Saturday

Soundtrack: Toro Y Moi – June 2009

Weather: Warm, sunny, cloudless

Free Comic Book Day 2012

followed by…

2 Week Photo Challenge

So, I decided to do a 14 day photo challenge.  Why not, right?  I am an avid Instagram-er, so I’m always snapping something anyway.

Here’s the whole list, in case you’d like to participate too!

1                   Self-portrait
2                   What I wore today
3                   Clouds/sky
4                   Something green
5                   High angle photo
6                   Low angle photo
7                   Fruit
8                   Bad habit
9                   Someone you love
10                 One of your favorite foods
11                 A picture of your city
12                 Nature
13                 Your favorite shoes
14                 What you’re currently reading

Happy shooting!

Today’s Meditation: Peace Even Amid Pain

She who is centered in the Tao

can go where she wishes, without danger.

She perceives the universal harmony,

even amid great pain,

because she has found peace in her heart.

Music or the smell of good cooking

may make people stop and enjoy.

But words that point to the Tao

seem monotonous and without flavor.

When you look for it, there is nothing to see.

When you listen for it, there is nothing to hear.

When you use it, it is inexhaustible.

-Tao Te Ching 

Are You Rich, Or Poor?

Celestial Park, Addison TX

I like to go on evening walks, around dusk.  No, this isn’t a personals ad, I really do!  In the warmer months, I like to go out and walk with my headphones on, taking in some beautiful scenery.  It helps me de-stress, unwind, and clear my head. 

I used to do this in my neighborhood in downtown/South Dallas.  It was a mostly industrial/commercial area, so after 5pm it was a ghost town.  I could walk the streets and alleys, taking in the setting sun behind the city’s glittering skyline; the trains moving through to somewhere else; the graffiti…

Several months ago I moved to North Dallas, which is…well, more suburban.  Not that it’s a bad thing, there’s tons of restaurants and other stuff around, and it’s less expensive than being downtown.  But I haven’t been able to find my “groove” when it comes to going out for walks.  We live off a very busy arterial road.  Luckily, though, we’re at the end of a pretty tree-lined street full of apartments and condos, so there is somewhat of a neighborhood feel.  But walking to the end of the street and back isn’t as luxurious as the urban exploration I used to do downtown when I’d walk from my loft toward and across the river, past the factories and New Deal-era infrastructure.  But I digress…

A couple of days ago I found a 4 acre park in Addison, a nice little towny suburb about a mile away, called Celestial Park.  Last night was the first time I visited.  One of the pretties parks I’ve ever been to.  I only snapped a few photos on my phone to post to Instagram, because the light was fading.  Here they are.  I can’t wait to go back.  I wish I had a “walking buddy” in the evenings, but my playlist makes a pretty good one, I guess. 

You can’t see it well in my shot above, but the granite steps (there are several sets leading up to the top of the park) have quotes about life and man’s place in the cosmos, etc.  Very cool.  Here’s a shot I found online that better illustrates it:

(Read from bottom to top, as you would when moving up the steps)

(Looks like WordPress put this pic into my gallery anyway, at the end, so it’s here twice.)

New Music Sunday (On Tuesday)

…just because I haven’t done one of these in a while.  There is so much great music coming out or about to come out this summer  (or that’s recently come out).  Enjoy.  Go share new music with other people – always.

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Thank you, Netflix.  One of my favorite movies of all time arrived in the mail yesterday.  I’ll give you a hint:

 

I am a happy man.

What are some of your favorite movies?