.We live in deeds, not years. in thoughts, not breaths.

We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths; 
In feelings, not in figures on a dial. 
We should count time by heart-throbs. He most lives 
Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best. 
And he whose heart beats quickest lives the longest: 
Lives in one hour more than in years do some 
Whose fat blood sleeps as it slips along their veins. 
Life's but a means unto an end; that end, 
Beginning, mean, and end to all things—God. 
The dead have all the glory of the world.

       -Phillip James Bailey

day twenty seven to thirty.

I tell you. What a way to end August.

Seeing that I wasn't fully committed to the August Break and am openly admitting to it, I spent a generous amount of time the last weekend behind my lens. Perhaps a little frustrated with the lack of equipment, but nevertheless, a full few days with my little friend.

I found myself two hours out of the city with wonderful people on Saturday night at The Farm, and with landscapes that took my breath away. Who knew that an oasis like this existed only two hours out of the city!? After a surreal sleepover,  the last few days of August were then spent with family, good food, good music and wonderful weather. Who could have asked for more. And as this month ends, I am ready to begin September with a breath of fresh air, loads of thoughts to document and plenty of ideas for my blank canvases. I am so ready.

.randomness.

day twenty five and twenty six.

Randomness is seeing a bike sitting outside a coffee shop, in the middle of a mall in central Manila.

It reminded me of Amsterdam, how bikes sit everywhere in the city and how they overwhelm the city's roads. There were millions of them tracing the city, and I remember how free I felt when I rode through the canals. Amsterdam will always be a place I think of often.

And now the August break is almost over and will get back to blogging my usual way, I have tons more inspiration files to write about,  but I have enjoyed the little break.
I wish I had been more focused on it, time seems to have passed so quickly and I found myself forgetting to capture my day behind my lens.  But I'm sure I'll get there eventually, all I know is, I am seeing the world in a different way. My lens has been slowly training my eyes to see, to capture, to discover and to create. And this I am grateful for.

.and the fingers found my paints.

Day twenty four.
Behind on the photography and this is why.

Life should be about spontaneity.
It should be about not having to think and ponder about things too much.
Thoughts turn into worries and then worries turn into doubts.
Empty canvases have been sitting in the spare room for months.
And for months I have tried to convince myself that they needed to be filled.
And for months I have doubted my ideas.
Then in one moment, I felt the urge. No questions were asked, my brush just headed straight to this little piece of canvas paper.
Nothing with hidden meanings, no secret depth of reasoning in the process. Just my pencil, paints and paper.

Simplicity. Black and white.

An emotional abstraction where perhaps it is only I who can feel the emotions within the strokes, but nevertheless, it is a piece of me. A piece of me I am unbelieveably sharing freely, another layer that I seem to be unravelling.

Now I believe that my tendency to overthink prevents my ability to create, 
and perhaps simplicity (and courage) is all I have ever needed.

.ice skates and sombreros.

Days nineteen and twenty.


Unexpected Tuesday afternoons.

Cancelled meetings.

Ice skating in the tropics.

Sangria and nachos.

Sombreros and ponchos.

Yes, spontaneity at its best in the heart of Manila.

.cousin love.

Sundays with this family are special and seeing these two together makes me smile.
I can't wait to see them grow up together.

.happiness and the husband.

Bob Marley - Waiting in Vain

Each beat takes me back to September 2007. Each word he sings makes me feel like I'm sitting on the shores of Negril watching the sun set and waves crash on the shore. We are walking every morning to our favourite breakfast place for some banana bread, bacon and blue mountain coffee. We are sitting by water watching the man with the umbrella hat sell his chicken, beef and callaloo patties. We are waiting for the lobster man to pass by late afternoon with his cooked lobsters. We are waiting to watch the sunset at the Sun Jerk Beach hut on the plastic swings with our feet buried in the sand. We are laughing at the shadow lurkers. We are walking the shores as if we would never see the ocean again .  What an amazing time we had. There were no worries, there was no stress and nothing got in our way.  My heart warms when I think of all the laughter and fun.

I close my eyes and feel the music ricocheting through my soul and I am there. We are there. And I am forever grateful for music that can take me back to that time where we lived like there was no tomorrow.

what music takes you back?

. nightcaps in the city.

day fourteen