Thursday, December 30, 2010

The Friday Photo

I took this about 18 months ago, on the shore of Lake Rotorua, so he's an inland gull, a member of one of the hundred or so gull species; these red-legged ones are the most common we see on our coasts, along with the bigger Pacific gull.
The sun was just starting to set, and there was a nice quality to the light which picked up the colour of the rust on the pole.

 

Happy Friday - and Happy New Year.

Happy New Year

I made no resolutions for this New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me.


Wishing all my Blogger friends a Happy New Year and be safe!


Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Christmas Vacation..end!



Time flies so fast and my holiday vacation is over. back to my old nest!  work:)..so I'll be spending my New Year with good friends at the city!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

White Butterflies

Has anyone/ everyone noticed that White Butterflies are everywhere right now?   I love Butterflies and I am in delight when I see them prancing and dancing among the flowers.  I especially love when I see two White Butterflies dancing together - seeing Butterflies makes my heart sing.

It is perfect to be seeing and enjoying the beauty of Butterflies - a symbol of change and transformation - timely for me and most probably true for many as we journey towards the end of 2010, towards 2011.

I am very Excited to be finished my Diploma of Transformational Coaching Course.  It has been an amazing, AMAZING Course.  I am very Grateful for my Teachers who have Inspired me and helped me be the best Life Coach that I can be and have taught me the importance of Self-Reflection as an opportunity to keep learning and growing - and Inspired me through their commitment to study. 


And I am also very Grateful that I belong to a Community of wonderful women who have made the experience of becoming a Life Coach so rich and alive and meaningful and real.


Our final weekend for our Course was a chance for Self-Reflection and Honouring, Sharing, Transition and Celebration.  I loved the opportunity to create a Journey Stick, choosing a stick from Nature and decorating it with colour, representing where we have been and where we are going to - our Past and our Future.  And I loved having the symbol of the Butterfly on my Journey Stick. 


I felt like it was the ‘Love Fest’ - so much Love, Heart-Felt Acknowledgement, Warmth, Authenticity, Presence, Connection, Community.  When I talk about Spread The Yellow, this was it - the exchange of Love, Light, Positive Energy, seeing the Light and Spirit in each other - WOW!!!  On the final day of our Course I loved that our Teachers set up a Threshold to represent this time of Transition - Completion of our study and Forward Movement to a new time in our lives. As we were walking down the stairs towards the Threshold, I was looking around at all of the beauty, aliveness, incredible-ness in each of my fellow Soul Sisters and I felt so Excited - Excited at the difference we can make in the world.  May we be the White Butterflies prancing and dancing among the flowers.

With the White Butterfly a symbol of Transformation, this is true in so many ways for me (apart from finishing my Course).  It is interesting as the last two years has highlighted the importance of Balance for me - Balance of Personal and Professional, Doing and Being, Solitude and Intimacy, Activity and Relaxing.  I am Excited that although I love Coaching and love working with people on their Journey - I am also committed to my own Journey, my own life, my own life separate from my lifework.  Two years ago I never would have guessed that I would be here planning my wedding, finally letting go of relationships that did not serve me, and being open to True Love. 

This year sharing Christmas Day together and together with our Families was very special.  Although My Man and I exchanged so many Gifts and there were so much Gift giving with my Nieces - my favourite Gift of all is that of being together - it is what I appreciate the most.  We enjoyed a beautiful, relaxing lunch with My Man's Mum and I was so happy that my Mum and Dad were also guests for lunch.  

 

And after enjoying the relaxing day, we then entered the chaos of time with my Brother, Sister-In-Law and my three beautiful Nieces - and I loved it all!!!  Presents, giggles, hugs, kisses, laughter.  And more food!


And time on the trampoline - the new trampoline that Santa brought my Nieces.  I love My Nieces - they are White Butterflies in my life - dancing and prancing and so in the moment.


For me Love and Family are the most important and I am Grateful that my Coaching Course also helped me come Home to my Self - where I feel relaxed, at peace and HAPPY.  Meditations from our Final Course at College and the experience of creating our Journey Stick, highlighted to me that I was once a person chasing Happiness, so busy being busy, busy chasing Love - now I AM HAPPY, now I AM LOVE.  Now I AM.  Now I AM ME.

It is definitely a time of Change and Transformation - the merging of our two Families and the creating of our own Family.  We are getting married in 12 weeks and there is much to do - and we are also looking forward to having our own baby - now that will be most wonderful!!! 

And I want to be like the White Butterflies - just enjoying the flowers, the sunshine, the freedom of being alive, the joy of being me, the joy of being in relationship.  We have a poster in our living area that speaks to my heart and is a great reminder of what to bring into each and every day "Live - Laugh - Love".

