Black and white....

What if one day we would all wake up into a world of blacks and whites and shades of grey in between? Would we still be thrilled by the beauty around us? Would we still be able to even talk about the beauty around us? What makes things beautiful after all? Is it the mixture of dozens of colours and shades of colours from brighter to paler ones? Is it the shape of things? Is it in what they represent for us, what symbol they bear? What is it in them, in their essence that many times excites our senses? Would we still perceive the world the same intensive way in spite of the missing colours?



















I recently woke up one day in such a world....horrified at first at the perspective of
experiencing colours only as remote but profound memories, I set off trying to give the benefit of the doubt to this apparently empty world, cheap copy of what once meant my world...



















My footsteps took me on the entangled paths of forests, under the quite bare trees of coming spring, near dried lakes, and near flowers which, because of my half blind vision, seemed to be lacking any fragrance... And yet, to my surprise I was surrounded by beauty... All colours were missing, my mind was missing colours, and yet somehow, in a strange way the original horror was gradually replaced by wonder at a different way of seeing the world. It was as if the sudden simplicity imposed by the dual tone, made things clearer, and the sensations got stronger and more profound... everything had a fresh air about it...It was like the air you breathe at the first snowing each year- cold, humid and surprisingly fresh.



















There is a conclusion to all this, if you were wondering... Not always does the beauty stay in the details- beauty of nature, of a person. Sometimes, getting beneath the glowing, colorful surface of something/ someone you get to discover the true value of that something/ someone... And sometimes that glamorous surface attracts you like a moth is to a light, and and exactly like a moth getting too close to the light, you end up getting burned. So maybe sometimes, it is better to get rid of the habit of always looking for fancy, bright and "colourful" details in places, things and people. Maybe there's more to them than meets the eye... Just maybe!

autumn again

The autumn breath was in the air again, more powerful each day and darker and colder as time got by. Black clouds running over the city, their eyes never looking down at the people rushing by, trying to find shelter against the cold winds of the city... Who could take a look at them, always in such a rush, always under so many masks? It was a time of rushing by, never looking behind and around, always neglecting details, more or less important; no time for soul, no time for people any more... no time for wonder, for the joy of discovering, veil by veil, one person as he or she is.

And then no time anymore, to really like that person for what she/he is... It might be a true, but rare art to find in people details, trait brushes that would make you like that person. You meet someone, and there is no wonder in knowing that person anymore, you just end up taking them as they are, no questions asked, no "curious eye" to try and see behind the shell. And you stop there, you go out, you have fun, but there's no pondering, no yearning about that person. In the end it is all about the self, in the end we all fight against the fierce winds blowing into our face, we transiently meet people on our paths, but we rarely look at them, at least not for their sake. We never look unless, it is about us and our interest involved somehow, otherwise, people don't really matter. They and eventually us, just end up being some "happy accidents" in someone's life...we meet, we part, we meet again....until we part for good.

just another day....in Paradise?

There are always days in life that come with surprises, sometimes bad and disturbing, others bringing joy to your heart, and both types always come with overwhelming feelings, be they good or bad, as said before.

Not long ago, that is a couple of days ago I came across such a day, a day meant by its significance, to be full of surprises. Well, this day didn't let me down, it actually came with a whole bag of surprises, like Christmas was here again, and Santa brought along his red heavy bag of presents... The "surprise" was very good, indeed, although it is somehow paradoxical to call it a surprise, since I already knew it and its purpose above all was to show me I am still a good judge of character, and that I haven't lost my ability to read people, as they say.

A day like any other, but positive in that it showed me... my impressions on people being right... A surprising day full of surprises that somehow surprised me....and still it was just another day...

"A winter shade of pale"

white...blue....cold and refreshing... another winter passing by....

