Tag: human

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human rights morning coffee talk Photography refugees war

Daily Coffee Talk~ 83/365

On the third day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, my mind goes back to my experiences with refugees and the misfortunes of war.

I am finding myself unable to disconnect from the shock of seeing this happen in front of our eyes again, the war, the pain, the destruction, the displaced people and most importantly, children having their childhood stolen from them.

The pictures shown here are from the Syrian refugees that I photographed back in 2013, and back then, I saw a side of humanity that I was hoping I would never have to meet again.

Here we are in 2022, innocent people and their children subjected to tragedy because of ego, the strive for power and an unfathomable greed that lives in people like Putin.

The world does not need more refugees, we do not need more pain and confusion, humans have the right to lead a happy, productive, and full life with the chance to be who they are meant to be.

Who gives others the right to take that away? What kind of essence fuels wars? Will history keep repeating itself to the detriment of the human race and this planet?

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contemplations inspiration italy morning coffee talk Photography street photography

Daily Coffee Talk~ 80/365

If we were robots, designed to be born, to live a span of life and then die, then life would have been a straight line of non-events.

But life is not like that and being human is so much more complex that straight lines are overtaken by curves. I often thought About how when you draw a straight line from point a to point b on planet earth, our beautiful globe, you end up with a curve…

Life is like that. There are ups and there are downs, there is joy and there is sadness, success and failure, and so much that makes you wonder why we were born into a duality state of affairs.

I trust in the reason why as much as I trust in my journey to ride the waves of earthly existence. I love life and its mysteries.

Good evening from Germany. The storm has passed, our heating seems to be fixed, the fireplace is quieting down and it’s almost time to slip into a peaceful night of sleep.

Let’s pray for a de-escalation in the Ukraine, because who needs another war!

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Fine art inspiration life morning coffee talk Photography street photography UAE

Morning Coffee Talk~43/365

At the gate of Expo Dubai~

Good Morning,

Today my thoughts wander around the subject of intactness. What does it mean to be intact? How vulnerable do we allow ourselves to be with the onset of change? How does one become intact? Is it a permanent state or something we need to keep working towards in our personal development?

All these ponders take be back to the importance of reconnecting to the very basics, like the truth and meaning of life. Why are we here? What are we meant to be doing? What are we supposed to be collecting in our lives? And what do we leave behind as a legacy?

One thing is for sure: we are born alone and we die alone, so relationships matter and clean human interaction is vital during our short lives here on this unbelievably unbalanced planet.

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contemplations morning coffee talk street photography UAE

Morning Coffee Talk~ 37/365

Dubai Mall~ reflective wall

Good Morning,

Who are you today?

Do you ever witness yourself changing each time you interact with someone new? The mannerism, the speeds, the outward presentation and even the accent with which you speak your language?

We are like chameleons constantly morphing to meet new situations and it is very peculiar to observe the subtle and sometimes quite glaring changes.

Even in the same role like being a parent, we morph continuously between care giver, protector, friend, disciplinarian and cheer leader.

It is amazing how much we don’t know about ourselves and our human engineering. So much to discover.

Writing today at a cafe in the sun in the dubai expo space.

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contemplations Germany inspiration morning coffee talk Photography

Morning Coffee Talk~22/365

Good Morning,

This morning feels like a strong sense of new possibilities is here, something that never happened before wants to happen, and the invitation is there to be with it and help it exist.

I think that being human on the planet is the best and worst of all. I say that because every single moment we are given the gift of choice. Only us humans can create, can choose to be good or bad, to create or destroy, to fulfil our destiny or to abdicate all responsibilities and hide behind our screens.

At every split second we can decide what parcel of the future laid out behind us we want to open and set free. Do we step right or left? do we help someone or let them suffer? Do we act in the best of all our society, or just act for own self interest? Do we think of the planet, or only of our personal life on it? The list goes on.

Are we alone deciders or lost drifters on an ocean of forgetfulness? So I am taking time consciously today to choose…

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contemplations inspiration Malaysia morning coffee talk Photography street photography

Morning Coffee Talk~ 9/365

Casting the net~ Malaysia

Good morning,

Some days like today, when the mind feels very busy like it is working overtime, thoughts flying here and there without any apparent rhyme or reason, I stop.

Stopping is not as simple as it sounds. I remember as a 21 year old, taking a trip alone to India with a the sole purpose of finding focus. Once there, I decided to take up a vow of silence for one month. I did that in the confines of an ashram in South India, and during that time, I discovered among so many things how busy the mind and the brain can be in a single moment. They are so much more complex than I ever imagined… So many lines of thought can act themselves out at the same moment and on so many levels of perception, some emotionally connected, some random, some related to past events, some future projecting, and others to do with immediate needs of the moment…

I learned to quiet my thoughts down to try and focus on one or two threads at a time. And that experience was a pivotal moment in my life that I can link back to when needed as life gets hectic and chaotic.

So today felt like that and I needed to cast my net on one single thought, and that was ‘thought’ itself.

Thankful for having the gift of choice to be able to focus on one line of thought… how amazing is that? Feeling grateful for being human today.

Wishing you all a peaceful and inspired rest of the week.

Categories
Istanbul Photography refugees street photography

Future Soldiers~ Tarlabaśi

Tarlabaśi, an area in Istanbul that locals advise you not to visit, where uncertainty and possible dangers abound… naturally that’s where I found human connection. The mood of the streets was one of intensity, alert eyes watching, unkempt children and wild cats roaming the alleys and a common thread of desperation bring the whole scene and my camera together into a symphony of connection.

I was told this place is destined for demolition and that the Kurds, Arabs and Turks living there will have to relocate and give room to modern buildings and to a brighter future. But what of these children? A girl that sells you guns in the street, the boys that build fires for fun and the child with the hammer training for hard labor. What of their future?

Will they be the soldiers of tomorrow?

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art CHINA Fine art inspiration Photography

Time to be Still~

In a time when all the planet is in upheaval, when all that we know is changing, when tensions are running high and panic and fear are the order of the day, being still might be what saves us. Let’s all take a moment, to pause in time and reflect on our lives here on this planet and all the good that remains in us and around us waiting to be noticed. Let’s be still because all is well, at least on the levels that matter most.
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art contemplations Photography

Are we here for the planet? ~

Are we here for the planet or is the planet here for us?

Something to carefully ponder.

Day 82 of 365~

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art CHINA inspiration parenting Photography

Discovering the ladder of understanding~

ascension

This morning I was driving my daughter to her weekend Chinese class and we had a very interesting conversation. She was complaining about her inability to always find interest in continuing to learn Chinese whilst living in Germany and this took us to musings about the human brain and how we, humans have so much unused potential. It has been said that humans only use 10% of the brain capacity and once we push and struggle to learn  new things, we are perhaps activating otherwise dormant wirings in our brain and faculties. She became very interested in the process and walked to the class with a spring in her step.

Day 68 of 365~ 

image is a composite of a wall in Hong Kong and a closeup portrait of my daughter.