Showers–gentle showers.
And, they do bring…
May flowers
Outdoor invitations
Wonderful all sorts greens
Dynamic life infusing clouds
Non-stop action–patience pays back drama
And there is always a promise of joy.
It is all free.
Doesn’t cost anything–we just have to go outside to find it.
…when I’ve got this outside!
Spring sunshine!
Spring oxygen!
Spring growth!
Spring green!
Spring birdsong!
Spring fresh air!
Spring joy!
Spring flowers!
Can you find any of the above in the following images?
Or better yet…go out and find them yourself.
There is no Arabia Felix without the Rub al Khali.
Rub al Khali–the Empty Quarter…a massive natural and cultural enigma…
I can not escape its sand. I can not escape.
After the death of winter comes a rebirth of life, of beauty, of joy.
What is this? …overflowing with the bounty of beauty…
Stroked out. Just about three years ago that I was no better than a ‘side of beef’ on a gurney in the back of an ambulance. Four weeks later I was in a wheelchair on the way to a neuro-rehabilitation clinic in the Berner Oberland.
When I arrived, my wife wheeled me to the end of the hallway for a look out through the window. This is what I saw.
Magic in the landscape
What I thought? Only to be able to walk this path. Well it happened. First time sitting up. First time getting out of bed by myself. First time standing. First time with rollator. First time standing without rollator. First step on stairs. First time up one flight of stairs. First time down one flight of stairs. I don’t understand how. Great physiotherapists. Great ergotherapists. A miracle. Faith.
I walk every day now in the Berner Oberland–no rollator–no sticks. Unbelievable.
And that image, that path–magic in the landscape. Thankful.
Hope, I hoped I could take that walk. Hope can be grasped. Step by step. Every morning.
Slack jaw…? Silly statistics.
I’m an American.
In 1982, I acquired an International Drivers License as I prepared to go, via Europe, to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. According to the sequential license numbering, I was one of 511,000 International Drivers License holders.
In 2006, 24 years later, I acquired another International Drivers License, as I prepared to go, via Europe, to the United Arab Emirates. According to that same sequential license numbering, this time I was one of 71,000,000 International Drivers License holders.
My conclusion. Airline ticket prices have not grown as fast as inflation. You can ask yourself why. Myself, I had more fun with my primrose and crazy paving post.
Where to find it?
Today I was lucky.
I discovered hope in a simple home made courtyard.
When looking for hope…it can always be found…don’t give up…expand your search…change the scale of observation…works for me. Primula vulgaris and flagstone paving.
Yeah, I know it’s dangerous to call ‘Spring’ in mid-March, in the Northern Hemisphere in the mountains.
But these harbingers were shouting at me.
The problem is…I have misplaced Winter.
Clouds, almost like lingerie on a quiet, sunny winter day–the level of mystery–what is really there that I can’t see? I want to see more.
Lord Byron saw it in storm and had quite a different take, documented in his poem, ‘Manfred‘.
The view south toward the Jungfrau massif from the Interlaken region. Real estate agents might call this the million dollar view.