New year hopes

A new year has set off on its journey this morning, and yet unlike at the beginning of every journey, my bag is not full of hopes and plans, it is rather light and I can even see some holes coming out in it. Yet, like any traveller, I find myself wondering what will await for me on the way. And still, my mind is torn between this expecting state and the almost certainty of nothing good coming along the way. Am I the pessimist traveller who expects but misfortune, or am I the realistic analyst who based on the circumstances given, has reached a rightful conclusion?

Either way, on this first day of the new year, I find myself rather blue in the heart, and longing for something that I already feel is not going to come. Human nature is very bizarre... You already know answers, and yet in spite of that, you keep hoping it is going to be different....

Just little something

Below just a little something I stumbled upon these days.....

If love were a fruit,
It would be a raspberry-perfumed and juicy.
If it were a colour,
It would be blue as skies in winter.
If it were a fragrance,
It would be a May night
- refreshing, lilac and mysterious.
Its taste would be salty
like the endless sea crashing against rocks.
If love were a person,
Then it would be you...

Fall again

All fall is about is gold and copper, and strong blue sky, and feeble but cold wind playing with you as a prelude of winter. And as another winter prelude these days as the clouds have moves East, the mountains have unveiled their peaks, with just a little bit of sugar on top, like cakes grandma used to bake during my childhood...white, delicate and promising, and sweet and flavoured, not vanilla like in the past, but winter-flavoured, that particular smell you can sense when winter is near... Yet as there are no more sugared cakes in the oven, I failed to capture the sugar coating of the mountains, so for now just it's just the gold and the copper, and the richness of fall...

Colours

whether it is red, or green, or blue, or purple, each colour has its unique way to touch our retina, and each of us feel more attracted to some of them. Sometimes, because a certain colour reminds us of the first flowers we got, or of the first ball our parents bought for us.

For others, it is the sky their eyes open towards every morning, or the garden they have been working on for the past weeks... for others is the fall that paves the path for winter every year, and the poppies gently swaying in the golden wheat...






The eyes I mirrored myself into are colours- bearing warm promises, and the hair I sometimes like to play with, is colour... the skin bathed in the hot burning sand of beaches and the salty, tumultuous sea is colour. Colours are...life, life as everybody feels it and lives it, life in its beauty and misery, in all its greatness and uniqueness.

the last signs of summer

Circus in town

Not long ago a circus troupe came into Sibiu, and like every time such "events" happen, I missed it. After all, going to the circus has never been on my must-do list. Yet seeing clowns, all kinds of circus staff and all sorts of animals cannot be but interesting, even if you are not into circus shows. So I also tried to catch a glimpse of some of the animals that were camped in Strand. And...well, the result is just an elephant and a camel in its shadow. The result, unfortunately, is not entirely a real safari picture, as I was in a hurry, and as my camera doesn't do zooming well. Anyway without much more introduction here's the pic.

dry flowers and a bit more

Happy Birthday to you, Freddie!

There are artists nowadays that work for money, there are others that do it for the pleasure of it, out of passion. Freddie was one of the latter. What I remember about him is his warm and kind eyes, as well as smile, his gorgeous voice and impressive songs.



In spite of a unique shyness and an apparent hesitation in certain moments of his life (especially interviews), Freddie was a totally different person on stage, while doing music. If during the ordinary, usual days of his life he was burning on the inside- deep, hidden yet very profound feelings and experiences, while on stage he was burning on the outside- a flame of feelings- love, exuberance, intensity.

His songs, as well as his voice are full of the passion and the energy of a person living today like there is no tomorrow.








His love for drama and theatre went beyond the stage of his concerts and the sets of his videos. He was an artist in more than one way during his life- a singer, a composer, a player. His great personality, love of life recorded on tape, gave him life beyond his death. He is still now 19 years after his death, more alive than ever in my heart and in the heart of those who have loved him, on the screen or on the radio waves.

