Adaptability
Those who adapt themselves
will be preserved until the end
That which bends
can be straightened
That which is empty
can be filled
That which is worn away
can be renewed
Strength is in being
able to bend
when it serves you to bend
Strength is being at ease
with the changes in your life
Watch the way the water flows
It always takes the easy way
Being able to change course
you become more relaxed
you become more relaxed
With relaxation
your energies will flow
Not being fixed
your sense of pleasure will grow
*
The images in this post without my name on them
are from a series of cards by Christine Triebert
The text is taken from The Wisdom of the Tao
adapted and interpreted by Priya Hemenway
*
Mmm. I love this post. Especially the line, "Strength is being at ease
ReplyDeletewith the changes in your life." Not struggling against inevitable changes that come with aging is wisdom most of us have as children, but often lose by adolescence or adulthood.
I loved the image of the canoe, especially. It's refreshing to see monochromatic images, comparatively rare these days.
I DO LOVE this post! So inspiring, that's what I needed today!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting and leaving such a lovely comment on my blog... GLAD I inspired you!
The journal binding is as simple as this: assemble the fabric cover and all pages together, and then machine-sew in the middle (about 2-3 times up and down).
Hope you'll enjoy making some journals this way, and please, let me know when done! I'd love to see them ;)
Monica.
Hi Delwyn
ReplyDeleteImages and text, a perfect combination. In short, a wonderful post.
Thanks you.
Hello Monica
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you have come to visit.
I have been pulling out potential papers and pics this afternoon - see I am inspired...
Oh that's easy then- sewing it...great, thank you for the help...
I'll tell you how I get on...
Hello Dan
ReplyDeleteI thought this post would appeal to you...I am really trying to enjoy that feeling of going with the flow, being that canoe untethered...I love it...it is so fresh and unpredictable and allows you so much freedom...
Its good to see you again Dan
Happy days
Thank you Martin. I'm glad you enjoyed it...
ReplyDeletethanks for the visit today...
Happy days
And the photos are by you. Amazing. Many thanks.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from London.
Delwyn - Another calming post with so many good reminders that life is not all that complicated. Be like water - flow with the life-scape in front of you - "the easy way".
ReplyDeleteHope you are well and enjoying Spring in Noosa.
Perfect timing again, dear Delwyn. As I fire up the car for another long drive back to Kansas today, these thoughts will remain in my mind. I will think about you and these pictures down under in Noosa as I am moving the wagon train westbound. Best to you.
ReplyDeleteEFH
I love your post Delwyn...adapting and going with the flow creates a peaceful idyllic scene in my mind...being gently carried along on life's path.....but recently for me...my deliberate going with the flow has led me through the woods off the path, stepping where I've never stepped before...seeing what I've never seen before on hillsides rather tough to climb...far from being gently carried...but still peacefully idyllic.
ReplyDeleteSmiles always,
Wanda
Hello Mr C
ReplyDeletewell not all of them...see I credited some to another photographer...
Happy days
Good evening Bonnie my friend
ReplyDeleteIt is good to think of strength taking these forms of relinquishing control ...flowing the easy way...
Well spring is jumping along 25* today and up to 34 next week...so I am enjoying as much walking as I can before it is too hot...and the ankle has been very obliging...
Happy days Bonnie
Hi expat...
ReplyDeleteAnd I will be thinking of you as you ship 'em out...heading home to the range...
take care on the trail...
Happy days
Good on you Wanda,
ReplyDeletesometimes we need to follow that flow of curiosity and intrigue and see where it leads us to...
I love exploring new paths in the rainforest and wallum...do you carry a a mobile phone...
I had the urge to walk into the wallum from Sunshine Beach the other day by myself and then thought better of it because it is a very isolated and lonely trail...but the urge got the better of me so I headed up the sand dunes and inland, only to find at my first photo op that the batteries were dead in the camera. I took that as a sign not to walk alone...and turned back...
But the call to explore was strong. I'll have to wait til next wallum walk day...on Monday...
Happy days Wanda
after a morning of fits and starts and little flow . . .this post slowed me down enough to breathe deeply and to think clearly and to return inside my knowing and understanding of this world. thank you so much delwyn!!!! steven
ReplyDeleteSo peaceful... and yet so powerful at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThank you Delwyn for this utterly perfect post and its inspiring message.
Lola xx
Well Steven
ReplyDeletein that case it has been worth every ounce of effort... I'm glad it had that effect on you...
Happy days
Hi Lola - maestro of the kitchen...
ReplyDeletethank you for the kind words and for the visit today...
Happy days
Beautifully said.
ReplyDeleteI think the more you experience change, the less afraid you become of it.
we all should practice change daily.
Enjoyed the post. I'm not good at bending... "Strength is in being
ReplyDeleteable to bend when it serves you to bend" but I also think that I don't want to bend too much or I'll lose myself. It's a balancing act.
The best advice is also the simplest.
ReplyDeleteA really lovely post. I love the tree and stonewall.
ReplyDeleteVery nicely done.
