Author Archives: lifelessons

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About lifelessons

My blog, which started out to be about overcoming grief, quickly grew into a blog about celebrating life. I post daily: poems, photographs, essays or stories. I've lived in countries all around the globe but have finally come to rest in Mexico, where I've lived since 2001. My books may be found on Amazon in Kindle and print format, my art in local Ajijic galleries. Hope to see you at my blog.

“No Soggy Doggies” and other Found Beach Stories

My rental house at the beach is no place to socialize three dogs raised behind high walls and accustomed only to their own company.  At home on Lake Chapala, their relationships with other dogs consist completely of sitting on the roof and barking at every dog who dares walk by my house.  I miss them, but they are well-cared for by Maggie, who is housesitting. The found art piece dedicated to them as well as a few others recently completed are shown below. All of these sculptures were assembled by me over the past two months from assorted plants, shells, bones, wood and other objects found on the beach during my morning walks.

(Click on first photo to enlarge.  Then click on each arrow to view other enlarged photos. After viewing all photos, click on X at top left of screen to return to this page.  A link to other found art wall sculptures recently completely is given at the bottom of this page.)

Go HERE to view recently made found art sculptures shown in an earlier post.

I responded to today’s one word prompt, “Object” as a noun.  Here is the link for the prompt, in case you want to see how others responded:   https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/object/

Contrast, or Too Much Choice

In which the contrast of flavours becomes too much.

Source: Contrast, or Too Much Choice

“The World Swings Towards its Opposite”

“The World Swings Towards its Opposite”

Often we’re made by what we lack.
White stands out better against black.
A child’s hand against your hand
often helps you understand
how prepared the human zoo
is to go on without you.

The world keeps balancing its act,
although we often rue the fact.
A child is born? Another must
make room by turning back to dust.
And every time we try to change this,
nature steps in to rearrange us.

Pestilence, earthquake and flood
offset new birth by spilling blood.
Ebola, aids, dengue, the flu
are, alas, only a few
of nature’s horrors that balance joys.
Cold and hot and girls and boys,

feast and famine, rain and shine,
mountain, valley, fresh water, brine––
contrast is what defines our world.
Every “knit one” must be pearled.
The truth in this election year
is one that I have come to fear,

for just as prejudice seemed cured,
our world has turned back to absurd.
Obamacare may be replaced
with a plan that’s more debased.
Hatred and misogyny
may be the next thing that will be

inflicted upon our brave world
that reels under each new ill hurled
before cycling back to light,
healing from each horrid blight.
Who seeks to “Trump” our earthly hand,
is one hand closer to being canned!


“. . . when anything reaches its maximum potential, it turns toward its opposite.”
–(translation of a principle stated in the i ching.)

If you want tohttps://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/contrast/

Freshly “Found”

Here are a few of the found art wall pieces I’ve just completed.  They are all constructed of material collected on the beach of La Manzanilla during morning walks.

(Click on first photo to enlarge all, then click on arrows to see next photo.)

 

Color Your World–Outer Space

Outer Space

One day we’ll have to leave this place
to venture into outer space;
but probably I’ll be long gone
when we all venture over yon.
If outer space is simply gray,
I’m glad I’ll miss that awful day.

 

 

(Click on first photo to enlarge and on arrows to pass to each new photo.)

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http://jennifernicholewells.com/2016/03/07/color-your-world-outer-space/

Morning Glory–Flower of the Day 3/7/16

 

In the tangle of this jungle garden, these morning glories shoved themselves to the foreground.

http://ceenphotography.com/2016/03/06/flower-of-the-day-march-7-2016-color-your-world-challenge-orchid/

Sentimental Journey

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The Smell of Curry

Would that sentiment were only
positive and never lonely––
but all emotions of the world
in sentiment are tightly curled.
Every  memory we cherish
is doubly edged with “live” and “perish.”
In every city, country, land––
bad and good go hand in hand.

The blend of cardamom and lentil
always makes me sentimental.
Odors of turmeric and its ilk,
garam masala and coco milk.
Curry spices being roasted,
degree of peppers being boasted,
chickpeas, carrots, potatoes, rice––
stirring in each thing that’s nice.

What do I think of when I smell
and taste that it is going well?
Bombay and wedding saris thin
sliding down my youthful skin.
Visions of a midnight ride
to cages with young girls inside
sold by their parents and then resold
nightly for a bit of gold.

Traffic, sitar music, fingers
scooping curry––all this lingers.
The beauty of that winsome song
that showed me where the world’s gone wrong.
His action, swift, unthinking, curt
of small coins cast into the dirt
to deflect those who beg and bleat,
surrounding us in every street.

Palaces and then the clash
of children in a world of trash,
the refuse of this giant city
the world they lived in—what a pity.
Back when traveling was new,
experiences were so few
that India changed my life forever.
So, will I forget it?  Never.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/cherish/

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/sentimental/

WordPress Weekly Photo Prompt: Harmony

Harmony

(Cliick on first photo to enlarge, then arrows to proceed through photos.)

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/harmony/

Quiet: Flower of the Day 3/6/2016

UQB: Unidentified Quiet Blossom

I think this is some sort of nut tree and the closest I could find to the leaf shape was a cashew tree.  I found one picture that showed it with a star-shaped flower, but in other pictures, the petals were more rounded.  I think my friend told me this was an almond tree, but it definitely isn’t an almond.  Once again, if you recognize it, please educate me.

Click on first picture and then on arrows to enlarge and view gallery.

This non-assuming little flower deserved some extra attention. As with most things in nature, close up, it makes more of a statement.

 

For more flower pix, go HERE.

Screen

IMG_2419

Trapped

Mosquito netting above my head
and tucked securely around my bed.
What person forced to resort to it
hasn’t made  a sport of it
at bedtime, just as they recline,
shut off the lights, and hear the whine
of a mosquito, far then near
directly buzzing in their ear!
Mosquito netting so fine and thin,
both keeps them out and keeps them in.

189319_1592985871267_2824733_n-1

I knew if I tried hard enough that I could find my picture of the mosquito–netted bed in my treehouse!  Finally found it in my Facebook photos.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/screen/