Winter train

For those who are fascinated by trains. :)

Vintage paradox

A thing 10 years old is just an old thing.

A thing 50 years old is vintage.

A thing 100 years old is historical value.

Perfect and imperfect

The difference between perfect and imperfect is one millimetre off the target, one note off the pitch, one wrong detail. 

They are too closely intervined to allow carelessness.

Suffering

Suffering shapes character. 

Experiencing and getting over pain, facing discomfort make me stronger and teach me important lessons about real life.

It leaves me on my own to figure out what to do, and it cuts off everything of minor importance.

They say, no pain - no gain.

This also works in learning languages.

22. Pa-ling’s Secret Transmission

A monk asked Pa-ling,

"What do the words 'secret transmission in the east and in the west' mean?"

"Are you quoting those words from the poem of the third patriarch?", Pa-ling inquired.

"No", answered the monk, "those are the words of the master Shih-t'ou".

"It is my mistake", Pa-ling apologized. "I am such a dotard".

(from The Iron Flute)

Such is life

Seven times down,
Eight times up - 
Such is life.

(by unknown)

The first snow last Saturday!

Some snow pictures from Wikimedia Commons.

The painful dilemma

I'm one body, but I can't eat with my eyes, or walk with my hair.

A mother and her child are one, but they have different destinies.

Drawing ideas

- paper dolls (fantasy, vintage, folk)
- traditional Irish motifs
- portraits
- animals
- fantasy creatures
- Tarot/oracle decks

Gardening inspiration

A home garden is a source of endless inspiration and life lessons.

1. Watching the cycle of life and death.

2. Every plant is the way it is. It grows in its own way, and no plant's way is higher or better, lower or worse than that of other plants.

3. Plants don't hurry and don't do wrong things. They float with the current of life and accept life the way it is.

4. Plants grow slowly, but steadily. There is endless patience in the way they live.

Wonders

Wonders are closer than we think.

We all belong here

I'm not upset when the weather is bad or life is cruel.

No matter what happens, I belong here. This is my planet, my place to live, and everything that's around me is my friend. 

Abundance of the Universe

The excessive abundance of the Universe is overwhelming. 

But it also offers limitless options for creating and changing my world.

The sense of life

The sense of life is being happy. If you're unhappy, you have no reason to live.

Happiness comes from being in control of your own life. 

The ability and possibility to choose what and who are in your world make you truly happy. 

The old way

You do it how you feel, how your heart sings. Not bothering about rules, not worrying about doing it the correct way.

Following the flow of the world through me is the old way. 

The Faroe Islands

Sources: Wikipedia in English, Wikipedia in Russian

Nocturne

With so many people making all kinds of flutes from PVC water pipes, there's a new meaningfulness to Mayakovsky's lines:

Could you play a nocturne
On the flute of drainage pipes?

(А вы ноктюрн сыграть могли бы
На флейте водосточных труб?)

Things I don't need

They say, Socrates walked through a street market once and said:

'There are so many things I don't need'.

He was a great declutterer, but he wasn't an artist. :)

Free will

Human will can do anything. 

The aim of a truly free will is fulfilling your dream and making the Universe a better and lighter place. 

Looking at myself in the mirror

Why do I always look ugly when I look at myself in the mirror? Why do other people insist I'm good-looking?

I can see only the face as it is. As it is, no face is beautiful. 

What makes a face beautiful is my soul sparkling from behind it: shining eyes, a smile and a vivid expression. 

Old things and the feeling of home

The cosy feeling of home you have when you see certain old things: old curtains with flower patterns, slightly cracked crockery. The feeling of something from your past, something incredibly important and comforting, but long forgotten.

This feeling is precious, but unfortunately too elusive and too personal to share.

Keeping the best for the future

Poor people often keep their best things 'for the future'. One day, they think, there will be that special time when they'll be able to use them.

I want my every here and now to be special enough to use my best things and feelings in it.

What's inherited

Most things I do in my life have been inherited from my ancestors. Who I am, where I work, what I wear, how I react, what I like doing, what I'm interested in - those things are programmed by my ancestry.

My character hasn't changed much since childhood. The biggest changes that have happened are about getting back to who I am, not changing who I am. 

1. I can't change who I am. That's the one sphere where I must float with the current. 

2. All the changes I can make should bring me back closer to my true self.

I believe that every creature's true self is essentially good. 

Dealing with scary people

Imagine them as kids. 

What are they afraid of? What do they like or hate? What makes them feel insecure?

Incidentally, it works for scary kids too. :)

Never too good

You're never too good at doing anything. 

Whatever you do, you can always do it better. 

Silence time

Sometimes I need to make a stop.

Don't do anything, just flow with the life around me.

The Earth continues her journey through the space no matter how difficult my personal problems are.

I need to go on doing what I have to do, without worrying.

Being usual

Common and unique

There are two things hard to understand and accept:

1. I'm a usual, common person, like any other. I have no exceptional rights and no special brilliance among others.

2. I'm unique, there's no one like me. What I am and what I do, no one else can do.

They're both true.