Een nieuwe schilderij/A new Painting

Kocht nieuwe acrylverf van de week. Cadmiumrood, kobaltblauw, cadmiumgeel, titaanwit en oxydzwart. Ik werk hier aan een schilderij van een klein meisje met staartje op de rug gezien. Het volgende gedicht gaat over haar.

Verhuizend meisje

Ze was pas drie en al een keer verhuisd
Als voorbode voor nog meer verhuizingen
Ingepakte dozen met boeken en spullen
Vormden geen mysterie voor haar

Nieuwe winkels, buren, kamers, mensen
Waren zoals ze waren en wenden snel
Ze konden maar beter niet al te leuk zijn
Dan was het extra moeilijk om te vertrekken

Bought new acrylic paint this week. Cadmium red, cobalt blue, cadmium yellow, titanium white and oxide black. I am working on a painting of a small girl with a pony tail, seen on the back. The following poem is about her.

Moving girl

She was only three and had moved already once
As a forebode to even more moves
Packed boxes with books and stuff
Were no mystery for her

New shops, neighbors, rooms and people
Were as they were and became routine soon
They had better not be too nice
Then it was extra hard to leave

De zon brandt in Holland/The sun is burning in Holland

Al een paar dagen is het tropisch warm in Nederland. Ik draag een korte broek en een t-shirt zonder mouwen en smeer elke morgen mijn blanke armen en benen in met een zonnebrandcreme om mijn huid te beschermen tegen verbranding.

For a few days now it is tropical hot in Holland. I am wearing short trousers and a t-shirt without sleeves and every morning I put on a suntan lotion on my white arms and legs to protect my skin against burning.

Writing in Dutch and English

I am going to write in Dutch and English. Dutch is my native language after all. I like writing in English, because I love this language and I like the idea that people all over the world can read what I write. But I would also like to get read by Dutch speakers and readers, since I live in the Netherlands. This is my home. So here we go...

The Essence of Buddhism

The foundation beliefs of Buddhism are the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. These were taught by the Buddha (a word which means The Enlightened One) about 2500 years ago. They are essentially the same through every sect and tradition of Buddhism. They are:

All life knows suffering. Nobody gets what they want out of life.
The cause of suffering is ignorance and clinging. Wanting it is the problem.
There is a way to end suffering. By learning not to want it.
This is the way to end suffering: The Eightfold Path.
Right Understanding Learning the nature of reality and the truth about life.
Right Aspiration Making the commitment to living in such a way that our suffering can end.
Right Effort Just Do It. No Excuses.
Right Speech Speaking the truth in a helpful and compassionate way.
Right Conduct Living a life consistent with our values.
Right Livelihood Earning a living in a way that doesn’t hurt others.
Right Mindfulness Recognizing the value of the moment; living where we are.
Right Concentration Expanding our consciousness through meditation.

Refuge for the Sceptical Buddhist

A mailing list for people who feel connected with Buddha, but are not members of a specific buddhist group.

A nice visual Zen site

QUESTIONS

by Norman Fischer

Why is this day different from yesterday
and why am I I and not
you or her or it?
Why does the pond ripple with
the wind and why does the dog
bark at nearly everything and why
is that annoying to me? Why is it
music moves me and why do I nearly
cry when someone's selfless for a moment
even in a movie? Why
was I born, why do I live another day,
where did I come from and where
am I going? Why do flies
appear suddenly from nowhere
and what do flies think about,
or grasshoppers, or fish, say
trout, large ones, that hover
gracefully, facing upstream, and why is it
the water ouzel twitches like that
or for that matter what about the
several things in this world that don't
speak or see or decide or taste anything
like bacteria, fidoplankton, amoeba, mites?
What's the measure of this world?
Is small smaller than large or
Is it larger and is there any small or large
outside mathematics and does it make any difference
and to whom? You? Me? What
does language do after all? is it
another organ, like a nose? And did
everything that's ever happened happen by chance
or is there a design?
What's a design anyway?
Is there anything but design?
Can anyone anyway ask a single serious
meaningful question?
Can I?

Silence

(...)Mobile phones make us incessantly - often pointlessly - available. (How would Wordsworth have got on wandering lonely as a cloud with a mobile ringing in his pocket?) (...)

Taken from an article in The Observer. You can read the whole article 'Silence is Golden' when you click on the title of this post.