So, here is a big Happy Birthday to you, Freddie! You have embellished life and your songs and voice has brought an entire world into my life...

sky upon the city- medieval times

Timisoara 2- the cathedral

timisoara

eyes wide open

many times we pass through life into growing, into becoming grown-ups as they say and in spite of the "incredible" advantages, there are always some downsides that are often overlooked and undervalued.

Have you ever seen the wonder in a child's eyes? It's incomparable to anything...it is just there. You see a child's eyes full of wonder at the world around them- their eyes wide open and mirroring the reality a lot better than we "grown- ups" do. It is a rather empty mirror where the world sends its reflection, or rather the smooth and calm surface of a lake. Everything is so pure and clear and so true to reality. Later in life our eyes are invaded with the impurities of the world around, and the more we think we know of the world the dirtier and altered our image of it gets. We stop seeing the beauty of the world, the simplicity and wonder surrounding us becomes but an obstacle in our achieving our goals.

And we aspire to become gods- creators of all things around, we see the beauty in the metallic coulours of things around, in the lifeless that surrounds us, after all it is our creation, we couldn't really be ashamed of it...

Yet, in spite of this turmoil I should be happy my eyes can still see the real beauty, they can still go beyond piles of human debris and pettiness in search of the natural beauty that has managed to remain unspoiled. I can still be as amazed as a child, and use this as a shield against unfortunately, the evil, the ugliness and the superficial that we humans so often promote as true values worthwhile admiring and appreciating.

me, you and ....them

This city, like many of our cities is amazing in many ways- it has a beautiful centre with ancient but well preserved and restored buildings, a lot of parks here and there, just to bring more green into our lives, its people are quite friendly and open and its transportation is almost like a Swiss watch. Probably the best example of high standard of living and urban beauty is its Mall which practically dazzles you.

It's like a different dimension, once you step behind its gates it's like you find yourself in an entirely new world where lights, colours, and the sound of money and cheerful chats surround you from everywhere almost drowning you in such a state of well- being. And people seem to revolve around it like moths towards light- they are attracted in spite of turning out to be quite "dangerous" for them in the end, as they will spend all their money.... And, money or no money in your wallet this glamour gets you and performs and aesthetic surgery on your face preserving an almost annoyingly ever smile on your face. Everything seems so well civilized, so well bred and everything seems to be in its right place...

It is like a strategy to make people feel happy despite not having real reasons to feel like that, all the while making them forget about the truly existing reasons that should make them feel a lot less happy. It's like we plant flowers and make parks, yet we cut entire forests, we install air conditioning to make us forget about global warming, we build up modern, spicy and totally cool shops whose shop windows' only purpose is to lure people into buying their way to happiness, and yet behind all this lies the poor, the forgotten and the abandoned, in a way- the less charming truth.

Maybe it is not wrong to live like that, or maybe I am wrong when I say this, and many might disagree with me, and I wouldn't even blame them. All I say is that after my eyes have wondered in amazement through the lights of the glamorous city, I finally ended up in less popular sites- like the stations. I have noticed this about cities- behind the nice looking parts (which are usually in the centre), there lies a darker, less fortunate part usually placed in stations. And seeing the old, the young all of them abandoned and poor, after having seen all that beauty, it's like almost hurting physically your eyes.



















You see old people, tired after having worked all their life, in most cases for nothing, their pride long gone, you see children already tired of life, you see old buildings barely standing, their sad windows looking out at the world passing by and it ain't pretty at all. It hurts you to see them in your way, after all not earlier than an hour ago, you were trying on and buying your latest cool dress and were drinking your cocktail somewhere in a cool refreshing and comfy place. You feel bad to see others suffering for real reasons, when you get so easily upset because your favourite T-shirt is sold out.

And thus we end up sending away such people, hiding them from our sight, not because we are ashamed with them as we would often say, but because seeing them we are ashamed with ourselves.

a different bon appetit...

Just some plates I have discovered in my countryside holiday...

holidays

Just snapshots from my holiday away from the city and into the heart of....