this purple weed

my hands were itching! i needed to take photos, but i didn't have any good subjects. my kids are getting a bit tired of being mommy's victims. so out in the yard, we went. i let the kids play in the sandpit and run amok, chasing each other and getting crazy on the swing, i almost got scared. i surveyed the yard and thought to myself, it needed mowing. my hubby has another job in store for him on his days off. poor hubby. if only the grasses don't grow so fast and the weeds...they are any gardener's worst nightmare.

then, i noticed this purple weed lying amongst the dwarf bottle brush tree and the dwarf frangipani in one garden bed. the cluster of tiny purple flowers stood out, forming a big star against the earth-toned pine bark mulch. to a skilled gardener, it is another terrible weed, but to my untrained eye, it is but a beautiful bunch of purple flowers.

if there's one thing i've learned, flowers are but flowers until we label them weeds. the same with people. people are just people until we get labels, and then, how people respond to us depend on how we are labelled, which is sad...because at the end of the day, in the eyes of a child and in the eyes of the creator, we are but just what we are...without the label.

sunset

"When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator."- Mohandas Gandhi

because i have taken so many shots of this setting sun, and i have actually literally chased it in order to get a really good view, i thought i am justified in posting some more of it, rather than let these images get buried and forgotten amongst my other pc files.

i have always loved the sunset or the sunrise. i remember when i was very little, i get drawn to photos of sunsets on calendars or any artwork. i remember watching the sunset from my lola's veranda in bohol when i was about 4 or 5yrs old. i remember getting mesmerized by it while on a boat heading home, after a two-week vacation in baguio ,when i was in high school. i remember sitting on the seashore on many beach side holidays just to catch a glimpse of this wondrous ball, slowly falling from the heavens to gently sink in the distant horizon.

i remember dreaming about owning an SLR and shooting away at every beautiful sunset (this was before digital cams were invented and only the serious photographer could afford to buy one).

now, i am living that dream. i have an SLR. i am shooting away. i am still drawn to sunsets. and i think, i will always be.

the sunset, for me, will be a constant reminder of how great God is, and how blessed we are to be given all these beautiful things around us...for us to appreciate, if we only take a moment to look...and for us to give thanks...because with every setting sun, goes with it another day of our lives that we will never get back. as to whether it is one that we want to remember forever or one that we hope we can forget, the sunset reminds us...we need to give thanks for the day that has been and to look forward to the promise of a fresh new day.

chasing after the sun

the other day, i decided to pack my two little girls in the car while dad was at work, to chase after the sun. i drove a couple of miles outside town to a small rural countryside to capture the magic of the setting sun. i parked by the roadside opposite a vast stretch of farm land, and waited for the sun to set behind the big hill, and took one shot after the other, until the sun was no longer visible on the horizon, and the sky was painted a crimson red. the kids were marvellous...they behaved quiet well, and were patient enough, although after a while, they kept saying, "mommy, you're so dugay". that was my cue, we drove back to town while the heavens started to get dark. as a treat, i took them to "maca's" (mcdonald's) to eat chicken nuggets, fries and apple pies and to play in the playground. then we went home, and everyone was happy.

sometimes in life, we too, have to go out of our comfort zone to chase after something we really want for ourselves. be it a dream or an opportunity for success or a chance at love or a shot at happiness. sometimes, it doesn't just come to us...sometimes, we too, have to be prepared to chase it...only then, can we be truly content and happy. (although sometimes too, the one thing we've been chasing for doesn't necessarily bring us the happiness we have always hoped for...but it is always worth a try... or you'll regret never knowing).