“Relax. Breathe in deep. Hold it. Let it out. Loosen your shoulders. Smile. Close your eyes. You’ll be surprised at how many voices you’ll hear, whispering sweet encouragement into your ear.” — Mike Dooley * * * Place of sweet relaxation, end of Smith’s Neck Rd., Old Lyme, Conn. — Photo by Margaret … More Encouragement
“I like it when it rains hard. It sounds like white noise everywhere, which is like silence but not empty.” — Mark Haddon * * * Rained in. Photo by Jan Logozzo © 2016
“I find that even small changes sometimes jog you out of a mental rut.” — Tom Perrotta * * * Tidal channels. Photo by Mary O’Connor © 2016
“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” — Andre Gide * * * Kayakers on Oyster River. Photo by Mary O’Connor © 2016
“Until you stand on your own two feet and take responsibility for your own life, you will never truly know how strong you really are.” — Nishan Panwar “Only you can hold yourself back, only you can stand in your own way. Only you can help yourself.” — Mikhail Strabo * * * … More Confidence
“Give the ones you love wings to fly, roots to come back and reasons to stay.” — Dalai Lama * * * “Bless this Nest” watercolor painting by Mary O’Connor © 2016 (currently hanging in the Essex (CT) Art Association Summer Exhibition, “Where I Live.”)
It was a day when the ocean lay still, merging its salty wetness with the dank side of the sky and the air was thick with fish, so thick that you could see them—in full color, I might add—darting and turning through the edges of waves before losing their way in the deep. There were … More Counting fish
“Keep calm and pretend you are at the beach.” — author unknown Load your favorite inflatable beach buddy onto the back of a hot yellow Nash Metropolitan beach car, then “take a deep breath. Get present at the moment and ask yourself what is important this very second.” — Greg McKeown * * * Photo by Jan … More Stay cool
“It takes a huge effort to free yourself from memory” — Paulo Coelho “The living owe it to those who no longer can speak to tell their story for them.” — Czeslaw Milosz Shoes on the Danube Promenade ― A haunting and moving memorial to the Jewish victims shot into the Danube in 1944-45 by … More Commemorate
Listen to the foghorn moan─ pushing its throaty alarm through the weight of night, stilling the pulse of the day, erasing all distinction. Perhaps the unknown of its tone comes straight from the gods themselves, murmuring their message in primal sound. Tonight, its voice grows louder, more enchanting than in past, diving to the depths of … More Last thing at night…
Life Is Full of Sweet Spots 