life journey – Page 2

Naomi Baltuck, Photo Essay, Photography/Photographer

You Mean It’s NOT a River?

Posted on December 10, 2013December 8, 2013 by Naomi Baltuck

Some people say life is a river. I think it’s more like a mountain.

It has its ups…

…and downs.

It can be glorious.

Mysterious.

Precarious.

Fraught with fire…

…and ice.

No one can climb it for you.

But, oh, what a trip.

As you find your way…

…the climb can be difficult.

The right path isn’t always clear.

But there will be beauty all around you. In little things….

…or stretched out before you in all its grandeur.

In Hawaii they say love is like fog–there is no mountain on which it does not rest.

May there be friends to share the journey.

…to make you smile…

…to guide you…

…and support you.

Life is a delicate balance, a precious jewel, a piece of work.

Yes, look before you leap…

…and wear the proper footwear.

But as the saying goes, we don’t trip on mountains. We trip on molehills.

All words and images c2013 Naomi Baltuck

NAOMI BALTUCK ~ is a Contributing Editor and Resident Storyteller here at Bardo. She is a world-traveler and an award-winning writer, photographer, and story-teller whose works of fiction and nonfiction are available through Amazon HERE. Naomi presents her wonderful photo-stories – always interesting and rich with meaning and humor – at Writing Between the Lines, Life from the Writer’s POV. She also conducts workshops such as Peace Porridge (multicultural stories to promote cooperation, goodwill, and peaceful coexistence), Whispers in the Graveyard (a spellbinding array of haunting and mysterious stories), Tandem Tales, Traveling Light Around the World, and others. For more on her programs visit Naomi Baltuck.com

Naomi Baltuck, Photo Essay, Photography/Photographer

Flowers (are like people)

Posted on August 27, 2013July 24, 2013 by Naomi Baltuck

Each flower…

…is a miracle of nature.

…a work of art.

They are like people. Each one shines on its own.

But it is through contrast…

…or complement….

…and through interaction…

That we truly shine.

Naomi Baltuck, Photo Essay, Photography/Photographer

Sunrise in Gibraltar

Posted on August 20, 2013July 24, 2013 by Naomi Baltuck

This sunrise was our reward for an early start on a big day. We were staying near Gibraltar, and taking the ferry over to Tangier in Morocco to spend the day. It was our first time ever in Africa, and we were a little nervous to step through that door.

Our driver Rashid was very helpful. Rashid was a good son, who lived with and cared for his elderly mother. His English was difficult to understand, so he and the kids communicated in Spanish. If I had a question, I could make myself understood in my rusty French, but his replies came too quickly for me comprehend. We worked out a system in which Rashid would reply to my French questions in Spanish, which the kids would then translate into English for me.

We were typical tourists. We went to the market.

And did what most of the day trippers do.

We felt grateful for just a quick peek into another world.

One glimpse down a dark alley shed light on another way of life.

We walked past little shops and businesses…

In Tangier we were given a taste of new flavors, colors, music, and customs.

I saw this cat in a narrow passageway, and it occurred to me that cats all over the world speak the same language. I wondered what would happen if people did too. Something would gained, but much would be lost as well.

Then it was time to cross back over the Straits. The kids will never let me live down the fact that I accidentally bought a rug, my only souvenir of that trip. I just wanted to bring home some of the warm vivid colors of a world so very different, and yet so much the same as ours.

Sunrise to sunset, long after the threads on my rug have faded, that day will stay with me.

Naomi Baltuck, Photo Essay, Photography/Photographer

No Such Thing As An Odd Couple

Posted on July 31, 2013July 24, 2013 by Naomi Baltuck

Couples come in all shapes and sizes. They always have, since the beginning of time.

Life is short, and often cruel. Finding true love, or even a true friend is not just a comfort.

It’s a miracle.

But I’ve seen it with my own two eyes. True love happens.

It is easy to recognize when you see it.

Love…

..in all its many forms…

…is a gift to us all. It fills the world with light.

Let it shine!

All words and images copyright Naomi Baltuck 2012

Naomi Baltuck, Photo Essay, Photography/Photographer

In Your Hands

Posted on July 23, 2013July 21, 2013 by Naomi Baltuck

My daughter Bea and I were having a little fun with shadows on the grounds of Dover Castle.

It made me think about writing–and life. Life puts the raw material into our hands, and it’s up to us to mold it into whatever work of art we envision. Look for the right light and context, and you can do so much with so little, and to great effect.

All images and words copyright Naomi Baltuck

Naomi Baltuck, Photo Essay, Photography/Photographer, Story Telling, Photo Story

The Seed of Creativity

Posted on July 11, 2013July 10, 2013 by Naomi Baltuck

When my daughter Bea was a little girl, she found a seed in a seedless Satsuma, and was inspired to plant it in a paper cup. Our little Satsuma tree has lived on our kitchen windowsill for years now, a reminder that unexpected marvels can come from a single seed. Creativity is a seed that grows ideas.

It helps us to see beauty in the ordinary.

Or, upon reflection, to take the ordinary and transform it.

Sometimes inspiration comes to us in a flood.

Sometimes in a flash.

Or even in hindsight.