The ironic thing tonight is that as I am about to publish this Blog about White Butterflies, there are two small moths flying around our home, flying close to me.  I have never been a fan of moths and yet they are so similar to Butterflies (and very different) - as I am reminded by My Man.  It is interesting, Google tells me that Butterflies fly during the day and moths fly during the night - and without doubt this is symbolic of one of my other greatest learnings of the last two years - that there is Light and Dark, day and night, sunshine and rain - and I can be with all - I can be with the Paradox - I can be with Joy, I can be with Pain.  Perhaps it is true that I most delight when I am in the Light and see the Butterfly - I have a natural tendency to move towards the Positive and the sunshine - this is my nature and my strength as a Life Coach.  And I have learnt to be in Sacred Space with sorrow - I can be still and calm (rather than panic) when I am in the Dark or feel the movement of the moth.  

I am now Home in my Self - and I can take that with me wherever I Am - I have all of my Strengths and Resources - when I am at Home in my Self I am in My Yellow Heart - I Am Love, Light, Truth and Peace - this is my Soul's Home, in the quietness I feel the rising of Spirit, I am in Connection with God.  When I am Home in my Self I can see that I am the Butterfly, I am the Moth, I am All.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Favourite Shots of the Year #3

Wintry light

These are photos which I took in midwinter this year in Northland, New Zealand. They were all taken between 10.00 am and noon.  (Click to enlarge)

It was very cold; there was rain about, the sun was struggling to come through, and the light was strange, eerie at times:

Mussel Farm and Barge (and Blue Heron)

Mussel Farming



Mussel barge
Whangaroa

 
Mahinepua Bay



 Sorry to post so many - I couldn't decide which to leave out ...   

Thursday, December 23, 2010

The Friday Photo

I've decided to indulge myself and start a weekly Friday photo post. Just because.

I was going to post this one as part of Thematic Photographic's favourite shots of the year - until I realised that I took it last year....

Driftwood on the beach after an autumn storm, May 2009.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Hola Dinner !


 Food was blunt for me this past few days. I don't feel like eating. Paolo suggested to grab our dinner at Mexicali! So a night of HOLA! HOLA! the taste of Mexican caballeros and California gringos! Burritos rule our taste buds for the night!

Vamos a comer!

http://www.mexicali-phil.com
 

Life is good! 

Photography by me  and paolo

The last time...




 Late last night, I was going through some small things and stumbled with this old Christmas Greeting card. I was stunned, amazed with the date written on it “Dec 14 1972” such an antique, a divine which leads me to ask my self, When was the last time I sent or received a Christmas greeting card from a friend or family members through snail mail?  Hmmmm...It took me an hour to response to my own question and I guess nobody’s doing it now!  

In this world were social networking site almost navigate our world, facebook, twitter, friendster and multiply...etc snail mail has become 19th forgotten.

So for this coming holiday I would go low-fi, not such a bad idea. There is something to be said about exerting the effort to buy stamps, mailing a letter and then waiting for it to arrive. When it finally does, there’s the anticipation of opening a sealed package meant only for another person’s eye. It’ll probably be quicker just to deliver the card personally, but I think having a stamped envelope arrive on one’s doorstep from a friend feels strangely more intimate and charming. 

I think we need a break from all this electronic stuff…. something about an old-fashioned way is hard to forget.

So today, I’m going to buy Christmas cards and send it to my love ones!

Merry Christmas!

Life is good!

Photography by me

Monday, December 20, 2010

Another TP favourite Pic

Little boys in Turkey are traditionally circumcised - it can be done at birth, but is often delayed until they are 7 or 8 years old. On Circumcision Eve they have a big party, receive gold coins and other gifts, and dress in a costume which is meant to look like that of a King or a Sultan.
In Istanbul this little chap was happy to pose for a photo, and his parents gave their smiling consent when I asked if it was ok.


I love his expression. Am I just being fanciful when I say that I can see excitement, pride, shyness and fear in that little frowning face?

See more entries in Thematic Photographic 128.

Holiday rush...The Reinder and the black Hat

 Some people love to wear new clothes this Christmas and yes I'm one of them! This is my way to treat myself. Yummy! After all, I worked hard this past few months. I'm bound home in 3 days and I heard weather back home is so gay and I'm ready for it!

black hat from Zara, Headband from bargain stalls, top from Terranova, knitted jeans forever 21, Scuba Fuchsia bag..I love big bags!

Life is good!


Photography by me and Romel