Even as a child, I never believed in magic or fairies or wondrous places where dreams come true. I never believed in tales of scheming witches, eccentric wizards, and sleeping princesses — waiting to be awakened — by a knight in shining armour. I never believed in spirits, even if, I did get scared in the dark. Much later, I stopped believing in an omnipotent entity believed to control our mortal lives and feeble thoughts. I thought monochrome was a colour for a very long time and I couldn’t seem to like anything that had the slightest hue of pink.
In hindsight, I wish I had a little faith in things that were never seen, yet everyone chose to believe in. It makes the hardships of life more bearable — without getting crushed under the weight of reality. Hope can be a wonderful placebo when you’re on the last step of an empty well.
Now that I’m older and challenges aren’t as easy to face; I look for inspiration in nature. In the course of our two-year stay in Seoul, nature has proved to be a wonderful teacher. She knows how to mould our minds with every changing season. She may have knocked me cold with a bitter punch in winter, but now she’s healing my wounds with fairy dust in spring. She’s got me believing in magical places where dreams come true. Even the sleeping trees have been awakened by the soft kisses of spring rain. Pink is my new favourite and I’ve started to feel an invisible force that controls life in ways that I cannot explain. I feel alive and bursting with energy to taste every new sight or glimpse of life that she’s willing to show me.
“The troubles of modern life come from being divorced from nature.”
― Isaac Asimov
“It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you’ve got it, you want—oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!”
― Mark Twain
“What a strange thing!
to be alive
beneath cherry blossoms.”
― Kobayashi Issa
“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”
― Roald Dahl
“I think having land and not ruining it is the most beautiful art that anybody could ever want.”
― Andy Warhol
“I never really understood the word ‘loneliness’. As far as I was concerned, I was in an orgy with the sky and the ocean, and with nature.”
― Björk
Beautiful spring photos and quotes. It’s a great time of the year!
Thanks, Celia. I agree. Tokyo must look equally beautiful! 🙂
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You write so beautifully, Cheryl! This is so heartfelt and honest. And I’m happy to see that you are finding some of that long lost magic through the beauty of nature 😀
Hey there! It’s good to see you back here! 🙂 Thanks so much, Kim. Spring has cheered me and lifted my spirits. No more gloomy posts! lol.
Asimov is so right. Beautiful shots.
Thanks a bunch, Ann! 🙂 I don’t know if you checked this post https://twobrownfeet.com/2017/11/27/kitty-tales-across-the-globe/
It was in response to your challenge last year. 🙂 Would love to know your thoughts.
Oh…..no, how could I have missed this one! Lots of love!
Haha…I was really late with the writing. 🙂
Oh, how I adore this post. Poetry and pictures for the soul. 💖🌸
Nature’s proving to be a good muse. 🙂 xo
Absolutely!! 🙂 xo
Beautiful photos of Spring in Seoul, Cheryl. I too over time lost believe in fairytales and magic. But lately I have been thinking maybe they do exist… Looking at season changes, it is almost like magic itself. Magic how the world knows how to change at this time of the year 🙂 Take care and hope it gets warm soon 🙂
“Looking at season changes, it is almost like magic itself” This is so true! It’s how I feel when I see leaves turn and flowers bloom and fade away. It’s magic all around. We’re having some sunshine these days. Temperatures are gradually rising too and my spirits are soaring. 🙂
Hello from the USA.
Beautiful essay. I like it a lot.
Neil S.
Hi Neil! Thank you so much. 🙂
Cheryl
Cheryl, you are a real photo poet! Amazing and inspiring post!
Aww! Thanks, Ann. 🙂
Lovely photos and quotes about nature to go along with it. We just arrived in Paris for a few days and the spring blossoms are just lovely.
Peta
Thank you so much, Peta! 🙂 Paris looks equally beautiful in spring. We managed to catch a wee bit of spring blossoms back in 2010.
Lovely shots
Thanks, Debbie! 🙂
I’m intrigued – what’s the location of those first two photos?
These pictures are shot in Seoul’s Kyung Hee University. 🙂 It’s one of the best places to spot cherry blossoms here.
Nature is a great place for inspiration. I’ve also come from a pretty atheistic place to somewhere a lot more open to the mystery of the world. There are some things which materialism can’t catch and which, even when science tries, it doesn’t change that life is still more beautiful and intriguing when you use a spiritual or mythological interpretation of things. The best and most profound mythologies are personal.
I completely agree with you. Life is a complex journey of self discovery. Each experience and stimulus changes us, our beliefs, and thoughts about our immediate environment. I’ve searched for answers through religion, science, and spiritualism. Maybe, we are not meant to know the answer to every question. We need to live in the moment and see where it takes us.