Light Up My Life May 6, 2008

CANDLE POWER – IT’S TRUE POWER

THE REAL POWER OF CANDLES…….

When I was a child, candles formed a part of our daily lives. We lived on a smallholding with no Electricity for the first 6 years of my life, so we used candles and oil lamps for lighting. Now, with the power cuts we are experiencing in South Africa, many people have to revert to candle power once again. Many people don’t have gas or oil lamps and cannot afford to buy them.

I, however, love the mystique and romance that candle light brings. There are two ways of interpreting images by candle light. One could see the eerie and sinister shadows as “monsters”, or you could consider the power of that single candle being able to create a new world with extra objects that disappear as soon as you blow out the candle. The shadows on the wall,and the reflection on the table are all gone when the flame is gone! One candle has that much power…

The warm glow of candle light on the face of a child brings such soft tones instead of the harsh brightness that the electric globe gives us. It emphasizes the innocence… On a cold winter’s night the warmth encompasses us and is comforting and peaceful.

People are very quick to complain about not having “Electric Power”, but the lack of it forces us to become quiet and reflect on our lives… No TV, Radio, or Computers… In this rushed life where we don’t have the time to relax and have a good look at the life we are living – always chasing after something – never in one place long enough to appreciate life itself. Most people don’t live their lives….they are too busy trying to control it to actually live it and enjoy it!!

Come on!! I dare you to switch off all the lights, and light a few candles. Sit and relax while you watch the shadows, forever in motion in the light of the flame that flickers at the slightest breeze. How fragile is that flame, and yet, it clings to the wick like someone clinging to the rock face of a mountain after falling over the edge. It is not that easy to blow out the flame… you need to really blow hard… and even after the flame is gone, for a few seconds you can still see the glow on the wick, as if reluctant to really let go.

I would love to be like a candle in other people’s lives, bringing them warmth and softness – a vision of warmth instead of the cold reality of a life of chasing after rainbows.

Changing Scenes May 6, 2008

CHANGING SCENES

Life is like a cloud – forever changing shape and direction……

Have you ever had a good look at clouds and cloud formations.

A while back we traveled back from Piet Retief in Mpumalanga, (South Africa) where we had done a Wedding Photo and DVD shoot.

As we traveled clouds started gathering more and more until the sky was covered with white fluffy cotton balls. White candy floss forever changing shape.

I love finding shapes and forms in the clouds. “Look – there is a bear lying sleeping!! and there is an old man smoking a pipe!! Is that a little lamb?”

Alas! within minutes – sometimes seconds – they disappear and change into fluffy cotton balls again. Sometimes they stay longer, changing shape, but still recognizable.

Beautiful!! So many different sights to see. Some clouds are very
dark – almost black. Others seem blue, and then the bright white ones that almost hurt your eyes when you look at them. “Look, there are some bright gold and orange clouds – isn’t it a sight too beautiful to even describe!”

Then I think of the proverb – or is it just a saying – “Every dark cloud has a silver lining”, and I realize that it is literally true. Look at all the large black clouds hovering above the mountains. They each have an incredibly bright edge… a silver lining!!

Our lives are just like these clouds. There are so many different shapes, sizes and colors and they are forever changing.

Show me the person who can HONESTLY say that their life is the same every day, and I will have a hard time believing you. Every day comes with its own joys, challenges and sorrows, and it does not only choose certain people. Everyone must go through the happy and the sad, the success and the failure…to be able to grow.

Everyone’s life is like a cloud, I know mine is. Every dark cloud has a silver lining….sometimes you have to look carefully to find it, but it is there… the same way every dark period in your life will have a bright spot hidden somewhere…just look for it. Also remember that the sky is always darkest just before the dawn!!

I know that it is not always easy to stay positive, but with help from above I know that I will always be safe.

Here are some quotes I love and would like to share with you:

“Try and fail, but don’t fail to try.” ………………………………………………………. by: Stephen Kaggwa

“If you only do what you know you can do- you never do very much.” …………. by: Tom Krause

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow …………………………………………. by: Mary Anne Radmacher

“You are the embodiment of the information you choose to accept and act upon. To change your circumstances you need to change your thinking and subsequent actions.” …………………………………………………………………………………………………. by: Adlin Sinclair

“Anyone can give up, it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength.” ……………….by: Unknown

And this is my best choice:

“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.” ……………………………………by: Mark Victor Hansen.