Oh...some recent art as well...

....you can click on the images to enlarge...

Back at last!!!

Yes...It's been an age since I last put anything in here... but I'm back! Hopefully get a few little blogs in before too long. Some recent photos ....taken on a autumn walk last month...lovely...lovely!

If you still keep popping back here...please leave me a comment !

mo

The local graveyard...near my office and very sad headstone...poor man...

Needing calm...

...I wish I was sitting in a little secluded garden somewhere...with a blue sky overhead...surrounded by colourful flowers and a book in my hand. I wish I could hear the birds sing. I wish I was able to forget about worries, about work, about the future...I wish I was able to tie the anxiety into a bundle and forget about it. I wish!

The way we were...

...visited the local folk museum recently and took a couple of photos...after having part of my family tree researched last year - it's made me look at the past in a new way... my family were real people..living real lives and they are part of me!

I love the quote from a Vietnamese Monk - Thich Nhat Hanh... 'If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people'.

how true...

Off on a little holiday tomorrow...happy days... x be back soon!

mo

What a difference a season makes...

There's a street that I love just near where I work and I'd forgotten that I'd taken a photo in December time... I loved the shape of the trees. I'd taken another picture recently and was amazed how beautiful they are right now with their branches full again...

“In the depths of winter I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer”
Albert Camus

Sorry seems to be the hardest word!

Have you ever said something to a friend or family member and as soon as the word or sentence left your lips...you regretted it? We've all done it. I did it a week ago and knew in my heart it was wrong...it had hurt the other person and I knew what I had to do to make amends. I tried to forget about it...but like a fly in a room ... it buzzed around every other activity I did throughout the week. Saying 'sorry' can be the hardest word ...but here's a tremendous relief and calming influence not only on your side but on the side of the receiver. Saying 'sorry' creates a win-win situation. 'Sorry' left my lips and right away the pressure I'd been feeling left me...how amazing that one small word can make a relationship whole again.

A couple more photos which I found recently...one taken in Carrickfergus Castle (which I love) and another taken from a car window of a gorgeous cloud (I love clouds too!)

...my garden of delight!

Although they are coming to the end of their bloom (at bit like myself!!)...I thought I'd post a photo of my flowers ... bought at the city hall market at Christmas...gorgeous colours...huh!?

I had a delightful birthday yesterday and spent the evening with lovely people and lovely food!!

Another quote which means a lot....

Real friendship or love is not manufactured or achieved by an act of will or intention. Friendship is always an act of recognition.
...in the moment of friendship, two souls suddenly recognize each other. It could be a meeting on the street, or at a party or a lecture, or just a simple, banal introduction, then suddenly there is the flash of recognition and the embers of kinship grow. There is an awakening between you, a sense of ancient knowing.
John O'Donohue
Source: Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

...be patient and trust...

The photos here are taken at a gorgeous farm house I went to on Sunday called Sentry Hill in Glengormley – open to the public – quite a small place … but gorgeous garden …and lovely coffee!


I also want to thank my circle of friends so much for being the support I needed recently…you’re the best!


Words of Henri Nouwen that have really spoken to me this past month….


‘Be patient and trust. You have to move gradually deeper into your heart. There is a place far down that is like a turbulent river, and that place frightens you. But do not fear. One day it be quiet and peaceful….

…..receive more and more of the love that comes to you. Wherever there is real love for you, take it and be strengthened by it…..

….You are not yet there, but you are moving fast. There will be a bit more pain and struggle. You have to dare to live through it. Keep walking straight. Acknowledge your anguish, but do not let it pull you out of yourself. Hold on to your chosen direction, your discipline, your prayer, your work, your guides, and trust that one day love will have conquered enough of you that even the most fearful part will allow love to cast out all fear.’

...take me back to Kilmore!....

Last weekend was a time of silence and calm…(some photos taken above …or below!)

This week has been filled with tornado-like activity – both at home and work. My head is spinning and I need a quiet spot to focus my thoughts and feelings. Sometimes giving the impression that all is well is not wise. Sometimes showing vulnerability is necessary…showing the hurt or fear or pain is necessary. I was reminded of this during the week and was privileged to listen to honesty and love shared.

Another friend used the phrase….words of silence and words of gesture…which makes a lot of sense to me right now.

xmox

Spring...

I took the photo above at the weekend and thought ...I love Spring! It makes me hope for better things.