More often, it comes in disguise.

Or as a creative response to something we feel passionate about.

Perhaps we are inspired by another artist…as in Bea’s sculpture, The Ice Scream.

I love working with a creative team…

Sometimes it’s a process.

…but the end result is worth it.

However it comes to you, wherever you find your inspiration, you are never too young…

Or too old….

To fly with it!

May all your ideas and inspirations be fruitful!

All images and words copyright Naomi Baltuck

General Interest, Naomi Baltuck, Photo Essay, Photography/Photographer

Two Subjects (and one important thing to remember)

Posted on July 1, 2013June 30, 2013 by Naomi Baltuck

While traveling in Argentina, we visited La Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires. Since 1822, nearly 5,000 mausoleums have been constructed in the highest fashion of the times, from Baroque and Neo-Gothic to Art Deco and Art Nouveau. La Recoleta is a city for the dead, with elegant marble tombs neatly laid out in blocks over fourteen acres.

Some are maintained, for love or pride. Others, like the poet Shelley’s statue of Ozymandias, have fallen into disrepair, covered with spider webs and graffiti, littered with broken glass and faded plastic flowers. Feral cats stare warily from their marble perches and skulk away sideways if approached.

We saw the grave of Eva Peron, and other statesmen, poets, generals, and presidents.

More interesting to me was the final resting place for a mother and her infant. They were not famous, but clearly they were loved. Did she and the child die in childbirth? Were they swept away by an epidemic, leaving behind the grieving husband and father who erected this memorial? Was he able to pick up the pieces of his broken life to find happiness again?

Wherever we go, we will find reminders of all the stories in this world that will never be told. When I took this photograph, I could be certain of only two things. Both mother and child were subject to an early and tragic demise. And, as seen by the lush green fern sprouting from the dust collecting in the cracks in the stone, life goes on.

All images and words copyright Naomi Baltuck

memoir, Naomi Baltuck, Photography/Photographer, story, Story Telling, Photo Story

THE EMPTY NEST PART I: You Can’t Change That

Posted on June 25, 2013June 22, 2013 by Naomi Baltuck

Like a brilliant sunset, it’s here and then gone.

As fleet as a bird on the wing…

Passing as unnoticed as the morning dew…

…even as it goes speeding down the track of no return.

From here.

To here.

Like a river, it flows, with its twists and turns, its highs and lows.

But mostly highs.

But it’s just as they say.

Time…

…and tides wait for no one.

Childhood, theirs–not ours–slips away like water through our fingers.

Or a kite caught up in a strong wind.

As warm and wonderful as a hug, but just as fleeting.

Suddenly they’re all grown up; intelligent, creative, compassionate human beings, ready to make their contributions to the world. Which is the whole point, isn’t it?

Their childhood is a gift…

…we gave to each other.

It has its season, and then it’s gone…

Off they go to seek their fortunes.

Dang! And just when they learned how to cook!

But here’s something they won’t know until they have children of their own. Long after our kids are parents, long after they’ve gone gray, long after they are elderly orphans…they will still be our babies.

photo e44fa7f6-b8ce-4182-b007-8bfc3bce5a47_zpsee121352.jpg
Neither time nor tides can ever change that.

Naomi Baltuck, Story Telling, Photo Story

Black and White (or Not)

Posted on May 18, 2013May 15, 2013 by Naomi Baltuck

A black and white photo is light and dark, its sharp contrasts easy on the eye.

Perhaps black and white is easier on the mind as well. No difficult decisions, no wavering, no questioning right from wrong. But real life is in color, with many subtle hues and shades. Condemned prisoners who crossed over The Bridge of Sighs in Venice got one last peek at their beloved city. Did they see their world in terms of black and white, or in color? Perhaps one’s perception depended upon whether one was looking in or out, whether one was coming or going.

It is easy to cast judgements, until you have walked a mile in another person’s shoes, looked into her eyes, heard his story. The world is not black and white. It is the color of flesh and blood, with many gray areas. What is the color of a human tear?

For another facet of this topic, check out this link by Carbon Leaf, The War Was in Color, and my post Remembering Uncle Lewis.

– Naomi Baltuck

Essay

Reflections, In Honor of Mother’s Day

Posted on May 11, 2013May 11, 2013 by Naomi Baltuck

Once, when we were running late, I was waiting impatiently to lift my little boy Eli into his car seat, while he studied a bug on the driveway. “Hurry up!” I said. “We’re going to be late.”

Puzzled, my little boy looked up at me and said, “Mommy, why are you using that tone of voice?”

Such a grownup expression from the mouth of the babe! And it took my breath away.

“You’re right, honey,” I told him. “It’s not the end of the world if we’re late to pre-school, and it wouldn’t be your fault, if we were.”

Eli and I had a good look at the bug, while I quietly reflected upon what kind of parent I wanted to be. Which memory of me would I want my kids to look back on and remember me by? My mother once told me, “The best friends you’ll ever have are the ones you raise yourself.” Bless her! Bless them! Bless us all!

I love that tee shirt that says, “Please let me be the person my dog thinks I am.” But I aspire always to be the person my kids think I am.

Thank you for sharing the beauty and inspiration:

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