You, Me and Gibran—All Together

Another year has gone by. I would like to say it was a wonderful year, full of nothing but blue skies and sunshine, joy and laughter. In fact, 2014 was loaded with both good and bad events. But the fact that I am now sitting at the keyboard writing this post is evidence that I have survived my problems—at least most of them! 

You may already know how passionate I am about paintings and quotations. As I have some free time today, I intend to float with you through a few of my favorites. I have chosen Khalil Gibran's quotes because, as is the case with many of you, I feel that I have plenty in common with him! Like him, I have moved away from my country of birth and lived abroad, and I have known the feeling of being not from either the East or the West; rather I am a placeless human. If this prevents me from having a sense of being rooted in one spot, I savor the perspective it has given me. I speak to you as true friends. If Gibran can be said to have a darker side, he was mostly attracted to the light—and this is true for us. We seek beauty and knowledge. We are grateful to be alive, and to love and be loved in return.

“Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky, We fell them down and turn them into paper, That we may record our emptiness.” ― Khalil Gibran

“We are all like the bright moon, we still have our darker side.”― Khalil Gibran

“Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving.” ― Khalil Gibran

"Oh heart, if one should say to you that the soul perishes like the body, answer that the flower withers, but the seed remains." ― Khalil Gibran

Until I see you 365 blessed days from now, Happy New Year!!! 

Paintings:
Landscape with big trees- Camille Pissaro
Dovedale by Moonlight -  Joseph Wright of Derby
Autumn Landscape- Claude Monet
Cut Sunflowers- Vincent Van Gogh

Echoes from Deep Within

As the end of the year approaches, some might expect me to write about my New Years resolutions—jettison some bad habits, adopt good ones, take that long-awaited trip to Rio or whatever. I might surprise you, but I never had any New Years resolutions because I don’t really believe in them! I always believed in decisions that are made spontaneously. All this may have been driven by my upbringing in hazardous surroundings and not knowing whether we would survive. But that is a subject for another day. Now, I prefer to reveal the things that I believe in.

I believe in serendipity. I have always kept my heart open and my mind ready to new events and new connections. My last year was full of great connections that I have unexpectedly made on social media. Some of these connections turned into great friendships and others did not last until the end of this year. No hard feelings, as lessons are always learned from every encounter we make.

I believe in hard work. And although I enjoy helping others to complete their works, I always count on myself to finish mine. I am a big dreamer, and like many, I dream of success. But I have been around long enough to know that dreams are achieved by sustained effort, not in the blink of an eye. So of course, I work hard to make those dreams come true.

I believe in positive energy, that we are all connected in this world and what goes around comes around—if you will forgive the cliché. I believe that when we smile a sparkle spreads from one heart to another in a long chain of love.

Love, yes, I believe in it. I believe in love and friendship. I have always been in love with someone or something. As a child I fell in love with music, dancing, painting and movies. Now blogging and social media have come to the fore. I believe in friendship and the need to reach out to people and touch them in an authentic way. And as long as my heart is beating, there will be no shortage of love to give.

I believe in communication and that the gifts and knowledge we have are there for us to share with others.

I believe in guardian angels and that in tough times we are never left alone.

I believe in myself. I came to this world for some good reasons and I am not leaving it without achieving some of them.

I believe in happy endings and new beginnings! Happy New Year!

“Hope
Smiles from the threshold of the year to come,
Whispering 'it will be happier'...” ― Alfred Tennyson

* I would like to thank my friend Richard Pennington for his most valuable comments!

* Corel Drawing by Hoda Maalouf