Christmas celebrations - Skywatch Friday, Season 4, Episode 25

 Montevideo - Uruguay (Rio de la Plata)

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Xmas - - Skywatch Friday, Season 4, Episode 24

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Antennas - Skywatch Friday, Season 4, Episode 23

"All my life I had been looking for something, and everywhere I turned

someone tried to tell me what it was.  I accepted their answers too,

though they were often in contradiction and even self-contradictory.

 I was naïve.  I was looking for myself and asking everyone except

myself questions which I, and only I, could answer.  It took me a long time

and much painful boomeranging of my expectations to achieve

 a realization everyone else appears to have been born with: 

 that I am nobody but myself."

  ~Ralph Ellison

"Always be a first-rate version of yourself,

 instead of a second-rate version of somebody else." 

 ~Judy Garland



"Almost every man wastes part of his life in attempts to display

qualities which he does not possess, and to gain applause

which he cannot keep." 

 ~Samuel Johnson

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Yet, I asked…



Although I stopped believing long ago

To the Virgin Mary and her son I pleaded

Kneeling, I looked straight at their painting

With an open and confident heart

Aware that things do happen for a reason

Not so ready to accept what it is

Not so sure of my will to keep trying

I didn’t pray

I didn’t promise

But I asked…

Even though I was a nonbeliever

Childhood memories brought me back to them…

An urgent need to regain my faith

In life

In love

In the one I was

In the one I am

To this sacred place I came

Searching for the child I was

Devoid of labels or boundaries

That just trusted without asking why

That had faith no matter what

I had to be back home

Embracing and expressing the commotion within

To hug my inner child

To take back harmony  

To make peace with what it is

© Gabriela Abalo

Written for Magpie Tales – #45 - click the link to enjoy more wonderful contributions :)

Fireflies

During warm summer nights

Once the sun said Goodbye

And the moon said Hello

The fireflies light their lanterns

To compete with the stars



With wide open eyes

And a jar in their hands

The hunt begins

It is time to run fast!




When the chasers get too close

Fireflies prompt each other

Flashing Morse code signals

That the race is getting tight




Children jump up and down

All across lawns and fields

Making insects lamps

Is more fun than you think



Shooting stars try to stop the chase

By distracting the children from their game

But the moon decides to play

So she hides behind a cloud




On a warm and dark summer night

Fireflies are all you see…

Magic is in the air

Catching fireflies with a jar

Is like grasping wishes as they pass




Holding the jar close to their heart

Children head back home

To sleep under the enchantment

Of their special magic lamps





© Gabriela Abalo





Poem submitted to One Shot Wednesday - click on the provided link to enjoy more wonderful poets!

Festivities - Weekend reflection # 64

"Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. 

In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall. "

 ~Larry Wilde

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love!

~Hamilton Wright Mabie

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San Jose de Mayo - Skywatch Friday, Season 4, Episode 22

"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet

 and the winds long to play with your hair."

 ~Kahlil Gibran

 

"The poetry of the earth is never dead."

 ~John Keats

"The human spirit needs places where nature

 has not been rearranged by the hand of man."

 ~Author Unknown

"Joy all creatures drink

At nature's bosoms..."

~Friedrich von Schiller, "Ode to Joy," 1785

Pictures taken last weekend while visiting upcountry - San Jose De Mayo - Uruguay


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Crying

Each spoken word said with ill intention



Aiming to suffocate the dimmest self-esteem remains


Turning upside down an already broken world






Crying, crying, silently crying…


Feeling that life is over


That nothing else really matters






Trust dishonored


Confidence wiped out


Nothing left to the imagination


None to assume


Plenty to digest


Crying, crying, silently crying…






Revolted with what I’ve become


A self-destroying destroyer


Too many years waiting for a happy twist


Holding the light of hope






Devastating feelings throttling the need to speak out


Believing everything said


Crying, crying, silently crying…


Convinced that there isn’t another chance


That it is time to give up






But, I’m done with all that!


I’m standing up!


