Henry James defines “Summer afternoon … Summer afternoon” as the “two most beautiful words in the English language.” That may be, but “Wildflowers and the sea” are a close second … if not first. Marsh mallows with loosestrife, photo by Mary O’Connor © 2013
Homeira Walter not only knows how to make people smile, she actually helps them do so. Now, eight months following the destruction by Hurricane Sandy in her home town of Monmouth Beach, NJ—and after eight months of reaching out to help make things right for others—Homeira has received the first Sweet Spots in Glass Award. Created … More First Sweet Spots in Glass Award Winner Knows How to Make People Smile
I came upon this ray of sunshine, skipping from sunrise to sunrise, refusing to set, to leave me alone. — from Dreams of a Wingless Child by Mary O’Connor © 2007. ********** Photo © 2013, Mary O’Connor
Symbolically, Acacia trees represent immortality, innocence, initiation of life. Considered sacred by the ancient Hebrews, its wood was said to be used by Moses to build the Ark of Covenant. A thorny tree, it is believed to have been used to make the crown of Christ. On the Serengeti, where this photo was taken, it shelters the … More Serengeti Sunrise
“Take almost any path you please, and ten to one it carries you down in a dale, and leaves you there by a pool in the stream. There is magic in it.” – Herman Melville Photo by Mary O’Connor © 2013
One of the sky theater’s most popular performances is that of the rainbow. An optical phenomenon of refracted sun rays reflected in air borne droplets of water, rainbows tell us a storm is over, a clear day is ahead—or, for the wishful thinkers and idealists among us, that there is a pot of gold at its … More Big Screen Performance
Sanibel Island, Florida, with its 17+ miles of beaches ripe with coquinas and sand dollars, is a favorite shelling beach. So, too, are is the sand of San Jose Island, Texas, with its olive shells and wentletraps, lightning whelks and sundials, and of Silver Strand State Beach on Coronado Island, California, littered with silvery oyster shells, … More Treasured sculptures of the sea
As originally written, Life Is Full of Sweet Spots was dedicated to those who might look to the sky and see its rays of hope, breathe the air of the sea, of the garden, of home, and be energized with open minds and joyful hearts. Sadly, events such as the Sandy Hook school shootings, the … More Sweet Spots in Glass Award Introduced to Help Keep Vision of Joy Alive
The Chinese name for the peony is sho yu. It means, simply, most beautiful. The poet Sensei Ogui finds a lesson in its moment of lifetime: Peonies bloom on peony trees. A cat doesn’t become a chicken. Tulips are tulips, not roses. Why can’t we realize this true fact? That to be me is great. … More A Lesson from the Peony
Appreciate the splendor of nature. This is what Thoreau would have us do. Look up and around, he would tell us, look to the west, to the wild, to the hills to the fields. Studies by professors Rachel and Stephen Kaplan of the University of Michigan support his philosophy, telling us that all it takes is … More Twenty Minutes a Day
Life Is Full of Sweet Spots 