their imagination all over their facebook pages.
The artists and their creations
Before the the frost
Longing is the core of mystery.
Longing itself brings the cure.
The only rule is,
Suffer the pain.
Your desire must be disciplined,
and what you want to happen
in time, sacrificed.
From: Rumi – The Essential Rumi
Translated by Coleman Barks
The Living Room 