Mosaic Monday: Cockles for Lunch

Finding cockles on the beach
Cooking them in an open fire
For lunch.

More mosaics at Mary's.

This Broke My Heart

On an otherwise quiet day,
the sleepy island was suddenly jolted into life at lunch time.
Two whales had found themselves stranded
on the shallow waters by the shore,
it was heard.
The news spread like wildfire
and everyone rushed to the beach to see the giant creatures.
Children left their playing,
the women abandoned their kitchens amid lunch preparations,
the men rode on their motorcycles and bicycles.
They all hurried to the beach.
So did we.

When we got there,
we found that the two "whales"
were really two very large dolphins.
By that time
they had both landed on shore and were dead.
And the worst part was
that before the creature had actually died,
some people had cut open the belly of one,
wanting to get the ambergris out,
not knowing that this was not a whale;
and even when we got there
- some two hours after they landed on shore -
the sea was reddish with the overflowing blood
and there were people standing/sitting on top of the poor creatures
posing for pictures.

It made me want to throw up.
How horribly cruel some people can be...

Relaxing the Mind

Waves gently lap

the shore strewn with dhiggaa blossoms

and hundreds of little shells.

Across the stretch of sea is the new, luxurious Shangri-La

but I am content here

watching the patterns left by the waves

and the crabs disappearing underground.

Play

Play.

Play like a child does
carefree
fully involved
ingeniously creative.



Run

Climb

Balance

Hide-and-go-seek

Swing high enough to reach the clouds

Tell stories from a tree-seat

Build castles for the fairies

Play.
Play like a child does.

Eid Ul'Alha

Today we celebrate
Eid Ul' Alha
the Muslim "Festival of Sacrifice,"
the biggest celebration in the Islamic calendar.

Eid Mubarak!

Idyllic Island Life?

We visited this rural island this week.
An island where only a third of the people on its electoral register
actually live there.
The roads are unpaved.
With hardly any vehicles.

The houses are usually surrounded by coral-stone walls.
Many of the homes have long been abandoned.
In the spacious yards,
fruit trees thrive.

Bananas are plentiful,
as are of course coconut
(that goes without saying!)
and breadfruit.
Mango, papaya and guava trees
are also observed.

Elderly men walking back home
after prayers at the mosque.

A woman carrying food
from her house to a neighbour's.

And children playing
(although with iron rods)
on the street.
Barefeet grey with the dusty earth.
But happy smiles on their faces.

On our drive

It was a picture-perfect blue-sky day.
Driving through the five connected islands,
in the afternoon,
we observed:

children going for walks,
hand in hand.
curious eyes
and ready smiles.

The youth on motorcycles
riding aimlessly.

And this one
- my favourite find of the day -
a man taking home
the catch of the day
strapped carefully
to the back of
his motocycle.

Scales, Feathers and Fur

It gives me the creeps.
But Hero had a fabulous time
stroking this green beast.

Taking time out
to preen its feathers
on top of a coconut palm?

Sun bathing,
hoping for a little bit of tan
to do away with the paleness?

No I'm not hurt.
I'm just resting.
Don't come too near me.

A visitor to our coconut palm.
I find the gleaming eyes
rather eerie.

Pillows? Dragons? Blanket?

The fifteen minute boat ride across this stretch of sea
to the island in the horizon
was spent mostly
looking up
at the
sky
and
guessing
what each puff
of cotton-woolly cloud
represented: three strokes
with a brush of white paint? a dancing camel? a train?

This one,
spied during a drive at dusk,
was most definitely
an orangey-fire
breathing dragon.

This was taken on the plane
last Thursday.
Em says
these
represent
a soft comfy blanket
perfect for dreaming in the sky.

Mirrored Images

"Only in quiet waters do things mirror themselves undistorted.
Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world."
~Hans Margolius~

"One cannot reflect in streaming water.
Only those who know internal peace
can give it to others."
~Lao Tzu~

"Reflect upon your blessings of which every man has many

- not your past misfortunes, of which all men have some."
~Charles Dickens~

Colour Wheels

I am totally in love with these colour wheels

created by Em and Hero

with their glow in the dark

thingymijigs (very technical term, you see)

which they got from a vendor on Galle Face

as the sun dipped into the ocean

Beware: I scare people

Being my last day at work this year
I have been very reflective today.
I have been thinking back on my goals for the year;
what I have achieved,
what I could have done better,
the lessons I've learned
as well as planning my targets for next year.

But I cannot get over a comment made by someone yesterday.
That I scare people.

Yes.
You read that right.
I was told that I scare people
because I am very straightforward and will say what I think upfront.
I cannot stand people when they beat around the bush
and never get to the point
wasting everyone's time
and being ambiguous along the way.
I appreciate honesty
and the ability for people to say what they mean
and mean what they say.
And I have always tried to follow that myself.

For example.
I don't tell someone that their work is good if I am not happy with it.
I tell them which aspects of it that I like
but that I would rather see such and such a thing changed in a particular way.

Another example.
When I am asked to send someone for a training programme
and I don't have the means to do so,
I don't tell them that I will attempt to "do my best."
(That is meaningless when I know that I there is nothing I can do.)
Instead, I show them exactly why it is not possible at that point in time
and how it could be made possible at a different time,
if certain conditions are met.

Another example.
I don't tell schools that we will cater to their every request.
Instead I inform every school why we cannot meet their needs
and ways in which those needs can be met in other ways.

Until yesterday
I had always felt that it was a good trait I had.
I don't think being honest and upfront
is the same as being rude.
I think I go out of my way
to be polite and pleasant.
In fact people tell me that because I smile and laugh all the time
it creates a very positive working environment.

But yesterday
I realised that some people find it uncomfortable
that I can be so blunt.

Tell me something.
What do you prefer -
a) someone who will tell you something honestly and clearly,
without pretentions;
or
b) someone who will say only what you want to hear,
eventhough it may not be actually true or doable?

Battling with my internet connection

I am frustrated

with how slow my connectivity has been these last few days

so slow that it takes ages

for anything to load

or for me to post lots of pictures

and I am almost never able to comment

on your lovely posts.

***

Today we fly south

to spend most of the vacation period with H.

(I am hoping that the internet speed will be better there.)

***

Oh,

and the name of the pink rose at the end of the last post?