The Restory Retreat Centre

AND FOR NO REASON Photo by Ralie du Preez And For no reason I start skipping like a child. And For no reason I turn into a leaf That is carried so high I kiss the Sun's mouth And dissolve. And For no reason A thousand birds Choose my head for a conference table, Start passing their Cups of wine And their wild songbooks all around. And For every reason in existence I begin to eternally, To eternally laugh and love! When I turn into a leaf And start dancing, I run to kiss our beautiful Friend And I dissolve in the Truth That I Am. ("The Gift" - versions of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky) After my previous post, Caught in the amber , I had a very stimulating discussion with a friend who sent me the above poem as a response. The carefree lilt in Hafiz's poetic voice is exactly what I yearn for, but I must admit that more often than not, I am forever seeking answers to the many whys and wherefores that life present us with. Call it design, ...

I love trying new recipes. Especially those that call for unusual ingredients or combinations of ingredients. And so I buy limes because they have exactly that –a hint of otherness. They seem somehow loftier than their relatives- oranges and lemons being so ordinary. Not l imes. Their subtle taste and fragrance satisfies my yearning for the unusual, the exceptional. I find it exhilarating that there exists such a thing as a lime.      I put them in a pretty bowl and pass by them day by day thinking that I must use them for something special. Simply juicing it like some common orange and drinking the fresh juice just won’t do. And so a week passes, and then two. And the limes in my bowl become withered and dry while the apples and bananas come and go in quick succession to nourish me at breakfast time.      Why do I do this? I seem to have a tendency to treat anything special this way. Fresh cherries, strawberries or gooseberries. Tender asparagus ...