poetry

 'Poetry heals the wounds inflicted by reason.'

 — Novalis

Rainy Thursday quote

“He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.”
― Immanuel Kant

you are never really alone

when you have books...
some older pictures of me
happy with my books...

"There's more to life than books, you know. But not much more."
& "The goodness of privacy in a warm room with books."
— Morrissey #Morrissey

2006, cottage studio in Normal Heights, San Diego, this place was surrounded by skunks, possums and homeless cats, I adopted two cats for myself and found home for another 3.

2008? same studio Normal Heights, San Diego. I was fit, so much yoga!

December 2014, at the wonderful Skylight Books, in Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California. www.skylightbooks.com

tea and cement flower

i've been missing my blog again
i've been sick for over a week
cold, cough, cough, cough, sore throat
and more cough
on Thursday i went to the doctor
looking for help, just got some cough syrup
and more sadness...

yet, the sun was stroking my back for a bit
and i got to seat on this pretty bench
with cement flowers on it



and i sipped from this yogi tea
the kind that comes with labels with quotes
remember my tea-advice series?
here comes a little addition to it



and by now, i feel a little better
and i can always sip, breath (even if with difficulty) and read

the treacherous art of keeping it simple

“I am convinced, both by faith and experience, that to maintain one’s self on this earth is not a hardship but a pastime, if we live simply and wisely…”
–Henry David Thoreau

i came across this quote at my yoga studios' blog

http://www.pilgrimageyoga.com/blog/living-simply/

it's accompanied by a wise comment by sujantra
(the founder of the studio)
he writes:
"So often our society sends us the the message that life has problems that only more complexity and machinery can solve. Oh, how wrong our society may be. To find out for yourself try living a little more simply and wisely and see how it feels… my bet is with Thoreau!"

and then i remember this another quote about simplicity that i keep in my refrigerator
i cut it from a tea box, and every time i feel i am making things 'complicated'
i go back and read it... from my fridge to your screen



and now try to keep it simple
it's hard but worth it

the soul

"The soul is the weariest part of the body."
~Paul Bowles, The Sheltering Sky

gentleness

today at yoga we did a little Om exercise
we chanted 3 really loud Oms
followed by the 3 most delicate and quiet Oms we had

it was interesting how it was much easier
to almost 'scream' the Oms than to chant them
gently, kindly...
the whole class shared the same feeling

the chanting experiment reminded me of
a piece of lyrics from an old The Smitsh's song:
I Know It's over
i am not sure why, but a sentence from it
ot stuck in my head a long time ago,
'It takes guts to be gentle and kind'

maybe 'cause i used to listen that CD endlessly,
The Queen is Dead
and Morrissey's lyrics/singing
make each song an unforgettable piece
like on this one

It's so easy to laugh
It's so easy to hate
It takes strength to be gentle and kind
...
It's so easy to laugh
It's so easy to hate
It takes guts to be gentle and kind

a superb piece of some indie alternative rock philosophy?
sure a very Zen and enlightened sentence
full of an aloof dignity that conveys
one to feel at peace, no matter what
well, it does that for me

so, when i am mad sometimes
and i wanna scream, or 'renegade'
about life, complain to myself
on one of those sulky states
i sing to myself...

It's so easy to laugh
It's so easy to hate
It takes guts to be gentle and kind

and in my head, of course i hear Morrissey voice
not mine

and tonight was not the case
i was not angry, and not mad
on the contrary
but the chanting experiment reminded
of the strength that quietness requires
&
maybe, next time you are mad
you can sing it along too
and transform the rage into forgiveness
and the sadness into hope

the song is actually about a lost love
a desperate broken-heart song
but that's not the reason why i think of it
it's only the It takes guts to be gentle and kind
part, that got stuck
but when i repeat it

the Oms roll quieter, smoother, and kinder
like a wave done with her duty
and gently retrieving to el mar


unwinding this week, for a Holiday weekend
i get ready with
a small beer, a pillow, and good sweet nights

the quality of mercy

"The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth, as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice bless'd;
It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes..."

The Merchant Of Venice Act 4, scene 1, 180–187
-William Shakespeare

and these his words
written about four hundreds years ago
make scintillate my soul
since the beauty they convey
is not only about the artistry of the English word
they are deeper,
they reach my core

if we all could be a bit merciful
then the enemies would turn into love

William Shakespeare, 1564 - 1616

petit soledad

I wrote a sentence in my soul
That later I forgot,
I held your hand strong
Only to –later– let it go,
I’ve walked across continents
To find myself thirsty, fatigued, and alone
I smiled at my solitude though
& it smiled back! And softly with a little frown
It drew for me the Earth, The Moon, and the Sun
Then it all, lastly, seemed to be worth
Now me and my lonely shadow
Hand in hand, merrily we go



“In solitude, where we are least alone.”
~a Lord Byron quote

uncertainty & beauty

'joyful that who can find the beauty hidden
in the uncertainty of life'

~bw

maladjusted

'It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.'
- J. Krishnamurti

Ps. mein Kopf tut weh
Pd. me duele la cabeza

simple

"Simplicity is an acquired taste. Mankind, left free, instinctively complicates life." - Katharine Fullerton Gerould

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." - Leonardo Da Vinci

genius, philosophers, and others, all seem to agree
yet
it seems so a big challenge
to just "keep it simple"...

life smiles at me these days
even if i am sick & tired
because of your presence
but i miss you
this distance seems to never end