DRAWING IN THE DUST

DRAWING IN THE DUST
                         - NOVEL BY ZOE KLEIN

(Description of the book in an interview with the Author, Zoe Klein.)

-The creation that is happening through out the novel is a choreography of a dance between mortal and eternal. Toward the end of the novel, Page realizes, " Story is the one thing that moves between death and life. The soul of a person is made from stories. Stories that keep telling themselves over countless ages, and when a man no longer listens, they become the lyrics to the music of galaxies." She finally begins to transform the battle into a dance.

THE SCROLL OF ANATIYA

" There are times when I fall into a trance, when I feel myself far away, lingering over the date tree. I look down at myself as I write in the scroll. I look down at the people who nibble baskets of berries and nuts. And I lie upon the air and float as if on water with no fear of falling. And when I return and my eyes are my own, the words I have written are not. They are lyrics from some other place, from some other hand, but I dare not discard them."

                                     

                                                  -Zoe Klein, Drawing in the Dust 

" See the gnarled olive tree, hollowed out by lightning and by rot. Even so, and without much effort, it raises up a true branch feathered with long green leaves that ruffle silvery in the wind. It manages to nourish, with it's body utterly cored, a dangling of olive-fruit, rich as the coins dangling over a wealthy bride's forehead."

                                     

                                                     -Zoe Klein, Drawing in the Dust

“I realize the dust we return to is not the same dust from which we come. It is not that we come from ashes and nothingness and return to the same ashes and nothingness. The dust we return to has history. The ashes we become were touched, inscribed, detailed, adorned. They glowed.” 

                                     

                                                   -Zoe Klein, Drawing in the Dust

" I stir up love into roaring waves. I cast a glisten into dull eyes. My love is a great river that bursts it's banks and gushes from the portents of the sky, a flood that none can hold back, washing over towers and walls. Love's matriarch! Untouched by my own lover, my desire overwhelms and spills from me in torrents. My love cannot be measured, nor can it's foundations ever be fathomed. As I contemplate the infinity of my love, a great miracle is mustered out of the depths of my musing- the sky rains! Great ropes of rain descend, in a great splashing rush! "

                               

                                                -Zoe Klein, Drawing in the Dust

" Your eyes were the only eyes, the only eyes saw everything. They drank in the visions like quills drinking ink. "

            

                                                -Zoe Klein, Drawing in the Dust

The creation that is happening throughout the novel is the choreography of a dance between mortal and eternal. Toward the end of the novel, Page realizes, “Story is the one thing that moves between death and life. The soul of a person is made from stories. Stories that keep telling themselves over countless ages, and when man no longer listens, they become the lyrics to the music of galaxies.” She finally begins to transform the battle into dance. - See more at: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Zoe-Klein/48562018/interviews/63#sthash.Ci3CK8YH.dpuf

The creation that is happening throughout the novel is the choreography of a dance between mortal and eternal. Toward the end of the novel, Page realizes, “Story is the one thing that moves between death and life. The soul of a person is made from stories. Stories that keep telling themselves over countless ages, and when man no longer listens, they become the lyrics to the music of galaxies.” She finally begins to transform the battle into dance. - See more at: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Zoe-Klein/48562018/interviews/63#sthash.Ci3CK8YH.dpuf

The creation that is happening throughout the novel is the choreography of a dance between mortal and eternal. Toward the end of the novel, Page realizes, “Story is the one thing that moves between death and life. The soul of a person is made from stories. Stories that keep telling themselves over countless ages, and when man no longer listens, they become the lyrics to the music of galaxies.” She finally begins to transform the battle into dance.
- See more at: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Zoe-Klein/48562018/interviews/63#sthash.Ci3CK8YH.dpuf

LUCKY ONES

                                           

                                                                     THIS IS MY STORY:

I have been wanting to write this blog for the longest time, but something kept me away from it. I guess it was not knowing how am I going to write something that I am deeply passionate about. I call my Passion of  "Animal Love" a Journey. A journey of realization that started from childhood to adulthood, journey of understanding animals through their eyes and through out the years this journey has become a deep passion for me, the Passion to "Save Animals" and bring awareness to the ones who do not. I think every human has compassion, the problem is they have not tapped into it yet. And that brings me to my next question, WHY? 

My first ever debate was few years ago, with someone I knew and he said - His concern was the world will get over populated with animals if we stop eating meat!! My response to that was a straight head on dumb stare, because I was DUMBSTRUCK with the most ridiculous, mind boggling statement, even GOD would have tipped over listening to this.... There's a lot more of these insanely dumb debates I had attended, but the other kind of humans I have experienced in my life were the one's that depend their philosophy on different basis according to their circumstances. People that believe non- harm to living beings and the minute they see a small, tiny baby spider, they run looking for the biggest shoe, that could eliminate the hazard....

These little experiences, shaped my own understanding not just for animals, but Life itself. This blog is not to back stab all those people, but to bring awareness. I am not going to say I have always been the most aware, but my actions and realization taught me a little by little through out the years. The realization only came, when I kept my eyes and ears open and chose not to ignore existence.

I used to be an Insect Killer. There goes my confession. And my weapon was my SHOE... PHEW!! That makes me sound horrible, Doesn't it? Trust me, I have left a lot of evidence behind....

The hypocritical truth of my situation was........ (*ready*).. I was already following the path of  "DO NOT HARM, then how could I be harming? ",That was the final moment of truth and now I am an ex-Insect Killer and my weapon now is, to let it go because it's not harming me.. So I bought a plastic container and wrote INSECT RESCUE on it, and I kept it handy all the time, so if I ever get an intruder all I got to do is capture it and release.... Mission Accomplished.

So yea, It felt like GOD had caught me, reprimanded me, put me on trial and released me....

The sad part is, we all have the understanding, the knowledge, the voice but as humans we tend to stay in our lazy comfort zone. If humans believe that God made this world, and we are his creation then something is missing... You have to learn to shed tears for others to get to a point of realization within, till then this cycle of hypocracy will keep going. There's a lot to talk about this topic, some heart warming and some brutal honest truth, but I had decided to keep this simple. And the most simple statement is " learn to live with compassion." Every Animal cries, Every Animal feels pain, they have the same color blood, and most of all EVERY ANIMAL HAS A STORY.... So let's fill in the blank in our lives with little heart humbling experiences and not our plates...

My surprise trip to Woodstock Animal Sanctuary, a place nestled in the mountains, where every animal have a story.

                                                         
                                                                LET'S MEET:
                                                                      KAYLI 

You can read more about Kayli at:
http://woodstocksanctuary.org/meet-the-animals/cows/kayli/

                                                             LET'S MEET:
                                                                   DIANE

You can read more about Diane at:  
http://woodstocksanctuary.org/meet-the-animals/other-critters/diane/

                                                            LET'S MEET:
                                                                    ELVIS

You can read more about Elvis at:
http://woodstocksanctuary.org/meet-the-animals/cows/elvis/

                                                              LET'S MEET:
                                                                  MARINE

You can read more about Marine at:
http://woodstocksanctuary.org/meet-the-animals/sheep/marin/

So this is the story of my journey. I think we all have the capacity and compassion to understand every living being.


Not every animal has a happy ending and their stories are taken away before they can even have one. To feel compassion, sometimes you have to open your eyes.
And to see what Humans do to animals, you can check out Anna Molls, Pinterest board by clicking on the link below or you can copy and paste. I guarantee, you will be saddened by what humans are capable of doing.  Her board awakens the truth behind animal abuse and torture throughout the world. Pass the link around, and let's bring awareness.
http://www.pinterest.com/daisy1718/

 Go Vegetarian and save lives, as you would like to save yours...

DREAMY STREETS

I have lately become obsessed with small, cozy streets and towns. I love the coziness, the familiarity it spreads  while walking the ancient architecture. Every time I walk through small streets it brings out a content feel to my personality, especially those little homely coffee places and bookstores. I love those corner restaurants with outdoor sitting, only because a nice cold salad with a glass of wine and a little bit of sunshine feels like Heaven. I have no complains for a rainy day either, it all brings out the best.

