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china contemplations morning coffee talk Photography shanghai street photography

Morning Coffee Talk~ 13/365

‘The morning process’, how the day starts, what sets the tone for the rest of the day, how do we arm ourselves to handle what is planning to meet us on that day? For me, this time just upon waking is the most important of all.

Do you ever feel that you travelled to unknown places in the night and that you have to meet yourself again in the morning? I scan through my faculties in the early morning to do a check-in and see what is there that wasn’t the day before and what is no longer there that was, what feelings need to be dealt with and relegated and what strengths do I need to call onto myself that day to have balance and well being.

That extra hour is priceless for me and so necessary for checks and balances. We are constantly changing every moment on a cellular level and so is everything around us. It’s mind boggling. So the morning becomes a ceremony to look forward to, and over time I have grown to feel a sense of awe and inspiration upon waking, wondering what the day will bring from challenges to giftings.

The images above were taken in Shanghai on the Bund. It was always inspiring to see the locals at sunrise practicing Tai Chi, meditations, kite flying, fan and sword dances and to witness the atmosphere of calm and concentration before the day sped into chaos as it does in a metropolis of 30 million.

Wishing you a balanced day and a great start into this week.

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children Germany inspiration morning coffee talk parenting Photography

Morning Coffee Talk~1-365

Good morning to you from Germany. How shall we start this?

I have been planning for a while to restart my 365 project that I did in the past and loved immensely: a picture and a short writing every day for one year, and today felt like the right day to begin.

Its’ the first day our home tradition of exchanging 24 small gifts before Christmas and for this, my daughter has always woken up very early to see what awaits her. There are 24 small boxes that contain 24 small gifts and thoughts of care about her and she has grown to love that.

This year, she gifted me one back, and now I can smile knowing that the tradition will carry on…

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art Boracay Photography

Losing Sleep in Boracay~ 

Waking up predawn, watching the first light unfold, creating dreams to replace the ones I would have had under my sheets; sunrise photography is becoming a much loved practice. 

The luxury of not having to share the landscape, to admire the first light till your eyes are twinkly, to breath in the abundance of air till you are giddy; trumps morning sleep any day.

*How unfortunate that the word ‘trump’ makes me cringe each time I use it. 

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Boracay Iphone Photography street photography Travel

Before They Wake up~ Boracay 

The stillness, soft light, undisturbed water, the lone human… the reasons to wake up before they all do.

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Photography shanghai

The Bund~ Before the Day Begins

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There is a great magic to seeing a place at sunrise, before the rush of day clouds it. Early in the morning, there is a bliss that relaxes the faces of early risers, as though they are reminded that there is still magic in life, how can there not be? Light colors the sky as stars give way to the great sun, and stillness can still be heard over the water.

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CHINA Photography shanghai street

Gentleman of the Bund~ Shanghai

and he smiled gently on that early morning...
and he smiled gently on that early morning…
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lebanon life Photography story

Day 26~ February 26th~ Lebanon

young fishermen

More than half of my life In Lebanon was spent by the beach. We used to not even wait till school was over before moving to our summer little home by the seaside. With life on the shores of the Mediterranean came certain traditions, like swimming one hour-long to reach a cargo ship and jump from its deck, take a knife and a lemon on a ‘haske’ (a flat wooden row-boat), and dive to some nearby rocks to loosen sea urchins from the rocks, open them, clean them with seawater and then finally garnish them with some lemon juice before scooping out the orange caviar and humming our enjoyment. I can say for certain that life by the beach was always the highlight of the whole year for us children. This past summer I wanted to relive another special excitement from my childhood, which was waking up at dawn and joining the fishermen for 5 or 6 hours to witness the process of their daily catch. There is no meditation as soothing as those early morning hours spent rocked by slight movement of the boat, warmed by the early rays of morning sun and serenaded by fishermen’s songs as they dive in and out of the water in search for their sea dwellers.

the cage
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Photography

Day Forty Four, March 7, 2011

morning companions

I love mornings!

In the morning is when I feel inspired the most. It is at that time that ideas rush and flow in my mind. It is the time of day I treasure the most. I always wake up before

anyone else in my home and I tiptoe to brew my first delicious cup of coffee, always using the same cup that my friend Cecilia gave me,

and I sit for 15 minutes of ‘me time’ with my leather bound diary that I also treasure.

I love leather bound diaries, I feel that they are a luxury worth having since they hold my most intimate thoughts.

So this is how every day starts, and when it doesn’t then I am thrown off balance for the day.