I also found this poem recently and loved it!

Moccasin Flowers

All my life,
so far,
I have loved
more than one thing,

including the mossy hooves
of dreams, including'
the spongy litter
under the tall trees.

In spring
the moccasin flowers
reach for the crackling
lick of the sun

and burn down. Sometimes,
in the shadows,
I see the hazy eyes,
the lamb-lips

of oblivion,
its deep drowse,
and I can imagine a new nothing
in the universe,

the matted leaves splitting
open, revealing
the black planks
of the stairs.

But all my life--sofar--
I have loved best
how the flowers rise
and open, how

the pink lungs of their bodies
enter the fore of the world
and stand there shining
and willing--the one

thing they can do before
they shuffle forward
into the floor of darkness, they
become the trees.

Mary Oliver

Take a break over Easter...

...I don't mean an expensive trip abroad or spending a fortune in a shopping mall...try this...

1. Go to a room in your home
2. Shut the door
3. Light a candle
4. Read a book
5. Write a poem!
6. Get a sketchpad and draw something
7. Put on some music
8. Look out the window
9. Listen to the birds
10.Just BE....

..Try it...it might surprise you!
..MOx

PS Take coffee!

A powerful photo...

...to reflect on...

some calming moments...

...taken recently on a Sunday stroll....

...longing for a little quiet!!

I haven’t posted in a while mainly because of being hugely busy at work and also because I sometimes think that the things I have on my mind are not hugely interesting to anyone else but me!

I’ve had an interesting time recently – with a lot of pondering and thinking about the people and things in my life which are really important to me. I yearn frequently for space to sit and reflect and try to carve out a nook in my week to do this. Sometimes it can be difficult in the course of a normal day. The bus first thing in the morning is filled with twelve year old voices shouting abuse at friends sitting right beside them!…the noise of the passing traffic as I walk the rest of the way is a nightmare! In the office I counted 18 people in and out within the first hour of the working day asking for everything from home made birthday cards…staples…a tray of coffee..someones new address…….…oh…for solitude! I guess that’s why I go for a walk around the quieter roads at lunchtimes…where I’ve found a hidden pond 5 mins away with lots of ducks… a couple of swans and water like a mirror reflecting what sun there is……I can sometimes hear my heartbeat (am I weird? do others feel like this?!!) The only thing at work which I never complain about is the sound of a child giggling…or when a little one who doesn’t usually make eye contact because of their learning disability glances sideways at me, smiles and says ‘Mo!’ – I will never complain about that!

I have promised myself that in the next little while I will – as the late John O’Donohue suggested we do – ‘attend to myself’ – with moments of quiet…times of reflection and hopefully a period over Easter when I will hear God’s whisper above the noise of life…

bye for now…MO


PS the photo was taken last week near the office!

I'm rich!

...well not with cash I hasten to add...but spending a weekend with the most amazing group of people has been just fab. I then arrived into the office today and received an email which I appreciated so much - thanks my friend!
...I feel blessed!

"My friends are my estate."
- Emily Dickinson

...it's been a good week...

...and an even better weekend! Eight souls are heading off to Wexford for a weekend of long chats in front of a blazing fire (although if this weather keeps up we may not!)...walks on the beach...gorgeous meals made by loving hands and a little reading thrown in for good measure. I've spent the day getting as much admin completed in the office as possible...so that I can head off with no major stuff outstanding (who am I trying to kid!?).

We had a wonderful Tues evening with the same group of friends and there were smiles and tears and connection... a special time for each person there.

Until next time...blessings!

Belfast from the big wheel!

...looks kinda nice...huh?

...where's that brush!?

...thanks to my last retreat and art materials being supplied...it's given me a real push to begin painting again. It's a lovely feeling to be creating stuff that I can give to others - that's the big thrill for me. I've also been interested in the way the paint looks on the canvas and have tried to take a few photos to let you see what I mean..

In memory of John O'Donohue

...taken at Greenbelt 07 - we'll miss that unmistakable voice...

Sad news...

...that one of my favourite authors/speakers - John O'Donohue passed away on 3rd January 2008. He was a regular at Greenbelt and it was lovely to meet him last August at his book signing... an amazing person.

Beannacht ("Blessing") by John O’Donohue

On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.


And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets in to you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green,
and azure blue
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.

When the canvas frays
in the currach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.

May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.