 

You can check out more street views on: http://www.pinterest.com/sal3002/streets/

CELESTIAL MAGIC

It's Lunar eclipse, and I have managed to stay up till 4 AM, so I can take as many pics as I can while the magic is still going on. The Magic in the Sky, the Heavens, etc, etc.... There was no way, I was going to miss this event, I just wasn't sure how I was going to keep myself awake, but I managed it pretty well, all because my excitement was child-like. Watching the eclipse, was like a painting in progress, or a video being posted live by the universe on World Tube (AS IN YOU TUBE). I remember standing by my bedroom window, witnessing the red starting to spread out over the white, before I headed out, and let me tell you this, it is very humbling. I look for the mystical in the everyday, and this one was a hit. It's amazing, every culture has myths, and stories about Lunar Eclipses, some say it is bad luck to see one, and some say it's evil, some have gods and goddesses connected to the eclipse... It's all pretty exciting, but for me personally it is a spiritual vision, a soul healing phenomena, and an enigmatic process of our night sky. 

Here are the shots. A canvas of magic in the night sky.

TRAVEL DIARY- AYRSHIRE

DUNURE CASTLE

So here I am again, a Castle obsessed, fanatic, crazy person. Have you ever discovered something in your life that leaves a mark, a memory, a familiarity within you. Well that is exactly what happened to me. Every Castle I visited, left me wanting more. As I mentioned in my last blog, I have left my soul hovering over one those historical monuments. It sounds scary, but the feeling is great. So the target for the day was Dunure Castle and Culzean Castle, not too far apart from each other.

 The adrenaline rush I had that morning while on my way, was incredible. I know, I know, you might be wondering what has adrenaline rush to do with a scenic drive? Well, I am a Gemini and we live in a world that only we know and feel...I think as a Gemini, I tend to have an obsession with the unknown, the untouched, life on the edge, and certainly everything that has a story. So here I was on my way to the "wholly ruins"

A Castle perched above the water, the ruins of Dunure Castle lies overlooking Ayr Bay in the Firth of Clyde. The original structure was built in the 13th Century.

 
 Although it doesn't look like any other regular structure, and that of course is because it's said to have gone through a gruesome event, just like any Castle Story. The castle stands in Ruins today, but the spectacular view gives that oomph to the whole scene.

Photos can never do justice, but the feeling of standing on the grounds of the ruins was beyond belief. A ruin, with a silent history embed in those walls, standing on the jagged edges of the Ayrshire shoreline.  

                                                         VIEW FROM THE CASTLE:

This awesome view was just the beginning because as soon as I turned around, in the distant I saw another breath taking view of Ailsa Craig.

AILSA CRAIG

  An island of 219.69 acres in the outer on the Firth of Clyde, 10 miles from mainland Scotland upon-which blue hone granite was quarried to make curling stones. The now uninhabited island is formed from the volcanic plug of an extinct volcano.

The island, colloquially known as "Paddy's milestone",was a haven for Catholics during the Scottish Reformation in the 16th century, but is today a bird sanctuary, providing a home for huge numbers of gannets and an increasing number of puffins.

The island is owned by The 8th Marquess of Ailsa but since May 2011 has been up for sale. By March 2013 the asking price was for offers over £1,500,000, down from the original asking price of £2,500,000 ( Wikipedia)

ROAD TO CULZEAN CASTLE

The memory of the road to Culzean Castle was another dream like scenic drives.

Far away view of Culzean Castle from the road left an amazing memory upon my mind. The roads felt too long to reach my destination, or maybe because the majestic building made itself look "too hard to reach". The Castle looked like magic, as it stood on the edge looking over the coastline. We pulled up after driving for a mile or two, as it was "Snappy Hour"

 ( The funny twist to this phrase is, it was close to Five O'Clock, on our way to Culzean). 

It was a moment where I had to stop and allow the outward to change me somewhere inward ( Dont work your brains too hard, as I was going through a Gemini moment). 

SPECTACULAR VIEW OF CULZEAN CASTLE FROM THE SHOULDER:

My head was rushing through thousand analisations of the moment, I wasnt sure if I was in a different world or a different was around me. A solidified beauty.

TRAVEL DIARY - LOCH LOMOND AND THE TROSSACHS

LOCH LOMOND

So it was day 2 and still jet-lagged, after 14 hours traveling cross country, we head to the scenic grounds of The Trossachs. But before all that, I needed a cup of Joe, but as I was in the UK, I had to leave my American ways aside and instead order some nice strong Tea. So here we were heading to Lodge on Loch Lomond and Duck Bay Marina. Located on the Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond, situated amidst the spectacular scenery. It was a great morning, beautiful scenery with the company of hot tea, without rushing the morning routine, and rush hour traffic, life was great in that moment, enjoying unrivaled views of the Loch and Ben Lomond. But before that here is my cup of Joe.. ( oopps, I mean Tea)

                                       

My cup of Joe, at Lodge on Loch Lomond

                                     ANOTHER CUP OF TEA AT DUCK BAY MARINA

Scotland weather permits a lot of rainbows, as the weather is a mixture of sun and rain, and here is the shot of a beautiful rainbow just before heading out and on our way to Trossach.

