Tag: meditation

Wordless Wednesday: Silent Treasures

close up of a meditation carved in slate and attached to wooden logs
close up of the word 'silence' carved in slate

This is our second lovely find while walking the trails near the Corbenic Camphill Community, a home for people with social, emotional, intellectual and learning disabilities in the heart of Scotland.

You can see a beautiful selection of stones, painted and embedded in benches by members of the community, in my Corbenic Circles and Curves post.

Wishing you all a peaceful Wednesday,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Wordless Wednesday

Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #219: Treasure Hunt

Haiku: Salmon Sky

rocks and rockpools on the beach at sunrise

salmon sky –
poppies lean the past
into the half light

© Xenia Tran

poppies and wildflowers in the foreground at sunrise over the sea

Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Jez Braithwaite’s Water Water Everywhere #131

CFFC: Landscapes or Waterscapes

Rag Tag Daily Prompt: Half Light

Tanka Prose: The Field of Everything

the cairn at Culloden Battlefield with fresh wreaths and flowers

The first gorse is in bloom and its warm scent of coconut and vanilla greets us as we follow the path across the moor. The rookery at Leanach Cottage is full of rooks and hooded crows. I wonder about the music the men who rest here would have danced to and all their loved ones, who wanted to keep them safe.

ancient battleground –
the place where men fell
brimming with life
pilgrims and progeny
hear a skylark sing

© Xenia Tran

a path meandering through shrubs, moorland and trees with a blue flag on the right

This is another poem from a series I wrote at Culloden Battlefield during my visits in February and April. You can read two earlier poems here and here.

Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Your Daily Word Prompt: Elude

Kindness Glitters, poetry by Xenia Tran at Spillwords.com

Spillwords.com presents: Kindness Glitters, poetry by Xenia Tran, artist & photographer who lives and works in the Scottish Highlands.

Source: Kindness Glitters, poetry by Xenia Tran at Spillwords.com

I am deeply honoured and delighted that my poem Kindness Glitters was published on Spillwords earlier today.

A warm-hearted thank you to Dagmara K and the Spillwords team for selecting and featuring my poem here.

Wishing you all a happy Saturday and a wonderful weekend,

with love from Xenia xxx

Wordless Wednesday: Into Peace

wooden bridge, shrine and blossom in a Japanese garden
a buddha statue on a plinth under a wooden roof of a garden shrine
two wooden bridges connecting an island to either side of the garden around the pond

Wishing you all a peaceful Wednesday,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Wordless Wednesday

CFFC: Edges and Ledges

Silent Sunday: Quiet Spaces

a small waterfall flowing into a natural pond with floating autumn leaves
a red fly agaric mushroom growing between stones and moss in the forest

Wishing you all a blessed Sunday and a peaceful week ahead,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Silent Sunday

Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #172: A Day of my Week

Haiku: Falling Petals

detail from a piece of pastel art featuring a woman

falling petals
he finds his mother
behind the rain

© Xenia Tran

pastel art of a woman appearing through a rain of cherry blossom

Working with pastels has been a hobby for many years and in my younger years my pieces were on display in cafés, art centres and at a local hospital.

My poems are mostly inspired by real-life experiences and sometimes by a dream or meditation. The above haiku was inspired by a dream and I tried to re-create the moment that sparked the poem in this painting.

I am deeply honoured and delighted that this poem was awarded an Honourable Mention in the International Section of the 2020 Haiku Invitational at the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival. A big thank you to judges Agnes Savich, Beth Skala and Gary Hotham for selecting my poem and many congratulations to all the winners.

The above haiku was subsequently featured in the World Haiku Series 2020, facilitated by the Akita International Haiku Network with a beautiful Japanese translation by Mr Hidenori Hiruta. A warm-hearted thank you to Mr Hiruta for including this poem in respect of the 326th anniversary of Matsuo Bashõ’s passing and all the souls of those who lost their lives to COVID-19.

Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs and original art (soft pastel on glass paper) by Xenia Tran.

Word of the Day Challenge: Hobby

Haiku: A Small Fish

a grey heron stalking fish in a tidal lagoon

disappearing
in the heron’s mouth
a small fish

© Xenia Tran

a grey heron with a freshly caught fish in his mouth while wading through a tidal lagoon

It is a treat to see how patient herons are when using these trusted old methods to catch a new meal every day.

At the same I felt for the small fish and said a few prayers for him and his family.

Wishing you all a blessed Sunday and a peaceful week ahead,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Panasonic Lumix FZ200, Settings: f/3.2 – 1/2000 s – ISO 100.

Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #99: Old and New

Rag Tag Daily Prompt: For Our Good

Haiku by Issa

macro shot of a snail on the edge of a wall

the life of a snail
he goes to bed and gets up
just the way he is

– Issa

macro image of a snail between leaves

Watching this snail move through our garden I had to think of Issa’s haiku and thought I’d share it with you here.

Wishing you all a blessed Monday and a peaceful week ahead,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Panasonic Lumix FZ200, Settings: f/3.5 – 1/160 – ISO 100 and f/3.5 – 1/125 s – ISO 100.

Sunshine’s Macro Monday #43

Haiku: Lunaria Annua

close up of lunaria annua, part flowering, part in bud

spring leaves
the space in my heart
a new fountain

© Xenia Tran

macro shot of flowering lunaria annua

These images of the lunaria annua in our garden were taken on 5 April, 15 April and 23 April respectively.

Wishing you all a blessed Sunday and a peaceful week ahead,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Panasonic Lumix FZ200, Settings: f/3.5 – 1/200 s – ISO 100, f/3.5 – 1/1000 s – ISO 100 and f/3.5 – 1/100 s – ISO 100.

Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #94: Home

Cee’s Flower of the Day

Discover Prompts #25 and #26: Magic and Hidden