Twenty- five Seven

Looking beyond the beautiful sunset

November 13, 2016

Keep looking up! I learn from the past, dream about the future and look up. There’s nothing like a beautiful sunset to end a healthy day.

Rachel Boston

Source : http://mobile.brainyquote.com/

A sunset at Carmel by the sea

Sunsets fascinate me

Especially when I see the sun melt slowly in the sea.

Yesterday I witnessed a spectacular sunset at Carmel by the sea.

Did you know that Clint Eastwood of Dirty Harry fame once served as mayor of this quaint little seaside town in California?

[Tweet “Did you know that you need a permit to wear your high heels in Carmel by the Sea? “]

Yesterday I was lucky enough to make a fleeting visit to this town during my short trip to California.

Waiting for the sun to set at Carmel by the Sea. The tiny beach was crowded as people came down to see the sun set . They came with dogs, children and their cameras to share and shoot this glorious sight of the sun slipping slowly into the deep blue sea

There are some stunning trees, with gnarled wood and twisted trunks shaped by the wind and sea.

A split second before the sun went down . With the sun blazing fiercely, it was easier to see it go down through a camera lens rather than the naked eye

And as the sun went down, the moon came up immediately! It was large and almost full.

Inside the church people getting ready to celebrate the Mass.

And while they prayed the moon above shone upon the earth below

The 200 year old Spanish church burnished in the setting sunlight

Frozen in stone with a cherub in his arms, a friar smells the roses inside the gate of the mission compound

The Missions of California

The Fransiscan friars were the first European settlers in California. They set up 21 missions along a 600 mile coastal stretch from Sonoma to San Diego to spread the message of Christianity.

Several cities developed around these missions, San Francisco being one of them
Mission San Carlos Borromeo del río Carmelo, also known as the Carmel Mission or Mission Carmel, is a Roman Catholic mission church in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. Wikipedia

If you are visiting San Francisco, I would definitely recommend a visit to Carmel by the sea!

[Tweet “And wherever you are tonight, don’t forget to look up to see the spectacular Supermoon!”]

I’m off now to see some more – wine country or giant redwoods?
Dragons & Fairies #FridayReflections

November 10, 2016

A fairy tale

Once upon a time there was a ________ and there was a _________. One day _______happened and then _______ did ________and they lived happily ever after .

Oh ! How I love this simple format of storytelling where the blanks can be filled with people, dragons, monsters , fairies and all kinds of creatures real or make believe. These characters come together,confront each other, fight each other, collaborate and eventually solve the issue and live happily ever after.

Fairy tales are true!

How simple this sounds. Yet, this formula is rooted in reality. We all have demons that plague us every day. Whether it is the fear of losing something or someone or an actuality we are facing , our monsters are real. We all have our insecurities and worries. We have our dragons that torment, our fears that paralyse us and fairies that help us. We have guardian angels that watch out for us and witches that put spells on us. We rant and we rave. We take positive steps. We make multiple attempts to solve the problem. But oftentimes, we come up against blank walls and diversions that force us to re-think our strategy and often start afresh.

But the lessons that we learn through the stories of Goldilocks , Sleeping Beauty , Hansel and Gretel, Alice in Wonderland or the Water Babies remain with us all through our lives. Taking inspiration from them, we bumble our way through to find a way through the quagmire. Eventually we emerge happy and content.

A Happily Ever After

Conditioned to fall asleep to fairy tales as a child and later on a book at night, I often find the day’s events running through my mind as I settle down to bed. Reliving the immediate past helps in refocusing and realigning my thoughts and helps me prepare for the next day. While I connect the dots and untangle the knots the goal of living happily ever after, guides me forward with a sense of calm.

I believe that monsters and fairies who exist in an imaginary world can be slain in our own worlds too. Their tales of courage and adventure weave a magical blanket that makes me believe that I can be a dragon slayer too! There is always a wicked witch in the background, there is always a devil waiting to trip me up but thanks to the fairy tales of my childhood I know there is always a happily ever after !

Do you believe in the magic of fairy tales? Are you a dragon slayer? Do you rescue lost children and kiss sleeping princesses awake?

Do share your real life fairy tale .

Linking up with #FridayReflections by Corinne of WriteTribe and Sanchie Vee
Despite it all I find myself at the bottom of the mountain still #FridayReflections

October 30, 2016

Here I am at the foot of the mountain and

see the top ahead of me ,

tall, reaching out to the sky.

The lofty goals I ‘d set myself .

Often I had imagined , how it would be out there –

My head above the clouds, nearer the stars, the sun, the moon.

Staring at the world below, Savouring the rarified air.

And basking in the glory on the pinnacle of whatever it was I wanted to be .

I’d like to think I tried my best to get on top of things, clambering up step by step, scratching my knees, changing my path, to make the journey up the hill.

Yet , Despite it all I find myself at the bottom of the mountain still.

Looking upwards as it looms ahead , still waiting for me

patiently.

Till suddenly I realise with shock that all along, this was where I was meant to be.

Right at the bottom, always there , waiting to help others to get up there,

To help them climb successfully .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Are you like me, far away from meeting your goals and fulfilling your ambitions?

This often made frustrated and disappointed till I realised that I was in a place where I was needed and perhaps that was the journey meant for me !

Responding to the prompt

“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.” – Douglas Adams.

Join me and other bloggers at #FridayReflections hosted by Sanchie Vee.

Photo credit: Snappa