Cosmos © 2015 Bo Mackison
“The beauty of a living thing is not the atoms that go into it, but the way those atoms are put together.” ~ Carl Sagan
A Time for Rest and the Gift of “Enough”
March 16, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Resting on a Bench © 2015 Bo Mackison
“True restfulness, though, is a form of awareness, a way of being in life. It is living ordinary life with a sense of ease, gratitude, appreciation, peace and prayer. We are restful when ordinary life is enough.”
~ Ronald Rolheiser
There are times, even seasons, which necessitate a time of rest. The acceptance of this gift is truly an experience in awareness, patience, and most of all, acceptance.
In the ordinary, there is pause, ease, and the gift of “enough” found in the present moment.
Experimenting – or Playing – with Photography. Part V, Flowers, Flowers, Everywhere
September 10, 2014 by 2 Comments
Flowers in the Fountain © 2014 Bo Mackison
“I must have flowers, always, and always.” ~ Claude Monet
While I was visiting New York City and Long Island over the extended Labor Day weekend, our timing was perfect. The flowers put on a tremendous show for us. Everywhere we walked there were planters, gardens, even flowers floating with such grace and beauty in fountains.
I was with beloved family who I only see once or perhaps twice a year, and didn’t want me and my camera interrupting the flow. (Once my big camera is in my hands, this mysterious force takes over and I see photo ops constantly – not such a good plan with a group of four, including one pregnant daughter!) So I continued to “play” with photography while I was visiting family on Long Island. And yes, the cell phone camera can be a distraction, too! But not quite as bad, I’m told.
Blue Hydrangea © 2014 Bo Mackison
“A flower blossoms for its own joy.” ~ Oscar Wilde
Hydrangea must be THE flower of eastern Long Island. They’re everywhere! They’re everywhere!
Green-Eyed Susans © 2014 Bo Mackison
“Without darkness, nothing comes to birth, As without light, nothing flowers.” ~ May Sarton
Never underestimate the power of a flower! I stopped to admire two planters of green-eyed Susans flanking the door of a jewelry shop I had no intention of visiting. Then a too fancy opal ring in the front window caught my eye. I had lost my wedding ring several months ago, and I’d been casually looking at opal rings (I’d decided to go with an opal my birthstone, not another diamond).
On the spur of the moment, we entered this very formal jewelry store. Not even my kind of store, I thought. But my daughter – shopper extraordinaire – found a black opal way in a back case, on sale, end of season, etc., etc. and the pieces fell into place.
So I thank this charming bunch of bright flowers, for I now have a replacement ring. Deeply grateful!
Red, White, and Green © 2014 Bo Mackison
“Nobody sees a flower – really – it is so small it takes time – we haven’t time – and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.” ~ Georgia O’Keeffe
More Hydrangea, with a different color treatment…an unusual combination inspired from a shake of my camera and the serendipity of the Hipstamatic app…
Hydrangea © 2014 Bo Mackison
“A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in–what more could he ask? A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.” ~ Victor Hugo
And Hydrangea in blue. Don’t they have just the most luscious colors – that pale blue with lavender and yellow highlight?
Tomorrow, this atypical tour of my New York visit takes us to the vineyards of Long Island – what a feast for the senses, there…
Glass House
November 18, 2013 by 2 Comments
Bottle House, Airlie Gardens © 2013 Bo Mackison
“Dare to reach out your hand into the darkness, to pull another hand into the light.” ~ Norman B. Rice
There is a glass house in Airlie Gardens.
The glass house is constructed with bottles of all sorts, all colors, all donated in honor of a beloved artist who was also the garden gatekeeper for 25 years. It was created by local artist Virginia Wright-Frierson in 2004 and is called the “Minnie Evans Sculpture Garden Bottle House”.
Bottle Wall © 2013 Bo Mackison
There’s a well-known proverb. “He who lives in a glass house, should not throw the first stone.”
And as the saying proclaims, if one has faults of their own, one should not criticize the faults of others. My way of thinking, we all have our faults, and so perhaps it would be appropriate for none of us to throw the first stone. Or the second. Or the third.
Sounds like a peaceful way to live – accepting each other, no stone throwing.
Close Up of Bottle House © 2013 Bo Mackison
“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody’s business.
What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy.” ~ Thomas Merton
Half Full, Half Empty © 2013 Bo Mackison
“It’s not, ‘is the glass half full or half empty?’ It’s ‘is there anyone around who’s thirsty and needs a drink?’” ~ Cory Booker
A glass house – an interesting place for a visit with a muse.
A Walk through a Japanese Garden
September 4, 2013 by 9 Comments
Pine Point in the Japanese Garden at Chicago Botanic Gardens ©2013 Bo Mackison
“The many great gardens of the world, of literature and poetry, of painting and music, of religion and architecture, all make the point as clear as possible: The soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden.” ~ Thomas Moore
Crossing the Arched Bridge to the Japanese Garden ©2013 Bo Mackison
“Japanese gardens ask that you go beyond the garden spiritually, that you look at the garden not merely as an object but also as a path into the realms of spirit.”
— Makoto Ooka in The Temple in the House
Tree Roots © 2013 Bo Mackison
“The garden reconciles human art and wild nature, hard work and deep pleasure, spiritual practice and the material world. It is a magical place because it is not divided.”
— Thomas Moore
Zigzag Bridge © 2013 Bo Mackison
“If you want to reach the infinite, then explore every aspect of the finite.”
– Goethe
Garden Path © 2013 Bo Mackison
“When a garden is used as a place to pause for thought, that is when a Zen garden comes to life. When you contemplate a garden like this it will form as lasting impression on your heart.”
— Muso Soseki in The Temple in the House
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Bo Mackison is photographer, book-maker, collector of stories, naturalist, curator and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Strolling in a garden – a perfect way to spend an afternoon. Photographs from Japanese Garden, Chicago Botanic Gardens.
