Air-bound

I lasted 7 months. 
But the time has come to leave Australia's borders again, temporarily.


"I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be.."

- Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

Metaphors

I'm a riddle in nine syllables. 

An elephant, a ponderous house, 


A melon strolling on two tendrils. 


O red fruit, ivory, fine timbers! 


This loaf's big with its yeasty rising. 


Money's new-minted in this fat purse. 


I'm a means, a stage, a cow in calf. 


I've eaten a bag of green apples,

Boarded the train there’s no getting off.


- Sylvia Plath

You learn, and you learn.

A dear friend of mine shared this with me, and thought it would be a nice addition to my attention-lacking blog.

After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul.And you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning and company doesn’t mean security.
And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts and presents aren’t promises.

And you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes ahead, with the grace of an adult, not the grief of a child.
And you learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans, and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.
After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much.
So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to leave you flowers.


And you learn that you really can endure;

You really are strong, you really do have worth.
And you learn, and you learn
With every goodbye you learn.


-Veronica Shoftsall

My next endeavor:

A modern masterpiece.

From the age of five I have played and studied music, most of which would be considered classical music. Although I was made to learn, recognise, analyse and discuss a plethora of pieces by an innumerable amount of composers, well-known and otherwise, I was never a fan of this particular music. Classical music gave me a headache.
In more recent times I have had an ever increasing admiration for the music scored for film, also known as soundtracks. I'm not talking about films like Bridget Jones' Diary using songs like 'All by myself' (an already famous pop song). I'm referring to the enigmatic film scores that are crafted specifically for use in films. It is these pieces that I would refer to as the masterpieces of our time. In the previous centuries, it was the likes of Mozart, Vivaldi, Bach etc that produced the pièce de résistance of their time, however with the technological boom of the 20th Century it was only natural that the world of music would also be revolutionised.
The production of masterpieces has now been left up to brilliance of Hans Zimmer, Harry Gregson-Williams, Rachel Portman, Gustavo Santaolalla, James Horner, Thomas Newman, Yann Tiersen.


A few soundtracks you simply must hear:
- The last Samurai

- Man on Fire
- The Chronicles of Narnia
- The Motorcycle Diaries
- Batman Begins
- Avatar
- Chocolat
- Amélie & Goodbye Lenin

Of course, watch the films while you're at it :)

What influences you?

A really interesting video talking about what makes someone/something an 'influencer'.

INFLUENCERS FULL VERSION (FR) from R+I creative on Vimeo.

(Re-post from a friend's blog.)

"I wish that I was born a thousand years ago

I wish that I'd sailed the darkened seas

On a great big clipper ship

Going from this land here to that

Ah, in a sailor's suit and cap

Away from the big city

Where a man can not be free

Of all of the evils of this town

And of himself, and those around"

Velvet Underground -Heroin

Image: Source

Music has a certain power, it is inexplainable and affects everybody in their own way. The significance that this form of art has on me is immeasurable. Not only that, but I feel that no matter how much I say or write my words are inadequate to explain it in a way that does it justice. Having been surrounded in music from a very young age via the piano and various other instruments its really brings joy to my heart seeing the genuine musical abilities of those around me.

An example of such soul-stirring music is by a friend of mine, Arlen Yanch, whom I met whilst serving at the Baha'i World Centre in Haifa, Israel. Not only is his an incredible pianist, but the compositions linked below (click the photo) are just incredible!

"The art of music is divine and effective. It is the food of the soul and spirit.

Through the power and charm of music the spirit of man is uplifted."

- A Compilation on Baha'i Education, Pages 56-57

Laundromat-o-mine

[This post has been published a year later than planned]

Who would've have thought doing my laundry would always be such an adventure?

