Saturday, January 31, 2009

Khaled's Artist of the Month...




I am very flattered and honored to post that Khaled from Khaled KEM has chosen me for his 'Artist of the Month,' to appear on his blog for the month of February.

This was a very pleasant surprise. Please visit Khaled's blog as it will be a treat. His blog truly inspires and his love of family, art, poetry and life is wonderfully apparent.

~ Calli

*He chose to display a watercolor painting of mine titled: World Karma 2

Friday, January 30, 2009

The Lemonade Award...




Khaled from Khaled KEM has gifted me the Lemonade Award! Many thanks to you, Khaled!

The Lemonade Award is for sites which show great attitude and/or gratitude!

Rules for the award:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Nominate your favorites and link to this post.

I have nominated the following gems among us:

Tracey-Ann @ Pensieri Senza Colore
A'Jay @ Random Thoughts of Life
Karen @ Keeping Secrets
Steve @ Another Sober Alcoholic
Paul @ Paul Chambers
Katie @ Rainbow Dreams
Noelle @ A Portrait of the Human Heart
Cynthia @ Epiphany: End Note
Maithri @ Soaring Impulse
Victoria @ Chest of Fairy Tales



"At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person.
Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us."

~ Albert Schweitzer

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

posting errors....


A bit of an html code issue here on my blog...my last 2 posts have somehow, magically combined...Very strange to me. I soon realized the problem, deleted the last post and re-posted it to avoid the problem, or so I thought. If anyone has any ideas on how to resolve this issue, please do write me and let me know.

contemplating beauty...




From a man who most certainly understood BEAUTY...an excerpt from his book titled 'Beauty: The Invisible Embrace,' by John O'Donohue

Beauty does not linger, it only visits. Yet beauty's visitation affects us and invites us into its rhythm, it calls us to feel, think and act beautifully in the world: to create and live a life that awakens the Beautiful. A life without delight is only half a life. Lest this be construed as a plea for decadence or a self-indulgence that is blind to the horrors of the world, we should remember that beauty does not restrict its visitations only to those whom fortune or circumstances favour. Indeed, it is often the whispers and glimpses of beauty which enable people to endure on desperate frontiers. Even, and especially, in the bleakest times, we can still discover and awaken beauty; these are precisely the times when we need it most. Nowhere else can we find the joy that beauty brings. Joy is not simply the fruit of circumstance; we can choose to be joyous independent of what is happening around us. The joyful heart sees and reads the world with a sense of freedom and graciousness. Despite all the difficult turns in the road, it never loses sight of the world as a gift. St Augustine said: 'The soul is weighted in the balance by what delights her. Delight or enjoyment sets the soul in her ordered place. Where the delight is, there is the treasure.' Perhaps this is why there is such delight in beauty. In the midst of fragmentation and distress beauty draws the soul into an experience where an elegant order prevails. This brings a lovely tranquility and satisfies the desire of the soul. When the beautiful continues on its way, the soul has been strengthened by a delight that will further assist her in transfiguring struggle.

EVEN AMIDST CHAOS AND DISORDER, SOMETHING IN THE HUMAN mind continues still to seek beauty.



*a very special thank you to Paul Chambers for posting on this wonderful man John O'Donohue and his work. I adore this book and clearly would have adored the man who wrote it. Please visit Paul's heartfelt and thought-provoking pages.

Friday, January 16, 2009

comes the light...


"One thing that comes out of myths is that at the bottom of the abyss comes the voice of salvation. The black moment is the moment when the real message of transformation is going to come. At the darkest moment comes the light."

~ Joseph Campbell


image source: Rendez vous nr.3 by Floriana Barbu * one of my favorite photographers

Thursday, January 15, 2009

sconfitta...





Defeat, despair, emotional turmoil, a crisis of faith; we all go through these moments at one time or another. If we are defeated then it implies that we have indeed put up a good fight, does it not? I think we tend to be hard on ourselves and don't give ourselves enough credit when we manage through the hard times. Self-love, self-care, self-respect, self-preservation; all necessary to survival. The key to always remember is that we do persevere, we are strong, we will survive and "this too shall pass."

~Calli © 2009


image source: Sconfitta by William Blake
*Sconfitta is the Italian word for Defeat

meet you there...

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

deep night...


I stand
And suddenly understand
That you, Deep Night,
Surround me and play with me,
And I am stunned ...

Your breath comes over me.
And from a vast, distant solemnity
Your smile enters me.

~Rainer Maria Rilke, "The Vast Night"



image source: deep night by momentdream on flickr

Saturday, January 10, 2009

longfellow on love...


There is nothing holier in this life of
ours than the first consciousness of love
--the first fluttering of its silken wings
--the first rising sound and breath of
that wind which is soon to sweep
through the soul, to purify or to destroy.

~~Longfellow