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human rights Photography street photography

State of the World~

Where are we headed ?

Our world today is hurting, women are crying, children are dying and the killing of innocents is just another daily story on the news…

How did we become so desensitised to the pain of others? I see myself going about my day, doing my daily tasks, stopping for a moment to hear the latest news, wincing with pain at the images I see and the stories I hear and then something in me tells me to keep going, life needs to be lived, work has to be done, emotions need to be kept at bay.

I send a silent prayer and a wish for the world to be better place, where humans are not possessed by hate and stripped of empathy.

We seem to be crossing dangerous lines in our definition of what being human really means and what parameters define having a humanity. How can like and dislike, taking sides, hating one side or the other be acceptable enough to disregard the loss of lives and the terrorising of innocent people? How much hunger for power, greed and lust can a leader have to excuse their playing God on the expense of human lives that do not belong to them in the first place.

My strong belief is that when something this low is taking our planet hostage, then there must be the very high trying to save it on the other side. If we stop for a moment and shut the noise off, and remember that we are human, born on this faraway planet, spinning in space, subject to so many unknown forces that can cause a change at any moment, then there, in that space between time and no time, I feel the hope that wouldn’t let me give up on the human race…

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contemplations morning coffee talk Photography street photography UAE

Daily Coffee Talk~75/364

Liwa Desert~ UAE

There must have been a time when humans were born on this planet with a clarity of purpose and a constant awareness of purpose for this journey we find ourselves on.

It feels that something has occurred to cause a derailment of the human story, sometime, somehow, we took a wrong turn and we find ourselves lost to purpose, oblivious to the truth and determined to go on a path towards self destruction.

Were all the attempts at religion failed wakeup calls? What is next? Will we eventually wake up to the values this incredible and sustaining planet we live on? Or is abdication responsibility the way of tomorrow too?

From a pondering mind on a cold German evening…

Wishing you all well.

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Boracay morning coffee talk Photography

Daily Coffee Talk~ 54/365

Self portrait ~ Boracay

Hi my friends,

I remember a world with less restrictions, a planet without a pandemic, a state of affairs when most travelled freely, and a time when the world as it is today was inconceivable.

And yet, here we are, at the end of an almost 3 year run at this virus’s stroll around our planet or is that wishful thinking?

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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 ‘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 ‘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!

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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?!

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Fine art inspiration lockdown morning coffee talk Photography street photography UAE

Morning Coffee Talk~48/365

Good Morning,

So for those of us who think we are sitting at home or standing still, ponder this:

Our planet is spinning around its axis at a speed of 1000 miles/ hour

It is also rotating around the sun at a speed of 67,000 miles/ hour

and our Milky Way is spinning around at a speed of 130miles/SECOND or 1.3 million miles/ hour!!!

And you, me, and the neighbour’s cat can stand still and balance on one foot (well not the cat) !

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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.

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contemplations inspiration Malaysia morning coffee talk Photography street photography UAE

Morning Coffee Talk~ 31/365

What does the future hold?

Good Morning,

Tonight we say goodbye to 2021 and walk into 2022 with caution and wonder at what it might be holding.

The intense events seem to be getting only more intense, the uncertainty less certain but the hope and wonder is always there. Hope is there in the first moment we open our eyes in the morning to a clean slate after another planetary rotation, it is there in the stability and constancy of every sunrise, in every flower blossoming, blade of grass growing and in the wonder, innocence and hope that live with every uncorrupted child on this planet.

I wish for us all to move with strength, hope and resilience into this new year and with more thought and care for our amazing hospitable home, our blue planet.

Image was taken yesterday at the Dubai Expo, Malaysia Pavillion.

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children contemplations Germany inspiration morning coffee talk parenting

Morning Coffee Talk~26/364

In the forest on Christmas Day

Good Morning,

Every year since my daughter was a small child, we visited this forest near the town of Xanten in Germany. This year was no exception. I always walked with her there and upon arrival we stopped and took a moment to greet the forest. One hand on a tree and she still recognises her tree till now, we announced our presence and pledge to do no harm to the forest. She always loved this little ceremony and so did I .

If you have chance to read the book, ‘secret life of plants’, you will see the overwhelming evidence that our planet and its fauna are so alive and so communicative in ways we hardly can comprehend. I do completely believe that our presence in the forest is felt and communicated from tree to tree and that intentions can also be felt.

It has been proven that the life of the tree retreats in the face of harmful intent and hides in its roots and that it can actually feel distress. There is so much to research about this subject and to experiment with as we reconnect to this marvellous garden of plenty that the planet offers to us so generously.

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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…