Sunny :)
At a time in my life when things were crumbling around me and I was suffering emotionally and physically from it, my chiropractor was giving me a going over and gave me this advice...to be like the willow and not like the oak. the willow bends in the storm and survives, the oak tries to stand against it and is toppled over. And so I survived and the situation eventually resolved itself.
ReplyDeleteSo true. Rigidity in ideas and plans only leads to unhappiness. We must bend and change like the willow, faithful to our core beliefs but willing to learn and bend.
ReplyDeleteDelwyn, you did it again, another wonderful post. I was trying to decide what ones I like best, but they are all beautiful. The first one with the stone wall reminds me of our own Connemara in the West of Ireland, it is full of old stone walls like that one. When I see small boats on the water, I just wishe I was there to paddle or row away.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the black and white and the sepia toned photos today, Delwyn. They're magical and ethereal, especially the fog ones. They give your post an aura of mystery and nostalgia.
ReplyDeleteI can't recall if I thanked you for mentioning "The Tao Box" which I purchased last month. I am really enjoying the readings and the amazing brush paintings. It's a real treasure. Blessings!
I like this one, Delwyn and agree with those words of wisdom. Love the sepia touch with your photos and the others.
ReplyDeleteHi Liss
ReplyDeletewe'll thank the Tao for the beautiful words today...
True, often it's our fear of the unknown that hampers us.
Change then becomes an adventure - a source of freshness and opportunity...
Happy days
Hi Kb
ReplyDeleteyou won't lose yourself if your roots are firmly in the ground...then you are able to bend like the coconut palm or the willow...but remain grounded...
Happy days
Hi Lori
ReplyDeleteand the Tao says it just that way...
Happy days
Hi Sunny
ReplyDeletethe beautiful Triebert cards have been with me for along time...very nostalgic and calming aren't they...
Happy days
Hello Ellen
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing your experience today Ellen...
Yes, sometimes we can take a good battering but if we are flexible, a little supple in out thinking and acting, we will become more resilient and recover...
Happy days
Hi Janie
ReplyDeletethat is a good summary you have given...Do you think sometimes even those core beliefs can be shaken...
Happy days
Thank you Ann
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you resonated with the imagery...
I love the stone wall too, I especially loved all the mossy stone walls in Japan. I have even got one here...I found it on the road to my gym one day in the rainy season...
Happy days
Hi Marion
ReplyDeletewhen I was deliberating on illustrations to use for this post I thought of the Triebert cards which were sepia, so I altered my images to match...and to good effect I think.
Did you notice I used some of the Tao card paintings in my 'Every Generation Rewrites itself' post 2 days ago as the background for the quotes...
The Tao cards give me a lot of pleasure too, so I am glad you have found them worthy...
Happy days
Hi Alaine
ReplyDeleteI love the sepia effect but have found through experimentation that it requires a certain image for full effect...it is fun to find those images with that evocative nostalgia or mystery that will work in sepia...
Happy days
I did notice, Delwyn. Those dragonflies jumped right out at me. LOL! They looked great. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteVery tranquil and calming, soothing in a watery way. And I am struggling just a bit with the flow, if I am honest with you. But this does serve as a good reminder to keep bending in favor of finding strength... that was my favorite part :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post, Delwyn. Somehow, I think the imagery and the words were speaking to me personally! So many times, I stand ramrod straight and am unwilling to bend. It is a work in progress and I know the end will be pure pleasure. I hope your weekend is as beautiful as the post!
ReplyDeleteHi Vicky
ReplyDeleteWe learn slowly that resistance is the hard way, sometimes we dig our heels in out of habit and we need to question ourselves about our motives...and try another way...
Yes I liked that bit too that strength is being able to bend when it serves you to bend...
Happy days
Hello Alicia
ReplyDeletewell that must be a good sign of a potent post...
I have been one to dig my heels in too - out of principle - out of habit- out of conditioning, out of obstinacy...but I have a husband who always thinks laterally so I have learned to trust other ways of seeing, thinking and being...
Thanks for the kind wishes...I am about to go out for a paddle..
Happy days
This is beautiful. The words and images...perfect. Good philosophy to live by.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this!
Have a Wonderful Weekend!
Hello Chiccy
ReplyDeletethank you for the kind words and for calling by today...
The weekend is great...
Happy days
That was beautiful, Delwyn! That's another one of your posts that I need to read everyday. Watch how the water flows; it takes the easy way. I've noticed that children do exactly those things you've cited. For example, if one is coloring the "wrong" way and you tell him/her that, s/he just stops for a moment, looks at his/her picture, and then continues on doing just what s/he wanted to in the first place. LOVE xxox
ReplyDeleteThis is such a pleasant reminder to take life's nudges and breezes as they come along.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds of some trees I saw in Aruba. The branches and needles were all pointed in the direction of the wind. It adapted and therefore...survived. :)
i genuinely enjoy your writing taste, very unique.
ReplyDeletedon't quit and also keep creating seeing that it just nicely to read it,
looking forward to see more of your content pieces, thanks!