                               

                                           HEADING OUT TOWARDS THE TROSSACHS:

Stunning area of mountains and moorlands, lochs and rivers, you feel like you are at the start of something exciting here. You can see the land rears up above the green lowlands. 
THE TROSSACHS- Scottish Gaelic, Na Trosaichean, lying to the east of Ben Lomond.

So here I am snap happy, clicking away and I see this view, amazing view before I saw something else that left me awestruck.

 So much air of tranquility and peace, you'd be forgiven for being a million miles away from your everyday life. And in the middle of all this, I happened to see a view of something on my way down and this was a Kodak moment for me. I still can't get over this place in my mind. It was one of the most amazing, spectacular, soul healing views. It could also be because, Castle looking structures have this haunting, enigmatic aura about it, and anything that is unreachable is always what I want to go for.

                                          TIGH MOR TROSSACHS, LOCH ACHRAY:

 The Trossachs Hotel was built on the north bank of Loch Achray in response to the growing number of tourists visiting the region. The building now functions as the Tigh Mor Trossachs holiday apartments. Formerly the Trossachs Hotel, it was built in the 19th century, following the publication in 1020 of Sir Walter Scott's Poem The Lady of the Lake.

TRAVEL DIARY - STIRLING, SCOTLAND

STIRLING SCOTLAND:

Last week I was homesick and now I am home. So here I am again, anxious to blog after quite a few weeks and I was planning to share my travel diary from day 1 of my trip, but instead I thought about my most memorable experiences and places that have left me in a dreamy state, and quite frankly my body has returned but not my soul. Surrounded by Ben's and Lochs, beautiful music, art museums and amazing Castles, its everything I want from life. And my next blog is going to be about a magnificent castle in Stirling, not the only one but one of my most memorable,it was not just a castle but a history left behind, the architecture, the legacy that stands still in a haunting vacant space, up a mountain and away from everything, it still lives in it's own walls. Walking through vacant hallways, you can feel the past. Some say the castle is haunted and there are several stories about the Green Lady, The Highland Ghost and the Pink lady. As I didn't get a chance to witness any ghostly sightings, you will still feel like you are not alone ( aside from the tourists around you). So here it is, the most spectacular and one of the largest castles in Scotland.

                                        STIRLING CASTLE: RENAISSANCE

  By The way, is it just me, or do you see Orbs in my photograph!! Pretty exciting isn't it?

 Stirling Castle, one of the most famous and biggest, 250 feet above, sitting on an extinct volcano, surrounded by steep cliffs on all sides, giving it a defensive position. There have been at least eight sieges at Stirling Castle, including the wars of Scottish Independence, the last one being in 1746. Mary Queen of Scots was crowned in Stirling Castle in 1542. Some People say her spirit still lingers in the hallways of the Castle.

The history of Stirling Castle is pretty long and brutal. There is a lot left behind in those walls, and that's what intrigued me the most. I would not want to bore my readers with a long history, so like they say you can "GOOGLE IT". I don't mean to be Ignorant but seriously the history is too long, not that I mind, but I am not sure if all my readers are into it. So I leave the decision on you.


                                                     THE NORTH WALL: 
Continue round the palace into the inner close. This was the main route into the palace. You will see sculptures line up the north wall. All the sculptures are designed to tell a story about James V's greatness and the benefits his reign would bring. The Palace was built for King James V and his second Queen, Mary of Guise, during the Renaissance time. 

                                               STATUES THAT GRACE THE CASTLE:

                                                                 

                                 DOORS, WINDOWS AND HALLS OF THE CASTLE:

                                                            VIEW FROM THE CASTLE:

And lastly Mel Gibson visited Stirling Castle in 1995. The Hollywood actor, who starred in and directed the film Braveheart, was here to attend the film’s premiere.