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Sketching

When we were kids, my sister and I had a large collection of comic books. One of them was Yakari, stories of a little Native American and his mustang, Petit Tonnerre – Little Storm. My Dad, who has amazing drawing skills, used to draw, upon our requests, Yakari and his horse and other animals on our school books as cover. I always admired and envied my Dad’s skills and ability to draw and I wish I could provide here copies of his sketches and drawings. He could reproduce any animals perfectly, with its characteristic and personality. I always thought I couldn’t draw..

Well, through the current absence of strucuture (job, home, friends and family, and even belongings), I have recently discovered that I can immensely enjoy myself by drawing flowers..

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A whole new horizon opens up…and it’s fun!

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Being inspired

Being bored do that to you ..(or not)
To me anyway.. Need to find a way.. Something.. To do. To create. To find some kind of fulfillment. Somehow..

At the moment, with very limited tools, and inspired by my friend Anne -snowanne.blogspot.com – I draw lines, and make flowers. Quite obsessively. But with much joy too..

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1er Aout

Happy 1er Aout.. Happy Swiss day!!

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Yesterday I found this Deli in Parap, Darwin… And I got very excited by this:

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Cheeses. All sorts, from around the world.

Spotted some Gruyere but haven’t found yet the L’Etivaz cheese..

During the 1er Aout – Swiss day, a few rituals to enjoy (that I’ll miss):
Swiss cross buns. Delicious.
‘Rebibe’ – large shaved slice of old dry cheese to enjoy with a glass of white wine and bits and pieces of dry meat.. And so on..

And then, with the night will come the multitude of fires set alight on top of the mountains around..

And fireworks of course!!

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Salut les Suisses..

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In limbo

Relocating to another place 3’300 kilometers away is not an easy exercise. It requires some logistic put in place in advance. We did that well.

We travelled and did more than 10’000 kilometers of endless roads, dirt roads, corrugated or rocky, through desertique at times, magical and marvelous sceneries, along stunning sea shores. Our ute loaded with our camping stuff, our tent and everything else thorougly packed. Our aim, each day, was to travel well.. on those roads, as well as inside ourselves. And we did that well too..

But now that we have arrived, there is SO much more.. where do I start..

We’ve unpacked the car, put aside our camping stuff. And then..what? Searching for a job, a home, settling, connecting, creating our place… Exciting. Overwhelming.

While I am looking forward to all those things, I am also very much looking forward to get my stuff back.. you know..stuff… my books, my pictures, my kette bags from New Zealand, the swiss calendar my mum sent early this year, the photos of my family in Switzerland… and my clothes and my shoes, my computer (I’m at the public library right now), my art stuff, my canvas that I left unfinished..and all those little things that we collect and put around ourselves to feel home.. to remind ourselves of those amazing connections we have made throughout our life, to feel connected to the ones we love…

A home with a soul…and some music too…

This place where I am sitting and holding myself is in between.. and at times, this is excruciating.

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Needing faith

We can put our whole heart into whatever we do; but if we freeze our attitude into for or against, we’re setting ourselves up for stress. Instead, we could just go forward with curiosity, wondering where this experiment will lead. This kind of open-ended inquisitiveness captures the spirit of enthusiasm, or heroic perseverance.

~ Pema Chödrön, Buddhist teacher

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I think I need to read this beautiful quote several time each day. Repeat it and repeat it again.. To let go of my impatience and my expectations.

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..and have faith

“Therefore, dear Sir, love your solitude and try to sing out with the pain it causes you. For those who are near you are far away… and this shows that the space around you is beginning to grow vast…. be happy about your growth, in which of course you can’t take anyone with you, and be gentle with those who stay behind; be confident and calm in front of them and don’t torment them with your doubts and don’t frighten them with your faith or joy, which they wouldn’t be able to comprehend. Seek out some simple and true feeling of what you have in common with them, which doesn’t necessarily have to alter when you yourself change again and again; when you see them, love life in a form that is not your own and be indulgent toward those who are growing old, who are afraid of the aloneness that you trust…. and don’t expect any understanding; but believe in a love that is being stored up for you like an inheritance, and have faith that in this love there is a strength and a blessing so large that you can travel as far as you wish without having to step outside it.”

― Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

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