Travel: The Enchanting Ogród Botaniczny of Kraków

The Ogród Botaniczny of Kraków has a long scientific heritage that dates back to 1783. They are the oldest scientific gardens in Poland and were established by Professor Józef Bogumił Rogaliński.

Throughout this time many inquisitive and curious minds have peered into the depths of floral wonders and the garden was pivotal during the Enlightenment period in Poland, as a centre for botanical research and the dissemination of botanical knowledge across Europe.

36 Questions for Creating Closeness

At many times in my #life I’ve felt like I was alone and this made me feel extremely sad and lost. However in contrast, the really best times of my life have been where I’ve bridged that gap and managed to develop a genuine and real #connection with someone and formed a meaningful #friendship or #relationship. Here are 36 questions that help to create closeness.

Comforting Thought: The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

— Wendell Berry

10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #125

Bliss out with an uplifting short animation about a contented introvert, lessons in creativity by Prince, a lentil curry recipe, hopeful news for Scottish trees and much more. It’s edition #125 #Interesting Things #ContentCatnip. Tell your pals!

The magic of Matariki and Māori winter sea navigation

Every year at around this time, Matariki rises in the mid-winter sky. This is the Māori name for the cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades. In Aotearoa Matariki rises in late May or early June.  This traditionally heralds winter solistice in New Zealand or the Māori new year.

Book Review: A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

Hi, my name is Nao. I am a time being. Do you know what a time being is? Well if you give me a moment, I will tell you.

A time being is someone who lives in time, and that means you, and me and every one of us who is, or ever was, or ever will be.

Day out in Wellington: The Terracotta Warriors at Te Papa Museum

The first week that we moved to Wellington we went to see Te Papa Museum’s landmark exhibition: Terracotta Warriors: Guardians of Immortality. Enshrined in darkness and dim light, the exhibition feels like being submerged into the underworld. The exhibition offers you a rare opportunity to have an intimate and immersive encounter with remarkable treasures from 2,000 years ago, from the tomb of Qin Shihuang, China’s First Emperor. I highly recommend it!

Comforting Thought: Throw open the windows of your soul

“Your days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun. If you do not, the sun will soon set, and you with it.”
— Marcus Aurelius #quote #stoic #philosophy #soul #life

Book Review: To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey

Eowyn Ivey is a master craftswoman and her sentences are smooth and flowing like treacle. Her debut the Snow Child was one of my favourite novels. It told the magical tale of a child that emerges out of the icy Alaskan tundra and provides an ageing couple yearning for a baby, with the promise of a living child.

Comforting Thought: The Light that Burns Bright

“There is something in the human spirit that will survive and prevail; there is a tiny and brilliant light burning in the heart of man that will not go out no matter how dark the world becomes.”

~ Leo Tolstoy
#Tolstoy #writing #books #bookquote #quote #philosophy #hope #healing #psychology #humanity #philosophy