Discover Challenge: Finding Your Place

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In this week’s Discover Challenge we are invited to post about a place that means something special to us and we can interpret this any way we wish. This challenge coincides with my completion of ‘Carpe Diem Haiku First Winter Retreat 2016 – Find the Silence’ where we were invited to find the silence and create haiku, haiga or tanka every day for thirty days.

This is a beautiful time of year to write about silence and connect with that calm place within ourselves.

winter silence
so many boats asleep
on dry land

© Xenia Tran

 

More than half of my daily writings on ‘Finding the Silence’ were posted on twitter and I am sharing some of them here to show the many moments that inspired me to find the silence both outside and inside of myself.

the silent robin
awaits our return
eyes sparkle

© Xenia Tran

 

The haiku below were previously posted on twitter and made me reflect more deeply. I added prose and created a double haibun for the blog in Frozen Footsteps.

frost rests
in silent caress
of the dawn

© Xenia Tran

 

stillness
before the ski slopes
open to laughter

© Xenia Tran

 

One fellow blogger commented that I am carrying the silence with me. It feels that way and I believe the accumulative effect of focusing on silence every day AND writing about it helps you to carry the silence from one day to the next.

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Fellow blogger Mark Aldrich has written many posts about Egyptian photo-journalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, also known as Shawkan. He has been held in prison without charge for more than three years and he misses the sky. On ciluna27’s Blog you can read more background information about the #SkyforShawkan initiative that was created on twitter where fellow photographers can post photographs of the sky for Shawkan.

After posting several photographs of the sky at #SkyforShawkan I found silence here too. Silence in the beauty of the many photographs posted here, silence in the invisible space where people who care about human rights come together.

I began to create haiga in aid of the campaign for Shawkan’s release and some of them took me to a completely different dimension of silence.

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One year later Shawkan is still in prison. I have created more haiga for the campaign and shared them on twitter. ciluna’s27 blog created a new and beautiful post on 12th December 2017 featuring many new photographs for the #SkyforShawkan campaign which include five of these haiga. You can read this post and see the images here.

 

Silence was to be found in so many places, including indoors.

candle light
warms the imagination
of shorter days

© Xenia Tran

 

More than anything I became aware of the silent communication from something that is so much bigger than ourselves, the silent communication from nature and the silent communication and understanding between Eivor and Pearl. I could have written the haiku below every day for thirty days:

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silence
a quiet breath
of love

© Xenia Tran

 

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With love to you all,

Eivor, Pearl and Xenia xxx

 

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Lumix Panasonic FZ38, settings: Landscape and iA.

 

In response to Daily Post Discover Challenge: Finding Your Place

To see thirty days of contributions about silence from all participants please visit: Carpe Diem Haiku First Winter Retreat 2016 – Find the Silence

Daily Post: Silent

 

Author: whippetwisdom

The stories, poems and photographs on this blog are the original creative work of Xenia Tran. Inspired by life in the Scottish Highlands and in awe of nature she gives voice to the wisdom of her adopted and fostered whippets.

47 thoughts on “Discover Challenge: Finding Your Place”

  1. What a beautiful collection, Xenia. I love, no, I adore and restore in the silence still to be found in this world, in its most precious parts, the parts of untouched nature.Let us all contemplate and respect the beauty of nature and the silence that comes with it. 🙂

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  2. Beautiful post, Xenia 💕 and wonderful photos. They convey a wonderful sense of peace and quiet and I love the last picture of Pearl and Eivor ❤ I hope the sky pictures and verses give Shawkan some measure of comfort and hope xxx

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words Cathy 💖 I hope so too and it is also to support his family and friends to let them know they are not alone. It is heart-warming to see so much support for him from around the world. Thank you for stopping by Cathy and have a wonderful rest of the evening 💖 xxx

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  9. Silence is vital for healing and sanity, it’s where we find our real selves – and, as you say, something bigger. Dogs communicate so much in silence, there’s a lot they can teach us.
    I love that last photo of Eivor and Pearl cuddling up together. I’ve never seen my Pearl and Millie do that, they both like their space!

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    1. Thank you for your kind words Annabelle and it is so true, dogs communicate so much in silence and they are great teachers. Eivor and Pearl love their snuggles and they also like their own space at times when they want a deep sleep. Thank you for stopping by and much love to you, Millie and Pearl xxx

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  12. every day
    a silent understanding
    between us

    A perfect observation. So true in so many places.
    With nature and the cosmos, with spirits, with animals, with the blogosphere.
    And people across the world, with whom our hearts collide.

    Seek peace,

    Paz

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words Kristjaan and for creating this special Winter Retreat for us. I absolutely loved it and will carry the silence with me now. I also feel this is a powerful time of the year to be doing such a retreat and will devote the same period next year to this. Thank you again for all the work you put into Carpe Diem Haiku and sending you many blessings for the festive season. I wish you a wonderful and creative 2017 :o)

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  20. Pingback: Ongoing injustice for Shawkan – ciluna27's Blog

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