My Bucket List includes seeing the world. I made that goal at age thirteen before I had traveled out of the United States. At twelve years old I wanted to be a Photo Journalist for Life Magazine. I love vintage cars and motorcycles. I will own a 1963 Corvette someday, that’s the year I was […]
Ten Things You May Not Know About Me —
A creative project is a great way to focus your mind and spend some downtime. Art, gardening, craft, and DIY are all very therapeutic. You’ll feel more relaxed and gain some perspective. Creativity is the perfect way to channel stress and anxiety. Put your overactive mind to good use and make something you’ll cherish forever. […]
5 Creative Projects to Help Focus Your Mind —
Join us in celebrating Robert Goldstein and Gavin Kerslake, two of the first contributors at Survivors Blog Here. Both are part of the foundation, their talent amazes me.
Robert’s artistic abilities are breathtaking you must..must visit his site. Pull up a chair, get comfortable, you will surely stay awhile. http://robertmgoldstein.com.
Gavin is a professional photographer with four published books. Stop by Gavin’s personal site, kick back, enjoy the ever-changing subject matter. http://www.sedge808.com
It’s been said people heal differently from trauma, Robert and Gavin are proof to me.
I love blogging with both of you everyday.
Melinda
Hey there everyone!
Another change has happened within the last few weeks… I post a positive message (image) to my Instagram account every day! It’s typically a message that I will take with me through my day and I hope that seeing it helps others during their day. Check it out here!
Originally posted on Journey Into A on March 16, 2018.
Here is one of my playlists (via Spotify, I hope you have it). It has songs that make my mornings a whole lot easier! Anxious? Depressed? This playlist makes me feel at ease and joyful.
It includes songs from George Harrison, Donovan, Paul Simon, Carole King, Townes Van Zandt, Sandy Denny, and more! I hope you get the same feelings from it as I do!
Happy listening 🙂
Originally posted on Journey Into A on Feb. 21, 2018.
Maybe something’s wrong here
Maybe something’s right
But I don’t have you
By my side
My heart is beating faster
My hands are cold as ice
I don’t know if my head will stop pounding
What happened last night
I feel the clouds approaching
Thunder will start roaring
Maybe I will get through it alright
I hear the train’s whistle blowing
Stray cats are moaning
Maybe I will get through this alright
Well you came knocking on my door
The look on your face
tells me so much more
Where did we go wrong here
Where did we go right
Maybe I will get through this alright
It’s an honor to introduce good friend Gavin Kerslake as Featured Blogger for December 2017. Gavin’s highly successful personal site Noir, http://www.sedge808.com. I have no doubt you will want to follow his work. Gavin also contributes to http://www.survivorsbloghere@wordpress.com, a Survivors community.
Gavin is a Professional Photographer, Music Lover, Street Dancer and Published Author. His first book ‘Noir’ released in September 2017.
What hobbies do you have outside of photography?
Music is my favorite thing in my life. I’m into electronic music, but love all kinds of music. Film (movies, TV Series etc) are a big thing in my life. Love Horror and Science Fiction, but also like Foreign Films very much too. I watch a lot of them.
When did you start dancing? Did you dream of having a Studio?
I started dancing in my late teens, and went to jazz classes every week. In my early 20’s I took up full-time study. In my 30’s I became a dance teacher. Ballroom, jazz, Techno, Latin and Rock and Roll. I never had a desire for a studio.
Tell me about performing with the Australian Ballet Company.
It was a huge honor. They travel around Australia to each city. Myself and another man were chosen to perform with the ballet. A bit like an extra in a movie. It was awesome, a lot of fun. Wore a full Scottish kilt, for each performance and stage make up
Your first photos were in color, why did you switch to Black and White?
Very good question. Color was very much my thing when I started photography in 2009. The Flickr community got me interested because I was seeing a lot of Black and White photography. That’s when I made the change, and joined WordPress. My followers were used to me doing color, when I started B&W, they didn’t like it. I decided to use WordPress for my B&W photos.
Your book Noir looks incredible, the photos flow so well. How did you decide on layout?
Thank you very much. It took a lot of effort, and I got RSI from all the work I put into it. I wanted to have themes that flowed throughout the book. I’m very happy with the result.
How do you feel with a published book?
Proud and happy. There are more books coming in the future, but they will be color.
It’s a pleasure to work with friends, hugs…thank you Gavin. Melinda
Here are additional outlets where you can find Gavin’s work.
http://www.fluidr.com/photos/sedge808/interesting
http://www.redbubble.com/people/sedge808
http://au.blurb.com/b/8048225-noir
Come celebrate with Survivors Blog Here, three new Contributors have joined the Community. Here’s a snap shot: Alexandra from Journey into A, Brian from Owning It Log and Mackenzie from Living with an Illness.
