Beauty Everywhere

22 Dec 2013 1 Comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

American BeautyMaybe I’m strange, but one of my favourite films is American Beauty, directed by Sam Mendes and starring Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening. It is the story of a dysfunctional family and the interaction between them and their new neighbours. It involves Lester Burnham, played by Spacey, his wife Carolyn, played by Bening and their daughter Jane, played by Thora Birch, who befriends the boy next door, Ricky Fitts, played by Wes Bentley.

Ricky videos life, all aspects of life, and sees the beauty in everything from a dead bird to a plastic bag dancing in the wind. It’s not an easy watch. It touches on all manner of issues, from death, drugs and interpersonal problems to Nazi memorabilia, gay rights and marital infidelity, but it is beautifully acted and even more beautifully filmed.

Having watched it again, but for the first time in high definition today, it got me thinking about the sheer amount of beauty in life. Of course, much of life is ugly, but there is often an underlying beauty there too. It reminded me of a set of photos I took at Westonbirt arboretum a couple of years ago, that I reworked into a video set to music. I challenge you to watch the video and not to see just how beautiful life can be, even when the subject is autumn leaves, the dying season of the year. Watch it here.

Shorter Days

03 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , ,

Lighting The WayCycling to and from work is doing me a power of good, though I am beginning to wonder just how much longer I can do it before the ever darker mornings force me to change my route, or invest in some serious lights.

This morning, although sunrise was officially 5 minutes before I set off, it was still quite gloomy and there was also a light sea mist, so it was blinking lights front and rear, all the way to the office.

Whilst the current lights do a very fine job of signalling my presence to other cyclists and road users, the front light won’t provide sufficient illumination to ride safely up the Castleman Trailway, the beautiful tunnel of trees that takes me from Creekmore, all the way to the top of Gravel Hill.

Even the cycle path alongside the A31 has its fair share of interesting challenges. Tree roots, raised manhole covers, lumps, bumps and wonky kerbs all serve to keep the riders attention, even though it is a great deal safer than jousting with the traffic. In daylight, they are inconsequential, but in the deepening gloom, they could present a problem.

So do I succumb to the shortening days, put the bike away until next spring, or make the necessary purchase to allow me to continue? The Dark Passenger, my fundamental darkness, is telling me that it will soon be much colder, wetter, that the car would be so much more comfortable. He’s right, of course he is, but I am determined to stay fit and not reverse any of my hard-earned weight loss, so where’s that Wiggle website?

Dying Embers

18 Nov 2012 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

The Dying Embers Of AutumnWith winter creeping ever closer, it has been great to have a couple of days, particularly at the weekend, where the sun shines and the temperatures are a little higher than they normally are at this time of year.

Taking the opportunity to get out in the sunshine, for the second time in two days, has been great. There’s always the temptation, as the days get shorter, to wrap up warm, make a nice bowl of soup and hunker down in the comfort of home, shutting out the wind and weather.

So it is a little ray of happiness when the weather and the weekend conspire to coincide and allow us that opportunity, to give us just a glimpse of the dying embers of autumn, before closing the curtains of winter on the rest of the year.