sobota 24. novembra 2012

A PALE BLUE DOT



Pale Blue Dot
Carl Sagan

Consider again that dot. That's here, that's home,
that's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know,
 everyone you ever heard of, every human being
who ever was, lived out their lives.

The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands
of confident religions, ideologies,
and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager,
every hero and coward, every creator and
destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant,
every young couple in love, every mother and father,
hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every
teacher of morals, every corrupt politician,
every "superstar," every "supreme leader,"
every saint and sinner in the history of our species
lived there

– on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam –


The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena.
Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those
generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph,
they could become the momentary masters
of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties
visited by the inhabitants of one corner of
this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable
inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent
their misunderstandings, how eager they are
to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.


Our posturings, our imagined self-importance,
the delusion that we have some privileged
position in the Universe, are challenged by this point
of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great
enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity,
in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will
come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.


The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life.
There is nowhere else, at least in the near future,
to which our species could migrate.
Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the
moment the Earth is where we make our stand.


It has been said that astronomy is a humbling
and character-building experience.
There is perhaps no better demonstration
of the folly of human conceits than this distant
image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores
our responsibility to deal more kindly
with one another, and to preserve and
cherish the pale blue dot,
the only home we've ever known.

štvrtok 22. novembra 2012

MUSIC



Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. 

 ~Berthold Auerbach ~


The dust of our life can come in waves and when we feel most venerable. Those dust clouds can whip up and even knock us over. Music can wash through our soul and keep our vision clear to see the things in life that are the most precious. We are reminded of love’s ideal through a love song and maybe we can give a loved one a chance to try again.


Another song helps us feel through our disappointment and sadness. Still another transports us to a memory, still and quiet. And music is there to help us feel our happiest. We celebrate with music washing through our soul and feeling the ‘high’ that life has to offer. After all, we all have a soundtrack! Embrace it and discover more of your soul.

streda 21. novembra 2012

MARIAZELL





Mariazell,
 Styria, town in the district of Bruck an der Mur, Austria, place of pilgrimage, tourist resort and winter sports resort situated on a hill on the upper reaches of the River Salza, near the Lower Austrian border and Lake Erlaufsee.


Mariazell started as a settlement set up beside a small monastery (Latin "cella") which was founded
by Benedictine monks of the monastery of St. Lambrecht
in the middle of the 12th century (probably in 1157).
It is said that the area was dedicated to a monastery
in 1103.


The monk Magnus was looking for a place to build his monastery and found his way blocked by a huge boulder. He set a wooden statue of Mother Mary on the boulder,and  prayed. Soon there was a great rumble
and the rock split in two, allowing him to pass through.
Magnus placed the statue reverently on a white branch and soon after, he and some of the local people built a small chapel to house the statue. Word of the miraculous statue of the Virgin quickly spread across the countryside, and the chapel had to be periodically expanded to accommodate the growing crowds.


Around 1480 pilgrims from16 different countries came
to Mariazell. The majority of pilgrims who visited Mariazell came from the Habsburg lands and the regions of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy...








The Mariazell region, it is the magic and tranquility of Advent that rise to the occassion for weekends in December with authentic Christmas customs.












Let's go to Mariazell.  Bring money with you for the outdoor shops in front of the Church. You can find yourself in colorful swirl, where the common effect  of sounds, scents, view takes people to a glorious heaven.

sobota 17. novembra 2012

Make your day a Lucky one!




Who doesn’t want to be happy?

Just take a look at any moment of your life,
any choice you make.
Isn’t your intention to be happy?


By happiness,
I mean  a deep sense of contentment,
the capability of being peaceful
and at ease no matter what,
an inner knowing that things are just fine.


Somehow true happiness eludes us,
and here’s why. Even though we long
for it more than anything,
we make choices that derail us.
We choose stressful behaviors,
distorted beliefs through which
we view the world, and emotional chaos.


And in doing so, we interfere
with our potential to be happy.
Happiness is absolutely within your reach.
In fact, it closer than close – the essence of you.
Try to control your thoughts and emotions.
See what makes you unhappy,
then plant your feet firmly in the land
of happiness and the deepest happiness
imaginable will be revealed.


“The amount of happiness that you have
depends on the amount of freedom
you have in your heart.”

~ Thich Nhat Hanh ~

štvrtok 15. novembra 2012

Use of Light in Photography – PictureCorrect


NATURAL LIGHT IN PHOTOGRAPHY



Paying more attention to light is perhaps the single most important step you can take to improve your photography. With many landscapes, having good natural lighting can even be more important than the choice of subject itself. Different types of natural light can also produce a wide variety of subject appearances — even though these all have the same light source.  How to achieve the right light for your subject by utilizing the unique qualities of your particular time of day and weather is a question of your skills....


Evening Light During Stormy Skies:







The Light of Morning at Sunrise:






sobota 10. novembra 2012

Happy weekend





May be

Mark Twain, New Hampshire 1905 



MAY BE

Maybe . . we  were supposed to meet the
wrong people before meeting the right
one so that, when we finally meet the
right person, we will know how to be
grateful for that gift.

