my take on “Thursday Doors”

If creativity rains, it pours – I would like to say. I know it is not Thursday today but let us say Sunday is at the moment, the grandpa or grandma of Thursday and I would like to participate, right away to the so-called “Thursday Doors” movement by https://miscellaneousmusingsofamiddleagedmind.wordpress.com/2019/06/20/thursday-doors-june-20-2019/ which I got first the idea from https://manjameximoving.wordpress.com/tag/thursday-doors/

I like medieval castles and this particular door can be found in Burghausen, the world’s longest castle, wherein literally, this castle guards Germany from the other side of the river which is already, literally already, Austria.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burghausen,_Alt%C3%B6tting
https://www.visit-burghausen.com/en.html
this is still in Burghausen
#Burghausen
this is in Paris. I feel like it shows a true Parisian door and doorway to the apartments.
#Paris
I also love doorknobs, they are artistic and unique – unlike our modern doorknobs nowadays.
If my memory serves me well, this was taken in Sevilla, Spain.

If you want to join this challenge, I found out from Mexi that this challenge is from Norm

https://miscellaneousmusingsofamiddleagedmind.wordpress.com/2019/06/20/thursday-doors-june-20-2019/

Dear Norm, I hope you do not mind that I post it today, on a Sunday, only to jumpstart but I will post it next time on Thursdays, promise! Thanks for creating this challenge!

I am off for now, making ready for work-day-Monday. Good night to some! Good morning to others!

100 words challenge: series 1 of 1 – free day

My take on this 100 words challenge is to make it into a continuous series wherein the story continues as it evolves. Read below my first one:

It was her free day, so she woke up late, took a shower and went to her favorite breakfast place. She savored every moment, enjoyed every bite of the delicious Brioche con Salami and drank every sip of the creamy Italian chocolate drink.

She found a nice spot, after breakfast, in her favorite bookstore. Jackpot! There was an outlet, as she needed to charge her almost-empty-battery-phone. The spot where she sat was overlooking the busiest, tourist spot in the city. She was observing the busy tourists as they take selfies, amazed by the wonderful centuries-old architecture in front of them.

– written by myself (mg.aragon)

I got this inspiration from here: https://thinspiralnotebook.com/2019/07/31/100-word-challenge-write/ So here’s what to do as mentioned in the link I have shared with you:

Using โ€œwriteโ€ for inspiration, writeย 100 Wordsย โ€“ 100 exactly โ€“ no more, no less. You can either use the word โ€“ or any form of the word โ€“ as one of your 100, or it can be implied. Include a link in your post back here, and add your story to the Mister Linky list. If you donโ€™t have a blog, you can leave your submission in the comment section, or as a Facebook status post. Remember to keep spreading the love with supportive comments for your fellow Wordsters.

from https://thinspiralnotebook.com/2019/07/31/100-word-challenge-write/

Be challenged! Start exercising more that creative muscle! Join this 100 word challenge!

Lens-Artists Challenge #57 – “Taking a Break”

My take on this week’s Lens-Artists Challenge #57 – “Taking a Break” is – having fun! Some of us takes a break by pleasure.

“pause machen” as we say it here in Germany. Pauses and breaks are important to make everything in your life sustainable. Do not be guilty to indulge yourselves when needed. You deserve it!
#eisbach #surfinginthecity #munich
Dancing in the park like no one is watching – sparks so much joy that it becomes refreshing. When the opportunity comes, dance every chance you have. It is like a happy pill!
#dancing #dancinginthepark
listening to music! – one way of recreating to recover from the hustle and bustle of life, so the next time around, you will be ready again to face life head on.
#concertinthepark
“adrenalin rush” is somehow anti-break or anti-relaxing but to some people, this is how to get relaxed.
#funatoctoberfest #octoberfestrides

However you want to take a break, always go for it and never feel guilty about it – because we owe that to ourselves. We cannot give what we do not have so we need to love ourselves first in order to love others. We need to be full first before we can be fully of service to others. You need to take the oxygen first before your kid’s and so and so forth.

This week’s Lens-Artists Challenge is not easy, at least for me, because I need to search if I have the right photos. But my journey for choosing the above photos made me reflect about the topic instead and I love this exercise even more.

If you are new to this challenge, see Tina’s post to know more about this week’s challenge: https://travelsandtrifles.wordpress.com/2019/08/03/lens-artists-challenge-57-taking-a-break/

Stay tuned every Saturday (as it gets addicting) to find about the next challenge and see the guidelines using the link below: https://shareandconnect.wordpress.com/lens-artists-photo-challenge/

What’s you word for the day? – mine is creativity

At times, when we cut some dead connections in our lives, be it only accidental or deliberate, paves way to freedom and a lot of space enough for you to enable more self-reflection, self-awareness and more space for creativity to come out naturally.

