A moment for Max

"A flower could show you the way back to the Source, to yourself.  When you look at it or hold it & let it be without imposing a word of mental label on it, a sense of awe, of wonder, arises within you.  Its essence silently communicates itself to you and reflects your own essence back to you.” Eckhart Tolle

Connections in life are as delicate as flowers and just as powerful - they don't need labels or definitions - they just are. And even the most fleeting of connections, the sound of a tiny heartbeat, an email across the world, a 140 character tweet or a quick squeeze of hand can have a lasting affect  and not only on those involved.

This post is dedicated to a little boy who didn't make it into the world, his life was fleeting and as delicate as a flower and yet his impact has created ripples of love that are spreading the world.  

So please, never underestimate any of your connections in life, even if they are with people you may never meet in person - they may be the strongest connections you ever make and don't underestimate your importance in the world either - the smallest of drops can create the biggest ripples xxx

Remembrance Day

Last year I shared In Flanders Field by John McCrae in Remembrance, however this year I have dug out my photos from ten years ago(!) from a visit to Ypres in Belgium with my High School when I was 15.

I'm sure I've mentioned somewhere (perhaps here) that I always used to use 35mm film until I went to university - and here are some of the photos from my Dad's old Canon 35mm camera that I borrowed just for the trip. I remember I used one film a day which goes to show things haven't really changed that much in 10 years...

At 15, I didn't really understand the scale of lives that were sacrificed during the World Wars, both soldiers and civilians, and I remember being completely overwhelmed with sorrow at each cemetory and museum we visited.

Having visited Auschwitz this year - I am still overwhlemed with sorrow yet I was also reminded that it is so important to learn from history and to remember.

Remembrance Day

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

by John McCrae, May 1915

Because even though there is so much I want to say my own words seem inadequate...