Categories
contemplations Global warming Photography

It’s a Mad Mad World~

Do you ever wake up, look around you, watch the news, survey the world and realise we are living what can be likened to an apocalyptic ‘Mad Max’ situation?

We seem to see this, live through it and carry on as if nothing strange is really happening. This baffles me about the nature of humanity.

We have had a pandemic, war, aggression, hunger, rising crime rates, shootings, destruction, rapid climate change, insane leadership, economic collapse in so many places, military take-overs, assassinations, to count only some of what one hears about every day, and still, we carry on as if all is normal.

We seem to let ourselves be hypnotised by the media, by influencers, by the next trend, by television, news of celebrities, the next meal, alcohol, drugs, sex and on and on…

Where is humanity heading towards? This maybe dark for some, but that is the issue. We turn away and abdicate the responsibility of shining a light on the darkness and we simply relegate it to a trend in history.

Isn’t this a signal to a big change that is desperately needed? Who are the thinkers and planners of the better future we are all striving towards? Who can think beyond their own mortality and plan for the good of future generations?

When will we finally wake up?

Categories
children children's rights contemplations Germany inspiration morning coffee talk Photography street photography

Daily Coffee Talk~ 87/365

Today I saw a lot of children and young people enjoying the sun on a cold crisp day here in Germany and it made me think of this new generation.

They have to deal with so much and to inherit a broken world lacking in hope and riddled with corruption and warp.

The world today is so different to the one I had as a child. And yes, I did grow up inside of a civil war, but today feels somehow more volatile than that.

Things seem to be changing so fast and my hope is that change can happen in both directions. I know that sanity will return and morality still exists and good take up center stage at some point. It must…

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contemplations Germany human rights inspiration morning coffee talk Photography street photography war

Daily Coffee Talk~ 85/365

The world around us is always changing, every second could bring a new outcome, could cause a new future to onset. What are we in control of? Only our choices, in the now.

Europe feels so turbulent at this time and that unsettlement, I feel echoed in me. I feel the shockwaves of the despair and fear inside of those facing the unfortunate aggression going on in the Ukraine, and the human in me has a very hard time separating from the pain of other humans at this time.

So I keep pressing on with art, with trying to stay creative and feeling the immense value of having a space where peace can still exist. Every new day feels like a new opportunity and the only way I can help is by remembering human purpose in defiance of those who oppress and who take away from the innocent.

Let’s pray again and again for peace so that life and art can have a chance in shaping our future.

Categories
Germany morning coffee talk Photography street photography

Daily Coffee Talk~ 78/365

Rhein Promenade~ Duesseldorf

As Europe starts to gradually ease covid restrictions, I keep hearing talk of going back to our old normal, as if that is even possible!

Having lived through this pandemic and all the changes that we have witnessed, how can we use the words ‘going back’?

From here on, we can only move forward and discover a new normal, certainly not the same one we had.

Will they erase all these isolation circles that we got so used to standing inside of ? What about the way we wash our hands for 20 seconds? And the masks? Would the masks stay as they did in Asia after the SARS epidemic?

Let’s see what the future holds and how ‘normal’ is to be redefined.

Categories
CHINA contemplations inspiration morning coffee talk Photography street photography

Daily Coffee Talk~ 67/365

Tribal Ethnic Woman~ Yunnan, China

Today this image of the ethnic woman that I took in China triggered in me thoughts of lightness and weight. As I live and get older I feel the weight of my history and all that has happened in it.

I picture my life events as packages and bags that we have had to carry and as time goes on they can slow us down and keep us from moving forward and especially upward.

How do we let go of the weight and find the lightness we enjoyed as children?

Interestingly, most of my dreams that I diagnose as stress induced include suitcases, travel and items that are missing from them and time pressing on the whole situation and turning the level of stress to unbearable till I wake up.

Do we only let go of the weight when we pass on? Or can we start the shedding now, as we live, and be lighter and brighter?

I wish you a light and effervescent day ahead.

Categories
children contemplations Germany inspiration morning coffee talk Photography

Daily Coffee Talk~56/365

Hi from a cold German Evening,

The world feels more and more alien to me with every passing day. 2022 is proving to be an even more intense transition into a changing future than the years that preceded it.

What kind of world are we leaving our children? They are a generation that was born and grew up in an accelerating age of technological advancement and an ever narrowing focus toward screens and social media with less and less connection to nature and its wonders.

How will they reconnect to what matters the most? How can we guide them towards a more harmonious, connected and natural state of affairs?

Maybe winter weather , shorter days and exploding covid numbers are promoting these thoughts and contemplations, but they are real and dominate my thoughts.

Good night from here and I hope you wake up to a bright new day full of promise and change to the better.

Categories
contemplations Fine art lockdown morning coffee talk Photography street photography UAE

Daily Coffee Talk~ 52/365

Good day,

I don’t think I have ever used the term β€˜good day’ ever before. So here it is, good day to you.

I am still caring for my quarantined child on day 5, trying to come up with creative meals and snacks, getting used to washing my hands 25 times a day, running down my β€˜to do’ list to remain sane and doing my best not to get infected with covid.

As I do all this my mind wander to thoughts about life, our state of the world, the planet, and as always, the future.

I wonder how much of what the future is trying to tell us goes unheard, undelivered and just plain missed. How do we tune to what is trying to speak to us? No matter how skeptical you may be, you know that sometimes, somehow, something is trying to tell you things, right?

Hoping ti have a better receiving system and wishing you a wonderful day.

Write you tomorrow!

Categories
contemplations lockdown parenting Photography street photography

Morning Coffee Talk~ 49/364

Good Morning,

Sitting here at home and caring for my lovely daughter who is in quarantine with covid, I find time playing games with me. It goes fast, then very slow only to go fast again reminding me that I have absolutely no control over it.

That is one of the natures of time, it is a law, it does not bend to our will, and we cannot change its course. I have gotten so used to the fact that my tomorrows are not pre-determined and that surprises are around every corner. I never could foresee this time and if I remember correctly, when covid started, I expected it to last a few months at the most.

Here we are in the third year of this bizarre time on planet earth and curved balls keep coming our way. What is next, I wonder?!

Categories
Germany morning coffee talk Photography street photography UAE

Morning Coffee Talk~ 34/365

Dubai Expo~ evening shot

Good Morning,

Starting late today but it’s morning somewhere.

I chose to spend another day today at the expo and visit some of the pavilions. There is so much to take in at an event like this that you need to stand still sometimes and assess what the significance of all of it is .

I had planned to visit the German pavilion and it has proven to be incredible, eye opening, well thought of and simply brilliant. All focused on the thousands of ways in the works towards making a better planet 🌎; it called on all one’s faculty using interactive tools to help the visitor focus on only one thing: the future well being of planet earth, sustainability, clean energy and becoming carbon free by 2040.

It was certainly worth the long wait. If you have the chance to see, visit it physically or virtually, please do.

The ending hall with the swings and giant presentation almost brought me to tears. Well done Germany.

Categories
art contemplations inspiration morning coffee talk Photography street photography UAE

Morning Coffee Talk~ 33/354

Good Morning,

It has been raining so much here in Dubai the last two days, it reminds me that anything can happen despite our projections and familiar expectations.

A good resolution this for me this year is openness mixed with flexibility to be able to meet the unknown with more resilience.

The future is here and maybe it arrived before our awareness of it. I hope to celebrate it with art and creativity. It may very well be the language it understands.

Image taken a few days ago in Dubai.