I’m going to mend my broken self


I’m celebrating our end


I’m starting afresh






Sentient of today


Crying, crying, deafeningly crying


I’m going my way


To find myself


To fall in love with life again






Crying, crying, happily crying…

 
 

© Gabriela Abalo

Poem submitted to One Shot Wednesday - click on the provided link to enjoy more wonderful poets! 

Poem submitted to: Poetry Potluck Week 14 , Everyone Is Welcome

Weekend reflections #63

 

 Experimenting with reflections

My daughter and I taking a little ride :)

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Skywatch Friday, Season 4, Episode 21

 "The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, 

by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later, 

when a stranger looks at it, it moves again since it is life." 

~William Faulkner

To send light into the darkness of men's hearts - such is the duty of the artist.  

~Schumann

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My plea

During winter time

I long for what is not

Howling to the moon

For I was left alone

I plea to the cold wind

To freeze my heart

Until the next spring

To be awakened by the dandelions

And then fly away…

© Gabriela Abalo

Written for Magpie Tales – #43 - click the link to enjoy more wonderful contributions :)

Jealousy

 Jealousy

An awful advisor

That leaves you by yourself

Heartbroken and grieving

For what was not

For what was lost

For what it really was…

© Gabriela Abalo

Poem submitted to One Shot Wednesday - click on the provided link to enjoy more wonderful poets! 

Thanksgiving

We can only be said to be alive in those moments

when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.  

~Thornton Wilder

 

8/11/2010 @6:00 am (sunrise)

 8/11/2010 @6:05 am (sunrise)

8/11/2010 @9:30 am 

 8/11/2010 sunset

 8/11/2010 sunset

 

8/11/2010 sunset reflection

 

8/11/2010 sunset  reflection

After so many years of hard work I finally managed to move to the home I always dreamt for.  This magic place is blessed every morning by a stunning sun rise over Rio de la Plata, while in the afternoon the blessing comes from another awesome sunset over the city. My magic kingdom is almost at the top of a building, so the views always take my breath away while filling my heart with warm gratitude and the sense of oneness.

Here I feel at peace with myself, I reconnect with my essence, feeling alive… part and parcel of the entire Universe. Past and future stop existing, the mind clears up; emotions rise and then settle down (just like the sun and the moon), and the only thing that matters is the magic jiffy where I’m still breathing and fully conscious. To me happiness is that magical tick where I just am… 

Looking at the sun and the moon, observing the sky and the river teaches me a lot about letting things be and go with the flow… that resisting to what it is takes me nowhere… because life is about change, transformation and awareness.

I’m thankful, and attempting to live in gratitude, free of expectations, open to receive and give.

loveNlight

Gabi

Written for Magpie Tales – #42 - click the link to enjoy more wonderful contributions :)

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For more stunning reflections go to: Weekend Reflections :)

Yes, I'm the one

Yes, I am the one

That messes up

Frequently misunderstood

Usually unpopular

A believer and a sinner

A seeker forever exploring

A permanent work in progress

An unwritten story

A trouble maker…

With unexpected tactics

Free, disobedient, astonishing

Yes, I am the one

Asking for nothing

Giving everything

In love with life

A bit bizarre

The crazy one

Yes, I am the one

So what!

© Gabriela Abalo

Poem submitted to One Shot Wednesday - click on the provided link to enjoy more wonderful poets! 

Eye reflections - Weekend reflections # 61

I think a photography class should be a requirement in all educational programs

because it makes you see the world rather than just look at it.
~Author Unknown

 

My portraits are more about me than they are about the people I photograph.

  ~Richard Avedon

Regaining harmony

I have run out of words

Here I am on my very own

Nothing to say

A lot to observe

Trying to make sense of the nonsense  

Struggling to locate the symmetry of the self

Promiscuous feelings confusing everything

Provocative thoughts tempting the heart

Pretentious blasphemies insulting the soul

Overwhelming ego’s cacophony

Forcing the slow brewing of mixed feelings

One big pot to mix them all

Quietly observing and appreciating what it is

Attentive to the Universe messages

Resisting the resistance to what it is

Making a conscious effort to go with the flow

Getting deep into the being

Silently conversing with the soul

Free of pretends and inflexible principles

At peace with what it is

Unconditionally loving the self 

© Gabriela Abalo