Beauty

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200 words, beauty, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, life, living in the moment, love, peace, Purpose, Relationships

While you are upon the earth, enjoy the good things that are here.

– John Seldon

We tend to see imperfections, things, that at first glance, don’t fit right. They stand in our way like obtrusive obstacles.

But what would happen if we purposely looked for beauty?

I think we would find beauty. I think we would see how each inanimate object, each living creature, including you and me, can bring balance and create beauty in our world.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

Of beauty, khalil Gibran writes,

…a heart enflamed and a soul enchanted.

It is not the image you would see nor the song you would hear,

But rather an image you see though you close your eyes and a song you hear though you shut your ears.

It is not the sap within the furrowed bark, nor a wing attached to a claw,

But rather a garden forever in bloom and a flock of angels for ever in flight.

People of Orphalese, beauty is life when life unveils her holy face.

But you are life and you are the veil.

Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.

But you are eternity and you are the mirror.

The Story of Your Life

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beauty, compassion, courage, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, grief, growing up, growth, health, journey, kindness, loss, pain, strong, struggles, time, wounded

That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.

Friedrich Nietzsche

I recently read that when you want to bulk up your muscles by working out, it tears your muscle and creates a scar. That scar is what makes your muscle bulkier and makes you stronger.

Reading that reminded me of the above quote.

Every scar. Every physical, emotional and spiritual wound. Every stretch mark you endure, tells the story of your life. It shows what you have endured and survived, and makes you stronger.

Our scars make us stronger. They make us more beautiful, more uniquely us, and as an extra bonus, more compassionate and kind toward others. They tell the story of our life.

But just as with any workout routine, you first decide to be healthier, you embrace the current discomfort, you work through the pain, you rest when you need to, and then do it again. it takes time to see the results.

Consider this the next time you feel broken.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

Fall Again

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Alberta, beauty, Calgary, Canada, changing seasons, creation, Diana Schwenk, fall, nature, peace, Tourist in my own city

There is treasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not Man the less, but Nature more.

Lord Byron

There is nothing quite as centering for me as nature, and one doesn’t have to travel to the middle of nowhere to see it. Nature, it seems, regardless of how we dispose of it, comes back again and again.

Below, photos I took last Sunday during my urban walk…

It’s fall again…

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

How Do You See The World?

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200 words, alive, beauty, community, courage, creating, creativity, danger, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, dream, end of the world, Fear, generosity, happy, hope, kindness, life, living, living in the moment, love, Purpose, safe, vulnerability, world issues

Loving people live in a loving world. Hostile people live in a hostile world. Same world.

~ Wayne Dyer

IN MANY WAYS, WE LIVE WITH what we dream and create. Our lives reflect the energy we’ve been putting into them. If we believe people are always out to get us, that is the scenario we unwittingly create and see. If we believe that people are good at heart, that is what we tend to nurture in others and see.

Does that mean if we’ve always believed the world to be hostile, there’s no love in it? Or if we’ve always been loving, there is no hostility in the world? No. But that’s likely what we’re inclined to ‘notice’ more in our daily lives.

One might think that it’s only those who are safe and loved that can see a loving world, but in my experience, it’s often those who are vulnerable and in danger who see the love in the world.

Anne Frank, whose family faced mortal danger, took the time to jot down these words: “I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.”

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

How do you see the world?

Beautiful Struggle

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200 words, Alberta, beauty, believe, Calgary, community, compassion, courage, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, life, looking back, memories, Southern Alberta Floods 2013, struggles

One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.

Sigmund Freud

On June 21, 2013, I woke up and looked out the window to see what kind of day was greeting me. Finally, after many days of rain, the sun was shining. I had no idea at the time, but later in the day I would write:

Calgary and surrounding communities are experiencing flooding that exceeds the flood of 2005. The TransCanada Highway is closed between Canmore and Banff and Canmore’s Cougar’s Creek has become a raging river. High River south of Calgary is completely under water. Other surrounding areas are also affected with devastating floods.

In Calgary, many of the communities around my neighbourhood have been put under mandatory evacuation. So far my community is still fine. The largest homeless shelter in Canada is being evacuated as I write. A thousand Drop In residents are walking over the bridge to the Bridgeland community.

I had never experienced a natural disaster until that day. I had also never experienced the coming together of people to help others on such a massive scale either. It was humanity at its best. It was beautiful.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

You Are So Much More Than That

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200 words, beauty, daughters, Diana Schwenk, empowering, encourage, generosity, good character, helpful, honesty, image, integrity, kids, kindness, life, love, miracle, self-worth, teens, true to yourself, Who I am

Always remember–you are a fine piece of china. Don’t let anyone treat you like a paper plate. ~ Naomi Campbell

Michaela in the mirror

MAYBE IT’S BECAUSE I was a teenager once, or maybe it’s because I raised a daughter…

…but when I read this quote I thought of women and how we compare ourselves to impossible ideals.

