Scream!!!

Gulls on Toronto Island on a sunny day in May. The sound of screaming gulls evoques many childhood memories of the sea, of cannes, Martinique... I love these intelligent birds.

His Holiness the 14th Dalai lama of Tibet is honoring us all in Toronto by a visit this week-end. here is an extract from the teaching His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet will read, from the 8 verses of "training the mind".

I liked this passage a lot . It talks about the difficulty to identify with absolute compassion for most of us. With a simple comparision, he puts this endevour into perspective in a way to which most can relate :

"The point is to try to develop the scope of one's empathy in such a way that it can extend to any form of life that has the capacity to feel pain and experience happiness. It is a matter of defining a living organism as a sentient being. This kind of sentiment is very powerful, and there is no need to be able to identify, in specific terms, with every single living being in order for it to be effective. Take, for example, the universal nature of impermanence. When we cultivate the thought that things and events are impermanent, we do not need to consider every single thing that exists in the universe in order for us to be convinced of impermanence. That is not how the mind works. So it is important to appreciate this point."

painting in the rain

Painting in the rain is not easy. You have to time it... Have a plastic cover handy and a plan for sudden downpour... but otherwise, it is not as much of a problem as you might think. We managed quite well Anita and I, on our little island, having set ourself up on the narrow shore side of the island, away from the wind, with lots of food at hand to snack on, the stove near by to make hot tea or chicory-mocha on-demand!

We sat on our life vests, drank tea and painted, observing the weeds, trees, birds, drifting logs. A miriad of wonders to look at with rain-washed eyes.

canoe and rain

Back in September. At the bottom of the portage between smoke lake and Ragged lake, this small arm of the lake always gives me a feeling of deep tranquility and of having "arrived". Though this trip was a wet and cold one, that did not stop Anita or me to enjoy it thouroughly. We elected after debate to stay on what I now call "turtle Island" a small island with a long beach the later favored ; according to hundreeds of rubery shell-bits found there ; by turtles, I suspect snaping turtles. 3 inspiring days of painting for me and sketching for Anita. It is the second time we go to Algonquin together and so far we have not had much luck with the weather. But then, neither of us likes the heat so it's just as well - except for lack of painting opportunities.