Maybe . .  it is true that we don't
know what we have until we lose it,
but it is also true that we don't know
what we have been missing until it
arrives.



Maybe . .  the brightest future will
always be based on a forgotten past;
after all, you can't go on
successfully in life until you let go
of your past mistakes, failures and
heartaches.


Maybe . . you should hope for enough
happiness to make you sweet, enough
trials to make you strong, enough
sorrow to keep you human, and enough
hope to make you happy.



Maybe . .  the happiest of people
don't necessarily have the best of
everything; they just make the most of
everything that comes along their way.



Maybe . .  the best kind of friend is
the kind you can sit on a porch and
swing with, never say a word, and then
walk away feeling like it was the best
conversation you've ever had.


 


štvrtok 8. novembra 2012

The butterflies in the stomach





 "I can't tell you what it is,
but it's the best thing I've found
The butterflies in my stomach
and my feet off the ground..."


Dave Barnes






Isn't it funny  how you can still
get butterflies in your stomach,
even though you have known
the person for years...








You know the feeling, that “fluttery” or “tickling” sense you get in your stomach? You feel your digestion shut down, your heart and breathing rate goes up as well as your blood pressure. You feel a huge fluctuation of cortisol, adrenaline and other hormones in your system.


Physiologically speaking, it’s your body’s fight or flight response to a sense of love, excitement or even nervousness. No one really swallows butterflies whole. There is an elevation in sympathetic activity in the autonomic nervous system. Physically you’re aroused because you perceive a potential threat or challenging situation and your brain increases that level of arousal to meet the challenge.


It kicks in whenever you run into or see that person you like and frankly it’s normal to feel nervous. We even tend to do or blurt out stupid things in the process and that’s still okay, it’s something we can look back on one day. So, be nervous and take in that butterfly experience, sometimes we all need it every once in awhile to remind us what’s worth living for.

nedeľa 4. novembra 2012

Never ignore a person who loves you





Never ignore a person that loves you, cares for you, and misses you.
Because one day, you might wake up from your sleep and realize that you lost the moon while counting stars

- Unknown







When someone walks out of your life, let them. There’s no use in wasting your time on people that leave you. What you make of yourself and your future is no longer tied to them. Yeah, you may miss them, but remember that you weren’t the first one to give up. 



°


A person who loves you is like a moon, he lives and shines only to look after, take care and love you by all his heart. But the habit of human beings is to love someone who is inaccessible for us. But one day we realize that we’ve lost a person who really deserved our love.








“The things we like and dislike change. And we could wish all day long that they didn’t, but they always will.”





sobota 3. novembra 2012

HAPPINESS





There is no one who is happy all the time and it is impossible to make every one feel happy. Different people have different ideas of happiness. Some may imagine an ideal life and they believe that that is a happy life. I think no one even person, whose dream will come true, can not be happy for a lifetime. 

People’s emotions are changing. It is normal that sometimes we feel happy and sometimes not.  A flower or a word may make us feel happy, although probably just for a while. Hence, happiness is not necessarily connected with the material world; it is rather a product of spiritual or psychological world. Then, happy is just a “small part of one’s life.” it is just a moment, not a lifelong time.







Anyway it is the best thing when we have happy moments very often in our life ...


štvrtok 1. novembra 2012

Welcome to Kazimierz




Kazimierz, the heart of Jewish Krakow,
is now a thriving district, a mixture of cultural festivals,
café culture, antique shops, art galleries, restaurants and bars, a place to watch the world go by over a coffee or to catch up with friends.






However, it would be wrong to talk about Kazimierz merely in those terms, for any visitor, regardless of nationality or religious persuasion, it's worth pointing out that Kazimierz's history spans centuries. It was originally established in 1335 and named after its founder, King Kazimierz Wielki (Casimir the Great), who intended it to rival the established city of Krakow.






It remains one of the most culturally significant Jewish areas in the world. In 1495, the Jews who were expelled from Krakow settled here, and Kazimierz became a mixture of Christian and Jewish culture.






During the war the Nazis did all they could to destroy and ruin Kazimierz. After the war, decades of communist neglect left Kazimierz a crumbling ruin. It became a dark and dangerous place, a district to be avoided after nightfall.






With communism's fall, Kazimierz has changed beyond all recognition. As well as the aforementioned art galleries and cafés, buildings have been renovated and museums opened. There has also been a reawakening in the importance of Jewish history and culture in Poland, for instance, the Jewish Culture Festival which takes place every year attracts thousands of visitors, both Jews and non-Jews alike.






Perhaps one of the most important factors in Kazimierz's renewal was Steven Spielberg's film, Schindler's List, which was filmed here and which generated intense interest in the area.






With its beguiling streets, unforgettable and unique atmosphere, synagogues and museums, as well as its cafés, bars and art galleries, Kazimierz is a place that anyone who comes to Krakow must visit.