Monday, July 28, 2014

In a few moments
A calm sunny day suddenly changes
As the wind shifts from south to north
And blows ever stronger.
There is beauty in the change, and danger
    to anyone braving the waves and currents.
I have known days of sudden change like this 
in my life.  
And you?  
Can we look at them as a scene, like this one, which we can observe 
with a certain amount of appreciation, 
even objectivity?  

Saturday, July 12, 2014



Last night at sunset, grandson Sammy and I stationed ourselves on the lower deck with pastels and paper, ready to try and paint the sunset "plein air."  Of course, the light and clouds and sun changed quickly and constantly, so all we could get was a momentary impression, hastily pictured on our paper.  
Doing it was a delight.
Reflecting on the experience helps me realize how fleeting life is, and how various and hard to capture are our impressions of what we experience.
Do even two people see the same thing at the same time in the same way?  I think not.  Add to that the constant flow of change and it seems to me arrogant and unwise to claim that one's own experience or view is anything more than one's own temporary idea or impression.  Who are we to think others should see it as we do, react as we do, understand as we do?   Better, perhaps, to offer one another our various views (in more ways than one) and by so doing enrich our experience in manifold ways.