Tag: meditation

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.

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

Silent Sunday: Simple Beauty

a male tufted duck swimming in a loch
close up shot of green leaves with raindrop pearls

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/4 – 1/200 s – ISO 100, f/2.8 – 1/100 s ISO 200 and f/4 – 1/160 s – ISO 100.

Silent Sunday

Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #91: Simplicity

Haiku: Pond Meditation

view of a small pond flanked by trees leaning across the water

these memories
leaning across the pond
in the leaves

© Xenia Tran

view of a small pond flanked by trees leaning across the water

We’re delighted that this haiku is featured in Haiku Dialogue – Willow and Intro to Poet’s Choice, Troutswirl, The Haiku Foundation Blog, 31 July 2019. A very big thank you to Kathy Munro for putting this edition together.

Wishing you all a wonderful Tuesday,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Settings: f/2.8 – 1/40 s – ISO 200, f/4 – 1/60 s – ISO 200 and f/3.4 – 1/200 s – ISO 400.

Sunday Stills: The Essence of Zen

Word of the Day Challenge: Gesture

Haiku: Garden Buddha

close up shot of the head of a buddha statue

light rain
around the buddha’s feet
a sea of diamonds

© Xenia Tran

macro shot of rain drops around green poppy leaves

With love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Panasonic Lumix FZ200, Settings: f/3.5 1/100 s – ISO 100, f/3.5 – 1/80 s – ISO 200 and f/3.5 – 1/50 s – ISO 200.

Nancy Merrill’s A Photo A Week Challenge: Meme-worthy Photos

Rag Tag Daily Prompt: Iridescence

We are delighted that the above haiku has been included in the Haiku Foundation’s EarthRise Rolling Haiku Collaboration 2019. Our haiku Celtic Mist and A Drop of Bliss are also included. A very big thank you to Jim Kacian and all at the Haiku Foundation who helped put this project together.

We are deeply honoured and delighted that the above haiku has subsequently been featured as part of the World Haiku Series 2019 organised by the Akita International Haiku Network, together with a Japanese translation by Hidenori Hiruta.

Haiku: Winter Solstice

leafless trees, a pile of ancient stones and a stone bench silhouetted in morning mist with a hazy sun

in mist
twice the sunlight
on solstice day

© Xenia Tran

sun breaking through morning mist and low cloud above the river Shin in Sutherland
sun breaking through morning mist and low cloud above the river Shin in Sutherland

Wishing everyone in the Northern Hemisphere a Happy Winter Solstice, everyone in the Southern Hemisphere a Happy Summer Solstice and everyone who celebrates Christmas happy Holidays!

We are taking a short blogging break and will be back next week.

With love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Canon Powershot SX60 HS, Settings: f/6.3, 1/1000 s, ISO 200, f/5, 1/1000 s, ISO 160 and f/4, 1/1000 s, ISO 125.

Frank J Tassone’s Weekly Haikai Challenge #65: Solstice II

Rag Tag Daily Prompt: Solstice

Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #25: Reflections

Wordless Wednesday: Welsh Poppy Meditation

 

welsh poppy, one in flower, others in bud, beside a garden Buddha

 

welsh poppy in bloom

 

close up macro shot of welsh poppy

With love from Xenia xxx

 

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

 

Cee’s Photography: Flower of the Day

Wordless Wednesday