Digging Deep to get to the Sweet Stuff

There is this evergreen bush in my garden. I do not know what it's called but at the onset of Spring it undergoes this incredible makeover. It covers itself in a miriad of little pink flowers. These little pink flowers in turn attract and become the playgound for bees by the hundred. Needless to say, my fascination is peaked by these little creatures and the photo oppertunities presented. The challenge is getting these little guys to sit still for a second. I can almost hear them say to me, "sorry mate, we're to beezy for a photoshoot right now". 

Anyway, so I contort myself and fire off frame after frame hoping to get at least one that will be sharp and usable in some way.

But this "hive of activity" got me thinking. Every now and then one or two of these hyperactive little chaps would dive headlong into the depths of these little flowers. So I wondered. 

Nature has determined and the bees instictively know there is something in the flower they want. However, what guarentee do they have that they will find what they are looking for. Yet every single time, they dive with almost reckless abandon, searching for that "sweet stuff". 

Then this human aspect came to mind. Each and every person I believe is born with some "sweet stuff". Some may have more then others. For some the "sweet stuff" simply oozes out of them. Their outlook and positivity of life is a constant display of the abundance of "sweet stuff" in their souls. 

And then there are those that have had their fair share of lemons in life and the "sweet stuff" has been pushed so far down that their outlook is completely drowned by lemon juice. They battle to find the "sweet stuff" in their own lives. And then someone comes along, not knowing the circumstances, has a taste of the lemon juice and decides "not for me" and they get flushed down the drain without being given a chance to show of their sweetness. 

Even within our own lives we at times have nothing but lemons and we battle to find the "sweet stuff" within all the sours that crop up in our day to day lives. We at times have to dig really deep to get to the sweet stuff deep even within our own being. 

But these little creatures know, just as winter comes and the flowers will go away, spring will come and the blossoms will bloom. Seasons change. Lemon juice changes to syrup and the "sweet stuff" will once again appear. You know it's that "every cloud has a silver lining" bit. There are however those occasions when we need to dig really deep to get to the "sweet stuff". We at times need to to dive headfirst into the challenges to find that sliver of hope.  

We all have the sweet stuff within us. For some it's a lot closer to the surface. Just sometimes, we need to dig really deep to find it. Nothing ever stays the same. Even the bees know that. Thats why they come back every year to this bush looking for the "sweet stuff".

The REWARD, is SWEET beyond description.     

Be Thankful .......For The Simple Things

We live in very harsh unforgiving world. Much of the time we are caught up in the rush of life, so much so that we forget to stop and "smell the coffee". We chase after the those things that we believe will bring us happiness and fulfillment. We forget to be thankful for the little things in life. 

The last week brought into focus for many of us, the plight of those who are less fortunate. Newspapers in this beautiful city of ours showed us the horrible underbelly as people were forcibly removed from their homes. I am not in any way qualified to offer opinion as to the rights and wrongs of the actions of either side. Yet the pictures we saw portrayed images of inhumanity and cruelty by those who held power in their hands. Yet while all this was going on, not very far from us, I was able to snuggle into my warm bed and sleep peacefully, the only disturbance been the sound of the rain against my bedroom window. I was able to shut out the harsh reality of the pain and the suffering that children were going through simply because they did not have a place to call home.

So I am thankful for the fact that I woke up the next morning. I was alive. I had not been harmed in any way. I was able to have a hot shower, get dressed, have coffee and go to work. I had everything I needed to go about my life without any fear or discomfort. 

Now and then, amidst the activity of a busy day, we would find the time to talk about the plight of others. But that was all it was, just a casual chat. It did not serve to change anything,maybe just to ease our conscience.

In essence what we have, we have by the grace of God. The words of a song by Joan Baez come to mind. "There but for fortune, go you and I". I would re-phrase and say, there but for the Grace of God, go I.

So I am thankful for what a I have. 

The simple things of life.

Please Be Gentle.

Hi there. My name is Peter and no, I am not an alchoholic. I take photographs of people and things around the Mother City and occasionally photograph events like the Twitter Blanker Drive or #TBD2014 as it is known. 

This whole exercise is all new to me. So before you come crashing down with critizism, some words of advise will be greatly appreciated. Hopefully I will be more inspired in the future and indeed share things that will really rock the world. 

In closing, I coin a phrase from the writings of Robert Zimmerman AKA Bob Dylan, "Don't critizise what you can't understand".

Good Night.