Ever since I started this blog, which by the way, 2 or 3 weeks ago, I realized that in order to increase traffic to my blog, I need to also engage and participate with like-minded people here. And not only because of that, as it also enriches me to do so, I decided to take time (every weekend because of my day job) to read and explore other blogs that is also in line with my passion of creativity in photos, abstract paintings, life’s reflections and the like.

For this weekend’s exploration, I came across and read a lot about creativity and here are my lovely discoveries:

enjoying the creative cycles in life by Tracy K. https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/164007671/posts/194 wherein she talked about different cycles of creativity. I think anyone who is creative like me would relate to this.

I like how Xenia https://tranature.com/about/ at first just used her creative passion through her blogs which end up so much more. I think one just need to stick with their own passion and the rest will fall into the right place.

Another page that always tickles my creativity is by participating in the weekly Lens-Artists Challenges https://shareandconnect.wordpress.com/lens-artists-photo-challenge/ wherein for this week, it was about Seascapes. Being an island girl myself, I particularly love this challenge as the sea and any body of waters always brings me that positive feeling. https://travelsandtrifles.wordpress.com/ 

Looking forward to know more about the creatives and their thoughts. How about you? What is you thoughts about creativity?

Lens-Artists Challenge #56, Seascapes

Another week, another challenge and thank you Tina https://travelsandtrifles.wordpress.com/ for posting this challenge. Here is my response to this one:

#seascapes #LingurianBay #SestriLevante #Italy
simply beautiful! take me back there please!!!
#seascapes #LingurianBay #SestriLevante #Italy
Serene, calming, lovely…this is what I feel every time I am in front of any body of water. Maybe, it is the island girl in me coming from a country with 7,017 islands.
#seascapes #LingurianBay #SestriLevante #Italy
I cannot remember anymore if this was sunrise or sunset. But it does not matter because to me – it always bring that positive feeling of hope and beauty. If it is a sunset, it reminds you that whatever happens during the day, if it is not good – it tells you to have a pause and that there could be something good that the tomorrow can promise or if it sunrise, it can give you that source of hope and chance that you can still make this day right or better.
#seascapes #LingurianBay #SestriLevante #Italy

Stay tuned every Saturday to find about the next challenge and see the guidelines using the link below: https://shareandconnect.wordpress.com/lens-artists-photo-challenge/

My response to the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #55: Dreamy

Happy to participate in this challenge posted by Ann Christine aka Leya ( https://lagottocattleya.wordpress.com/ ). These are my responses to this challenge and I nominate https://marleecreates.wordpress.com/?wref=bif to do this challenge too:

one summer night in Linguria which is now a distant dreamy memory…
one dreamy, moony night in Munich…
one dreamy holy night…
one dreamy skaty skaty night…

Stay tuned every Saturday to find about the next challenge and see the guidelines using the link below: https://shareandconnect.wordpress.com/lens-artists-photo-challenge/

Great Discoveries

They say that in order to get inspiration, go out from where you are, do something outside of your comfort zone, breath some fresh air, read a book, visit other blogs, etc. etc. etc. It is in this light that I stumble upon wonderful content and such rich source of inspiration for me and here are some of my amazing discoveries:

  1. Amazing that you can still see beauty among the ruins. Check this blog out how they captured this (see Lost for Decades in capturing Castle and Mansions below).
  2. 99-words writing challenge only. I’d love to do this one but will be in series. https://annetterochelleaben.wordpress.com/2019/05/14/reflection/
  3. Ponder your heart away! this best explain Forestwoods Post and she is engaging with her readers too… https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/25880358/posts/23413#comment-19799

that kind of love that hinders….

This is a question to all the mothers out there…what kind of tough love are you doing to make your child/children grow? I know that growth does not always mean comfortable and easy.

If your kid misses you like crazy to the point of “does not make sense”, will you encourage such behavior because it feels good to be missed by somebody, that it feels good to be needed? Do you feel guilty if you do not give in?

I hope you don’t because it is required for someone who truly love someone to go beyond what is easy and comfortable. It is required of those who truly love someone, be it a mother to a kid, a friend to a friend, a sibling to a sibling, a husband to a wife and all other forms of love – to enable those who they love to grow and be the best that they can be.

Tough love is seen in all parts of nature. The mother eagle showing less and less to her eaglet as it grows, allowing the baby eagle to learn to fly on its own and feed on its own. Growth is also never comfortable. Look at all the butterflies who undergo a painful process before becoming so beautiful like it is now.

What about you? Have you ever truly loved? Or did you love, that kind that hinders?

The World Through My Lens

I studied communication because I have always been passionate about the topic. Photography is one of those things I love about it. Below photos are how I saw the world around me captured in one click of the shutter. Hope you enjoy!

#munich #karlsplatzstachus #ilovemunich #beautifulmunich
Gold is my last name and Bling is my middle name
#fasching #munich #mรผnchen #vitualienmarkt#canonm100 #mirrorlesscamera โ€” in Munich, Germany.
simply lovely #munich #isar โ€” at Isar Frauenhofer Brรผcke.
winter charms โ€” in Oberhaching.
love-lock-stricken at Passerelle Lรฉopold-Sรฉdar-Senghor (with Musee d Orsay as background)#Passerelle Lรฉopold-Sรฉdar-Senghor #paris#cityoflove #lovelockbridge โ€” at Passerelle Lรฉopold-Sรฉdar-Senghor.
two ways to look at this and maybe also to look at this & reflect about our lives in general this new year:(1) how does it feel to be the center of attraction and yet headless? (2) can you see beauty beyond and despite of the missing parts?#thewingedvictoryofsamothr
ace
 #nikeofsamothrace#louvre #canonm100 #artappreciation#contemplation โ€” at Musรฉe du Louvre.
A young family enjoying the Christmas Market at Marienplatz. – A Christmas market, also known as Christkindlmarkt (literally: Baby Jesus Market), Christkindlesmarkt, Christkindlmarket, Christkindlimarkt, and Weihnachtsmarkt, is a street market associated with the celebration of Christmas during the four weeks of Advent. These markets originated in Germany, but are now being held in many other countries.[1] The history of Christmas markets goes back to the Late Middle Ages in the German-speaking part of Europe, and in many parts of the former Holy Roman Empire that includes many eastern regions of France (source:wikipedia)#mirrorlesscamera #marienplatz #weinachtsmarkt#munich #canonm100 โ€” in Mรผnchen Marienplatz.
Wallet Washing: on Ash Wednesday, the mayor of Munich, usually together with the city chamberlain, washed an empty wallet in the water of the Fischbrunnen. This is to ensure that the city funds will be filled again next year. – The Fischbrunnen is a fountain in the center of Munich, whose history can be traced back to the Middle Ages. #marienplatz#fischbrunnen #munich #mirrorlesscamera#canonm100 โ€” at Marienplatz.

Link

My Reflection on the Christopher Street Day 2019 in Munich

Friends of mine were at the neighborhood to watch the CSD2019 Parade in Munich. For a straight girl like me but a confessed gay girl by spirit and heart (wink, wink), I (together with my husband) did not hesitate to join them and also because it was just literally a few steps outside our gate.

As expected, it was indeed colorful, fun, jolly, and full of spirit. It is never boring when you are with the LGBTQ community. However, amidst all the glitter, the pride, the rainbow colors, the street dancing, the very friendly strangers, the bright and liberate costumes – it was indeed a political movement. It was a clamour to fight for continuous diversity and inclusion, that love has no boundaries and for this years CSD, at least in Munich, I would say that there were a lot of companies and non-LGBTQ organizations joining, in solidarity with our LGBTQ brothers and sisters.

I also noticed during the Pride Month in June, that in Linkedin, there are a lot of companies who incorporated the rainbow colors in thier logos. In my company, I am proud to say that they also hanged the rainbow flag.

Kudos to all sectors of society who took the time to be in solidarity with our LGBTQ fellow men. And I salute the bravery of each lesbians, gays, bis, trans and queers in the world because I can only imagine the difficulty they undergone at the beginning – when they were coming out and fearing about acceptance from their lovedones and family. I mysely, is a proud cousin and friends to my gay and lesbian family members & friends.

Briefly about me…

Born and raised in the Philippines but now lives in Munich for almost a decade. I have a day job in the corporate world and I am passionate about arts. I love photography and painting. I love Picasso. I am also a cheapskate and a fox – meaning I am sucker for good buys and bargains including discovering places where you can get your money’s worth. This blog is basically an outlet for my creativity and if you appreciate it, please do not hesitate to drop a line. Be my guest. ๐Ÿ™‚

you may also follow my IG: https://www.instagram.com/artsy_foxy_mamag/

and in YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf0ffclcuaTTUyjrT-X5kDw