Look up at the stars...

Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.

Stephen Hawking

Art

If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.

Vincent Van Gogh

 That's the advice I decided to follow...no matter what the voice in my head told.. :) 

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People...

“Have you ever stared at a painting so long that the colors blur and you can’t tell what you’re looking at anymore? There’s no form, face, or shape–just color, just swirls of paint? I think people are like that. When you really look at them, you stop seeing a perfect nose or straight teeth. You stop seeing the acne scar or the dimple in the chin. Those things start to blur, and suddenly you see them, the colors, the life inside the shell, and beauty takes on a whole new meaning.”
Amy Harmon

Art...

Art...

Art...

Art

“Art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth.”
― Pablo Picasso

“The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious - the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science.”
― Albert Einstein, Albert Einstein

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”
― Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island

“Art and love are the same thing: It’s the process of seeing yourself in things that are not you.”
― Chuck Klosterman, Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story

The daily grind...

In our everyday flurry of activities, there are a lot of things that we lose track of. Our problems of the everyday mundane become so big to us that we lose track of the bigger picture - of life in all its glory and magnificence. 

When I am really distressed, I try to tell myself that I should try and imagine how this would impact me twenty years later to see if this would matter - things mostly don't... :)  But more often than not, one is lost in the frenzy of daily activity - juggling between to do lists, reminders and coffee breaks. But then you visit places like the Grand canyon and the Bryce Canyon and you see the power of time. You see nature at work - in all her glory. 

You see how your existence is only a tiny blip in the fabric of time and how beautiful things rise up from the everyday grind. It does make you pause and reflect. 

Like the "comma" in the middle of a sentence, these moments of wonder help me think and take stock of life. They let me tie things together - to experience them better, to assimilate them better and to gain some perspective.

This is the once mighty Colorado river at the grand canyon carving its way through rock, one day at a time, one layer at a time. I wonder if it realizes what it has done over the years? 

For that matter - do we realize the impact we are having in our own small ways - for better or for worse... 

I guess its something to think about - no? 

Eyes...

“The soul, fortunately, has an interpreter - often an unconscious but still a faithful interpreter - in the eye.” 
― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre


“An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language.”
― Martin Buber

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