Once a week (or perhaps a stretch more) I lugged my basket down the windy path through the snow-blanketed Kapelvej courtyard, across the street, making my way to my laundromat. Each time I am greeted by a different encounter. But the one that I will never forget is the one that happened most recently. Usually there are a couple of people in there, Danish, Middle Eastern, Northern African for the most part. The Danes do their part as the non-involved/ head down/ don't acknowledge your existence character. The Middle Eastern is usually a covered woman with several children running around and the Northern African steals glances at you when they think you're not looking.

Why am I talking about this?

When I was there yesterday, I must have given the impression that I was lost or didn't know how to operate the machines - its been a few months, I have it down pat. But this sweet lady, I think she was Iraqi, came and tried to explain it to me. She didn't understand English, I don't understand Arabic, and neither of us spoke a word of Danish. And yet she was so determined to teach me. In the midst of the chaos her children were causing, she managed, by speaking loudly, repeating the same Arabic sentences over and again, with dramatic hand gestures to get her message across. And after all her much appreciated efforts, all I could say in response was "Tak" (Thank you in Danish). She gave me the most warm-hearted smile I have ever gotten and then turned away, told off her children and continued on with her mountain load of washing. I never saw her again.

On the walk back to my flat, trudging through the snow in my chucks (not advisable), I found myself thinking about how different that could have been if we spoke the same language. Maybe she wasn't just talking about how to turn the dryer on. Maybe we could've had a few laughs and she could've told me some thing about her life and me about mine. Not this time Natasha, you can't be friends with everyone.

In all my travels over the past few months it couldn't be more blatantly clear how important language is in all our interactions with other humans and the urgent need for a universal language. Perhaps this is too big an ask for the time being. There are a lot of other pressing matters in the world at current that take precedence over address this social barrier for now but I think its certainly something that deserves more thought. It would certainly remove the issue of communication being lost in translation..

Oltremare

This little piece of Ludovico's magic gets me every time:

Although my consistency leaves much to be desired, I am in the process of learning this piece. Slowly, but surely, I will get there :)

nb. Oltremare is 'overseas' in Italian

Just brush it off.

- the wisest words I ever heard, and forgot for too long.

I forgot what it was to just forget and let go of people and the things they do that may hurt of bother me because at the end of the day, I would hope, they aren't personal attacks. Which brings me to a favourite quote of mine:

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle"

If there is anything I have learnt in the past couple years, it is that the people you interact with (particularly in the work place) will always be your biggest test. If we were to all take into consideration that everyone has their own 'battles' that they are facing, perhaps we would be more tactful in our behaviour towards one another and to just let go of the insignificant things we tend to get caught up on.

Before I digress I will end with this:

"..strive ye with heart and soul to practice love and kindness to the world of humanity at large.." - Baha'i Writings

My aim from now: just brush it off.

How, or when, or from where.

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose or topaz,

or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.

I love you as certain things are to be loved,

in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms,

but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers.

Thanks to your love a certain fragrance,

risen darkly from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,

I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride,

so I love you because I know no other way than this:

where "I" does not exist, nor "you,"

So close that your hand on my chest is my hand,

So close that your eyes close and I fall asleep.

-Pablo Neruda

Image: Source

Heart cleanser.

"He must so cleanse his heart that no remnant of either love or hate may linger therein, lest that love blindly incline him to error, or that hate repel him away from the truth.."

Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, CXXV

About me, about you.

On reading someone's "About me" section, I came across this:

"Nobody knows anything about you. You're like this normal person and heaps of fun and we all feel like we know you, but then when we think about it we're like 'what does she do?' and 'who does she sleep with?' and 'where does she go when she disappears?'

And suddenly we realise you're a mystery."

For some reason, it resonates.

In other news, I found a reason to love my iphone: the Hipsmatic App.

It can take photos like this:

Months after discarding my trusty old Nokia, tonight I decided to go through it and look for anything on there worth keeping. I came across a note saying "Wim mertens". I could only assume this was something music-oriented but I had no recollection of why/where this had come, from but thanks for technology, more specifically youtube, I was able to solve my own mini-mystery: