Artwork by Bruce Zboray www.bruce-zboray.artistwebsites.com
I am drawn to thin books. Books you can read in one or two sittings. With pictures or a fancy border – like an ancient manuscript – decorated. And a hard cover with cloth, where you can feel the weave.
Others may enjoy epic novels of a thousand pages – not I. Maybe it’s me wanting to “know” the whole book at once – no need of bookmarks for me.
Whenever I paint something: the walls of a room, a piece of furniture, an oil painting – I really look forward to seeing it again when it is dry. It’s like God, time, something unseen needs to intervene to finish it.
It’s not done until it’s really all done.
The same with gluing something together – next day, all those pieces are one whole thing again. The same with waiting for the scrapbook page to dry or waiting for pottery to bake.
Now, some people would rather wait for some muffins to bake far more than some pottery to bake. I understand this well.
Moderation is not a popular attitude nowadays. Moderates (and I'm not talking only about political moderates) are seen as people who are "fence-sitters"; the folks who "cannot make up their minds". There probably are a group who genuinely are unable to come to a conclusion about things, but I believe that moderation is the approach to life adopted by the strong-minded. A moderate attitude to an issue is one which has required fair-minded consideration of the pros and cons, and the disciplined application of common sense.
I thrive being around people with imagination.
People who can see things that aren’t there yet and talk about them as if they are real right now. Like cars that fly, a practical end to hunger and healing sounds that work infinitely better than chemical drugs.
People who can create – pictures, music, dance, inventions.
People who can see the world in a better way.
Without these people, I feel lonely. Yes, my wife and children fill a kind of loneliness, for which I am very thankful.
This song was written by my wife. I supplied the melody for song and just a few of the lyrics. Here’s my wife’s explanation for writing it. “I wrote this song at the end of fall in Rochester New York, a few weeks after November 19, 1976, our wedding day. As the first snowfall left its coating in white, I thought of the path I took as a single woman out on my own, to marriage, to my husband, a poet, artist musician. The end of one road traveled when single was the beginning of new roads ahead as a couple.”
There is something about winter which I really love.
It feels sleepy, resting, in a sense meditating.
It seems to give an upspoken permission to just relax – to have some time for yourself.
All the colors are muted - grays and washed-out browns. And the trees are laid bare, to show a visual essence language written by their shapes, their intricate and poetic lines, all outlined with lacy fine twigs around the edges. At sunset, they glow orange.
The sun is hazy, diffuse behind a gray sky – you may even think it’s the moon.
Here are some principles to live your life by.
Set high performance standards for yourself. Don't set your goals and standards according to what satisfies others. Set goals that seem a little out of reach. Persevere. When those goals are reached, set new ones at a higher level. Keep doing it.
Never be satisfied with what you've accomplished so far. Always demand more from yourself. When you fail to live up to your standards, don't make excuses for yourself. Accept that you failed and resolve to do better next time.
Phil Gross has written poetry and turned them into songs since he was about 19 years old. Many people write in diaries or journals.
Poetry and songs are his journals, documenting his life, strife, loves and the passing of his years.
Hi, my name is Amla Mehta and I’m a speaker, author, and teacher.
I’ve written two of my own books and one of my books is called Amla Speaks 365. There are 365 reflections in this book.
I’m going to read the passage from "Reflection 236." The theme is called “Food for Thought.”
“Why do we as humans question when we are sad or unhappy. When we are happy, we usually accept the feeling with open arms. Throughout the process of self-realization, one must accept the positive and negative thoughts, emotions, and feelings equally to maintain equanimity.”