All Things Being Equal

In the current issue of their magazine Newsweek published a list of The Best Countries in the World. You can find the article - and the metrics used - here. 

Finland, the land I most grew up in, ranks top - yup, #1. The country I pledged allegiance to - Canada - ranks 7th. The Netherlands, the land a good portion of my family hails from - and of which I was a citizen until I became Canadian, dual citizenship not being allowed then - ranks 8th. And the other side of the family calls France their homeland, and it was ranked 16th. Wow, all are enviable places to live, say the numbers.

And yet my home for the past 20 years has been the Philippines. It ranked a pretty low 63 out of 100.  And so it would be a fair question to ask me why, since I have limitless options, I choose to live here over any other place in the world.  

You can read more about my decision to stay here on my "So where exactly is home?" page... but the short answer is something the metrics and the statistics just don't show, and that is heart. The Philippines, despite all its faults, it messiness, its complexities, its complexes even, is a place where the "salt of the earth" people have heart.

So all things being equal, I prefer to live with warm folks who are happy and resilient despite their - sometimes natural, sometimes man-made - disadvantages. 

Or let me put it even simpler, since all things rarely are equal, as the article amply points out, I'm just a sucker for a smile:

Nine smiles in Manila, 2006

The prompt today was EQUAL for Theme Thursday. The link will take you to more creative takes on the theme.

Street sweepers

When I was in New Delhi earlier this year the city was in the throes of a road construction blitz as it was readying itself for the upcoming Commonwealth Games. 

Here I was a bit stunned to see the contrast between the large road building equipment and this group of street sweepers in New Delhi. This quick snapshot I took I find interesting: the palpable class distinction between the working teams is so striking. Just look at their ages and dress; no safety vests for the sweepers. What I also don't grasp is what the sweepers can accomplish with their primitive brushes that the machines cannot.

New Delhi, 2010

Working in this oppressive heat and dust all day, all week, my world would be swirling:

This post is offered for the meme Theme Thursday where the prompt is BRUSH. Click on the link for many creative takes on the theme. Click on a photo to see it enlarged.

Fresh Coconuts

If you've never seen how coconuts are picked, you're in for a treat.

This lad is right at the top of the coconut palm with his machete, chopping the young green coconut cluster from the tree. He ties a rope around the top of the cluster...

Mindoro, Philippines, 2007

... but first a longer view...

...then lets it loose while someone on the ground slowly lowers the coconut cluster.

Then the lad deftly climbs down the coconut palm, the same way he went up, in bare feet.

And then the green coconuts, full of sweet healthy water, are cut open and served - garnished with lovely hibiscus - as welcome drinks to the day's newcomers to this resort in a tropical paradise...

PALM is the theme for Theme Thursday and you will find links to many other creative takes on the theme when you click on the link.

Browns in a Buddhist Temple

Earlier this year my friend Deepak in Kathmandu took us to this tiny temple full of little treasures. I was peacefully taking it all in when a group of pilgrims from Tibet arrived to do the rounds of the prayer wheels, a ritual to spread spiritual blessings and invoke good karma in their next life. They seemed not to mind me at all as I continued to photograph as inconspicuously as I could.

Kathmandu, 2010

I don't know what this fearsome looking bronze creature represents, but from its well worn paws I surmise that touching them brings earthly luck.

This Buddhist woman is using her prayer beads to count her mantras, much like a Catholic counts prayers on a rosary.

This post will have too many photos, but I couldn't resist sharing this baby. Here on the motionless prayer wheel you can also see the markings of the most important mantra in Tibetan script, Om mani padme hum:

Each prayer wheel contains a roll of paper inscribed with multiples of this mantra. Spinning the wheels, always clockwise, is believed to have the same effect as saying or thinking the mantra, the aim being to develop compassion and wisdom and to get closer to reaching enlightenment.

Before leaving the temple, each pilgrim rang the bell:

This handsome man was in the temple when I arrived and when I left, perhaps the caretaker. His cap makes me think he is Muslim, and that would not be unusual, as in Nepal, according to Deepak, the two main religions co-exist peacefully and inter-marriage is not rare.

These beautiful browns in a temple join the meme Theme Thursday where today's theme is, you guessed it, BROWN. Click on the link to find links to more beautiful browns. And clicking any photo will enlarge it in a different tab in your browser.

Light on the Hand of a Saint

When strolling around in Saint Peter's Basilica, it is hard for me not to get overwhelmed by all the art. There are of course the paintings, the sculptures, the carvings, but also the building itself, the walls, the floors, the ceilings; wherever I turn my eyes, there I see beauty created by the hands of men for the glory of their God. 

My own favorite is Michelangelo's Pieta; however I saw it personal and up close when it was in Florence in the mid-80s, and now this masterpiece is barricaded and secured behind glass. Just not the same.

On a more recent visit I was stunned by this sight of the Throne of Saint Peter by Bernini (1666) at the west end of the basilica. In this dark photo, the four church fathers are barely visible at the bottom, while the bright sunlight coming in from the window so vividly illuminates the pointing finger of Saint Elijah:

 Vatican, Italy, 2007

Elijah of Israel is many things to many people. He was a prophet of the 9th century BC, and he appears in the Hebrew Bible, Talmud, Mishnah, New Testament and the Qur'an, as well as in numerous other faiths. He even shows up in folkloric traditions as "Elijah the Thunderer" - responsible for summer storms, hail, rain and thunder. Catholics and Lutherans commemorate him as a saint with a feast day on July 20.

But lest you fear I will leave you with only the hand, here is a photo of the imposing statue of Saint Elijah by Agostino Cornacchini, 1727.

This entry is posted for the theme LIGHT for Brian & team's Theme Thursday. The link will take you to other links of creative interpretations of the theme.

Click on a photo to enlarge it.

Parked by the Sea

 

Sechelt, BC, 2010

When I saw PARK was the challenge for the meme Theme Thursday, I at once thought of this photo I took earlier this year of a turquoise car so perfectly parked by this wonderful sea mural painted by talented local artist Dean Schutz on the Sunshine Coast, north of Vancouver.  

Clicking the photo will show you a larger image and clicking the link will get you to more links to fun interpretations of the theme.

Help

Kathmandu, 2010

Half of us - over 3 billion humans - live on less than US$2.50 a day. 

The poorest 40 percent among us accounts for 5 percent of global income. The richest 20 percent accounts for three-quarters of world income.

Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen.

When will we ever learn? When do we start to share? Help!

HELP was the chosen theme for Theme Thursday. The link will take you to more links with creative interpretations of the theme.