Walking upon a Stone

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I took this photo on a recent trip to San Jose. At sunrise, we decided to stop for gas and breakfast. After breakfast, I wanted take a little walk eastward to watch the sunrise, and to breathe the fresh air of a new day.

I did not realize that I was walking on a cobblestone pavement. This particular one stood up higher above the others, and almost tripped me. As I looked down, seeing the warm light softly touched the stones, I had to run back to the car to get the camera. I took three frames, and this one is my most favorite.

As we got back in the car and drove on, a thought crossed my mind. The whole time, I was looking up at the sky watching the sunrise. I did not even look down. If I did not trip on the stone, or should I says, if the stone did not trip me, I would not have taken this photograph. Was it chance? Was there some kind of intervention at work?

I wonder if a stone have a soul.

-Quan.
February 2011.

“The observer, when he seems to himself to be observing a stone, is really, if physics is to be believed, observing the effects of the stone upon himself.” ~ Bertrand Russell (English Logician and Philosopher 1872-1970)

Hang Together

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I remember when I was little; I used to hang out with friends, lying on the grass, looking up at the sky. We would see different animals from the various cloud formations. Some cloud would look like a lion; other would look like a dragon, or a dinosaur, etc. That was pure and simple fun.

Sometimes, I wonder what I would do if I were a leaf? Maybe, I would hang out with other leaves. Some days, there will be dragons and dinosaurs. Other days, it will be cloudless; there will be just an empty blue sky. It would not matter if there were no clouds on the sky, I know, because I am hanging out with my friends. And I would be just as happy.

What would you do if you were a leaf?

-Quan.
February 2011.

“We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.” ~ Benjamin Franklin.

White Rose



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It’s been several months since I last visited my mother. Mom’s house is only about one-hour drive away; I really had no excuse for the long absence besides being so busy with heavy work schedule.

My mom loves gardening. Through the years, she spends countless hours of her free time working outside in the backyard. Day by day, the backyard gradually transforms into a mini garden full of beautiful plants, flowers and vegetables.

Every time I visit mom, I always make a point to go out to the backyard. It’s my retreat area. So this time, after having lunch and watching TV with Mom for a while, I went out to the backyard, as usual, to relax. At this time of year, most plants are out of season, there isn’t a lot going on, other than a few small cactus blooms. As I sat on the swing, looking toward the apple tree, I noticed a lone blossomed white rose illuminated by the afternoon sun beams shining through between the apple leaves. So, I get up and took a few frames.

The purity and beauty of the white rose remind me of the motherly love we all felt when we were little. In the young child’s eyes, Mom is a goddess, beautiful and pure. As we become of age, leaving the nest, struggling with life and drifting away from home, we lose touch. It felt good to be reminded of how beautiful mom always is in my heart.

I dedicate this photo my mom, my wife and all the mothers out there.

-Quan.
February 2011.