When you look into a mirror, what do you see?

Are your eyes too close together? Too small? Do you have uneven skin tone? Are your teeth crooked? Too yellow? Is your nose too big? Are your lips to thin?

If I looked at you, I’m sure I would see beauty. But you are so much more than that.

When you look inside your heart, what do you see?

Are you true to your word? Are you kind? Are you gentle? Are you motivated by love? Are you mindful of others? Are you helpful? Generous?

You are worthy of respect. You bring value to this world. You are a glorious miracle.

Don’t let anyone ever tell you different.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

 Are you a fine piece of china or are you a paper plate?

Capturing Ugly

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Alberta, beauty, black & white, Calgary, children, daughters, Diana Schwenk, Elbow River, Hump Day Chronicles, living in the moment, Stephen Avenue Mall, Tourist in my own city, ugly, walk

THIS PAST WEEKEND, I WENT OUT ON TWO LONG WALKS.

On Saturday, I headed north toward the downtown core. The phrase ‘Concrete Jungle’  entered my mind and I was inspired to take pictures of the things that aren’t so pretty. I chose to shoot in black & white as it seems more stark and cold when capturing ugly.

This artistic structure is meant to cut down wind gusts on Stephen Avenue

Bikes and a piece of garbage on Stephen Avenue

Greenery atop the 4th Street overpass

Broken glass and garbage can at a bus stop shelter

Toppled construction sign

Barricade in front of a dirty window on 4th Street.

Attend services and get towed?

Fast food garbage on 13th Avenue

Step on a crack and…

A pylon lays down on 5th Street.

Garbage secured to fence on 5th Street.

A woman’s reflection caught in the mirror

See? Pretty on 17th Avenue

Broken sign leans on building on 7th Street

Alley between 17th and 18th Avenue

Tagged dumpster in alley

Parking lot behind my building.

On Monday, I headed south toward the Elbow River. I haven’t been that way in a long time. One of my favourite thinking spots is at the Elbow River Park.

Once, when Michaela was little I brought her to the park. I was watching her from above as she threw little, smooth, white stones into the river down below. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw geese walking toward her, circling in on her. When they stretched out their necks, they were taller than Michaela!

“Stop throwing stones Michaela, the geese think it’s bread!”

Panic registered on her face when she noticed the birds approaching. I laughed nervously and raced down to scoop her up in my arms. To this day, Michaela is petrified of birds.

Life pokes through bricks and wood on 30th Avenue

Dandelions flourish in grass gone wild on 30th Avenue.

A one year memorial marks the spot where some grads were killed in a car crash on Elbow Drive.

A stone bench at Elbow Park

Cobblestone leads down to Elbow River

Fencing to keep away dam building beavers

The root exposed by last year’s floods, yet the tree struggles to live

My thinking bench where the geese once circled in on Michaela

Sad thing is, I know people who eat mostly this.

A discarded mitten symbolizes the end of winter.

Ok, this one is plain ugly! In Canada Cigarette packs have gross, graphic images like this. Maybe they should do that with junk food and pop too?

This weekend, I set out to find ugly. What struck me almost immediately, was how hard it is for me to see ugly. I naturally look for beauty and couldn’t help shooting it.  Even when I managed to shoot ugly, I saw beauty. And when there was no beauty, I saw potential for it.

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

What do you see when you look?

Embracing What Is…

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beauty, being in the now, changing seasons, Diana Schwenk, fall, Hump Day Chronicles, living in the moment, memories, summer, the past, yearning

I REALIZED THE OTHER DAY that I’m not lamenting the end of summer as I usually do…

What lies on the other side of that gate?

Maybe it’s because I was able to spend every sunny moment of the summer enveloped in its warmth.

Maybe it’s because I am getting better at living in the moment and am enjoying this new season.

Maybe I finally realize that the end of one thing marks the beginning of a new thing; and that can be a good thing.

The passing of one glorious season leads to the birth of another.

All I have to do is walk through that gate and behold the beauty of what is.

So I’m letting go of summer and opening my arms and heart to embrace fall and all its beauty.

~

SOMETIMES WE HOLD ONTO the warmth and familiarity of yesterday…

Maybe we have wonderful memories that make us smile

or we remember loved ones who are no longer in our lives.

It is good to reflect and remember but we can’t live there forever.

Time goes on with or without us

and while we long for what was, what is  passes by without notice.

How sad and wasteful it is if in our yearning for what was  we miss the beauty of what is.

Just as with the passing of summer into the coming of fall, I rejoice that my yesterday, with its joys and sorrows, has brought me to today.

I want to embrace the beauty of what is.

How about you?

Below are some more photos I captured on my walk through my neighbourhood yesterday

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Are you longing for what was?

or embracing what is?