Stop in to say hello and read their current post, each have personal sites, no doubt you’ll want to follow them.
Alexandra’s at http://www.JourneyToA@wordpress.com. I hope to bring other’s along with me on my journey as well as help and inspire. A large theme is dealing with major depression and general anxiety disorder. I hope you enjoy and stay along for the journey!
Brian at http://www.owningitlog@wordpress.com is the core of strength and inspiration. He offers great wisdom and honestly from past experiences with an open heart. He is a Survivor to the core.
Mackenzie at http://www.LivingWithAnIllness@wordpress.com. Her profile shares a snap shot of her get-it-done-life-is-good-attitude. She was diagnosed with Auto-Immune Diseases Scleroderma, Celiac Disesase, Fibromyalgia, EDS and POTS.
I include this video for others to see the strength it takes everyday to survive. Surviving is not a one day task, they are life long challenges.
To Alexandra, Brian, Mackenzie WELCOME to Survivors Blog Here. xo M
“I Love You More Than Words Can Say” by Otis Redding
A Star is Born: Jack & Belinda: The (Sky) Dance
A collaboration with Kendall Person
Second Life Graphics by Rob Goldstein
In a frenzy, I calmed
When I found a tree.
I peeled back the bark
And found hot blood.
The tree was wet and
Stank.
When I saw that
the tree was dead;
I returned to my
frenzy.
This post is in honor ofA Spontaneous Day of Peace, August 15th.
To join The Neighborhood and throw up your own sign for peace click here: Peace
(c) Rob Goldstein 2015
Sunsets, like childhood, are viewed with wonder not just because they are beautiful but because they are fleeting.” ― Richard Paul Evans, The Gift
Sunsets, like empires and memories of love long ago, fade slow; first brilliant, then warm, and finally passing to silk brocade on black velvet. How much more beautiful they are in memory when the busy moments of planning and passing through life have stilled. Continue reading “Sunsets and Memories”
Love is an untamed force. When we try to control it, it destroys us. When we try to imprison it, it enslaves us. When we try to understand it, it leaves us feeling lost and confused. ― Paulo Coelho
Love is an untamed force. Indeed. I’ve spent a lifetime trying to understand it and in the end realized that the torture of asking why, what if, and if only served to deepen the wounds of memories whose sharp rusted edges tear and bruise one’s heart and spirit each moment they live above the surface of that restive cauldron that never cools. I’ve realized that it’s the mind that eventually falters and in time the pitted patina of our youthful losses fade into a gray-blue surreal scene with black edges and dark contrasts. Peace comes when the mind hears and no longer recognizes the sound of that first anguished cry. Continue reading “LITTLE CREEK”
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once she grows up.”
― Pablo Picasso
My grand-daughter is seven and has been an avid art student since she first painted an epic battle scene between dots, circles, and lines on my living room wall at one year old. She is a fifth generation student of the Garden of Darkness and Light. Her grand parents have immersed her in music, art, writing, math, science, and literature. Continue reading “A Child in the Garden of Darkness and Light”
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” ― G.K. Chesterton
In flames and rivers of blood they lay,
With weary eyes, they saw their fate.
As the chaos of war reached for their souls,
Courage bid them rise and fight that day.
When the battle raged and wounded fell,
Death threw open the burning gates of Hell,
And good men carried the Brave away.
Remember Our Veterans
“We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.” ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
I promised myself long ago that my life would be a walk with eternity. I didn’t pray to be spared sickness, heartache or any dark moment life can bring. When those dark moments found me, I never prayed for the light, a cure, a way around. I prayed for strength to carry on. Continue reading “A Walk With Eternity”
“Words dazzle and deceive because they are mimed by the face.But black words on a white page are the soul laid bare.” ― Guy de Maupassant
“In imagination she sailed over storied seas that wash the distant shining shores of faëry lands forlorn, where lost Atlantis and Elysium lie, with the evening star for pilot, to the land of Heart’s Desire. And she was richer in those dreams than in realities; for things seen pass away, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” ― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of the Island
CASTLE WALLS
“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.”
― Joseph Campbell
Juron felt safe in his castle. He was of noble stock, the ruler of his domain – a population of one soul complete with body. Juron and his two aether-friends lived a carefree life. They roamed about the castle of their own free will. Juron’s imagination and shadow played gleefully but never too far away from him. The freedom to choose where he would go and what room he would visit gave him a sense of the explorer’s wonder. Continue reading “Castle Walls”
