SIMPLE THOUGHTS...

This morning while taking my breakfast, I was looking absently through my window. My backyard is desolate with shrubs and trees without leaves.  Suddenly I noticed the tree that, when we moved to this new house, was beautiful, lush green, full of thousand leaves. With the cold, little by little, it began to denude. Now, it is ugly, bare, almost unpleasant to look at, and not even the birds seek it for a moment of rest...

I thought that there are moments like these in my life when my soul goes through a cold season... I lose my leaves... I feel ugly, devoid of joy and retreating to my inner silence. At such times, the life flowing in me just feeds the branches of my need for peace and tranquility .

Soon the tree in my backyard will start to prepare itself for mild temperatures. I will see it full of buds and leaves will emerge full of strength for a new Spring.

It also happens to me. In these moments when I look for serenity and seclusion, I feel God creating these little sprouts, molding them in my inmost being, so preparing me for a new start.

In these Winter days of my soul, I feel ugly, saddened, isolated ... but in the eternal bosom of my Creator, I also feel His love pruning everything that this Winter needs to be pruned, so that I can flourish in the joy of a new Spring.

                      

ONENESS

Photo by Nuno Vicente

Being lost in the serenity 
of a lazy dusk,
I try to imagine myself:
one in You.

If my hands were Yours,
if my whole life
would breathe in You,
and my heart
would beat within Yours,

I would be invaded by
the surrender of love,
the simplicity of being,
the free confidence of hope,
the innocence of a sudden smile.

Everything would be
so different!

But… What do I do?
Do I just feel
the last caress of a sleepy sunset?
the freedom designed by the seagulls flying?
the tranquility of an immense lake?

Oh, if I were one in You,
it would no longer be my own eyes,
my own hands or lips,
but only
You in me!

BLACK AND WHITE

I started painting with colors, but soon I understood that black and white is my expression. It is indeed, for me, the best colors to express feelings, to send messages which are not distracted by the beauty of the color. I love to give shades with my own fingers. It is like my all being is sending messages of feelings, emotions… it is just amazing, and… how I love black, shades of black...!

Black is defined as the absence of light or the complete absorption of light while white is the opposite and results from the combination of all the colors visible to our eyes. Although Black and White are not vivid colors, they can speak for themselves. Here is how!

No matter what you do, black and white will be the basic colors for everything in your life. Black will be used to express strong emotional feelings, emphasize on distinguishing the main traits of a subject or it can be mixed to other colors to provide them with more intensity and power.

White on the other hand will act as the softener and will be expressing clarity, purity and will usually have a positive connotation.

We can see their application in many instances especially when it comes to self expression in fashion, films, lighting, paintings, and drawings where the use of black and white becomes a language that shows the level of accentuation or neutrality perhaps one wishes to achieve. Their meaning can be opposite in two different cases and you can choose to work with one or the other to make your desired statement.

Many artists choose to use black and white to concentrate on elements such as composition, value, lighting and form. One of them is Concept Artist Charlie Bowater, which says that painting in black and white is great because it completely cuts out having to think about color to start with and you can focus on the image as a whole and resolve any glaring issues before implementing colors if desired. Results can be as impressive and meaningful.

Another application where black and white can be used is when the wish to provide a more historic and reserved look to your art form. A great example of this is looking back at short films from the 1920s when television was only in black and white. Charlie Chaplin for instance was great at passing powerful messages through his acting and the content of his sketches without having the use of colors to complement the setting. The black and white became a signature to his productions and his films became a great inspiration to everyone who has since wanted to create similar type of filmography.

This being said, the use of colors is definitely a great tool to express a variety of emotions however black and white goes back to the roots of history and life. It’s the essence to everything around us and is used in every application.

The proof is we always refer to black as a reference point so how about we stick to “black is the new black” and never change that ;)!

Black is the New Black BY SHOWYOURARTS ON JANUARY 20, 2016

POEM FOR MY UNBORN GRANDDAUGHTER

In the stillness of the night
Seeing the fog gently
Embracing the city,
I think of you.

I imagine holding you
In my arms, tenderly,
Your body so tiny, so perfect,
So small, so light,
And I dream of your sweet eyes,
Greenish-blue like your mama's.

She gave you a name,
Like the magic moon she loves,
A little name, like you,
And just as beautiful as you could be:
Luinha.

You are still just a memory
That our love can conceive,
But one day, I know, one day
An angel will bring you to us
And we will hold you,
And we will feel the immense joy
Of having you forever.

(28/11/2011)




















Photo link: http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/ODAwWDYyNQ==/$(KGrHqRHJCoE8fe09op+BPIymzjBJQ~~60_35.JPG

YOU ARE NEVER ALONE

I believe when I was born, God assigned one angel to take care of me and walk with me always protecting me.

I remember that when I first came to the US I had a long flight and a stop in Paris. I was feeling very apprehensive because I had heard that Charles de Gaule Airport was confusing and a city in itself. So, when I sat in the plane with my cat on my lap a gentleman sat by my side. He started to talk to me about my cat. It was not usual flying with a cat on your lap: wink emoticon
After dinner, I felt in my heart that I could trust him. So I told me how apprehensive I was. He answered saying that he knew the Airport very well and he would help me. That was such a relief!

When we got there, he helped me with Samira, picked up my luggage and took me to the Taxi Parking. However, because it was a very short drive, no one was willing to take me to the Hotel. So he took me to the shuttle parking and he found my hotel shuttle stop. I was so grateful that I asked him to give me his email so that I could keep in touch with him. I gave him my notebook and he wrote his email. I remember that the first word he wrote it was "peter". We said goodbye and so he went.

I joined my husband and together we came to the US. When I was home and settled, I went to my notebook to send him a thank you email in our both names. Then, I couldn't understand what happened!... I had all the notes I took, even an email a lady gave me to keep in touch with her after a long talk with us while waiting to board the plane, but his email wasn't there!!! I looked and looked carefully page by page, but his email I saw him writing down for me wasn't there!
I knew then, that God sent my angel to be there for me. Indeed, we never walk alone!

I remember one day when I went to Johannesburg, South Africa. Since in Mozambique the independence had occurred and the black people took over their Nation, I was happy and a bit curious to know the reality of the black South African people - it was my first visit there. So, it was with keen interest that I began my “quest”. I loved every minute there. But today I do not want to talk about this, but I promise I will soon.

I had left my eldest daughter with a family friend in Maputo, Mozambique. There were moments, especially in the evening at the Hotel, when my thoughts would fly all the way to my Cathy. It was as if, even far away, she was there with me. It was a sweet and good moment in time.

One night, I thought more deeply about that good feeling. The tenderness was present there, although hundreds of kilometers were separating us. And, suddenly, there was this thought in my mind that until today it is so present and makes it easier for me to be away from my family, now thousands of kilometers away. 

The thought was burnt in the trees of my memories... and the thought is: 

"Tenderness is gentle and kind like the caress of the evening breeze.... It is so good to feel it and know that nothing, not even the distance, can diminish its intensity." 

(1977) 

EXPERIENCES IN LIFE

I love Oprah Winfrey's thought above!! It is so true!

I believe that my experiences in life have always worked for my only good. They have never been, even the bad and hurting ones, a bad experience, but a chance for me to grow and mature. They have uncovered my true self, the one God created me to be. And I grew in love, compassion, and understanding. I remember once writing this thought that somehow applies here today "Our suffering from bad experiences in life should be transformed into something positive so that we may feel compassion, love, and understanding when others are hurting while walking in the same path." (1977)