April 2024 – Annika Perry

Sometimes we all need a new perspective; be it in our lives, our art, our writing or even a photograph.

In the first photo I bobbed down to the ground, keen to look up at the bench in the gravel garden at home. What is it the birds see when I look down at them peeking cautiously up at me? Oh, an oasis of tranquility and I appreciate it more than ever this corner of the morning sun!

*‘Being loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.’ Lao-Tzu*

There is always a wonderful sense of overwhelming peace and freedom at looking at a beautiful landscape down below. Here it is, a bit of a trek up the site of an old hill fort called Olsborg in Sweden. Initially constructed in 1502 it was re-built several times and now only a few signs of the old settlement are visible. It overlooks the beautiful 28 km / 17 miles long Bullaren Lake.

*‘Speak only if it improves upon the silence.’ Mahatma Ghandi*

The favourite rose in my garden, The Queen of Sweden, gives me much joy throughout the summer and autumn and one I’ve shared many times including here. This close-up image portrays the duality of its resilience and fragility, all encapsulated upon folds of pink petals upon pink petals!

*‘Let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.’ Kahlil Gibran*

A challenge awaits the walker in the final photo for this post, the gentle rolling walk low down on Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire quickly becomes a steep climb up to the old spa bath of White Wells. The latter was built around 1700 and a single plunge pool still survives to this day (no, I’ve never tried it!). Ilkley Moor and its stunning beauty is famed in the UK and even boasts its own unofficial county anthem ‘On Ilka Moor Baht ‘at’ (Yorkshire dialect for ‘on Ilkley Moor without a hat’). I was lucky enough to grow up in this area and enjoyed a walk on the moors every weekend

Thank you for reading this first of three posts featuring photos and quotations as I am away in Sweden for the next few weeks. Comments are turned off for this post.

*‘Most collectors collect tangibles. As a quotation collector, I collect wisdom, life, invisible beauty, souls alive in ink.’ Terri Guillements*

What is it about quotations that pull us in?

The snippets of sentences and the sharing of thoughts open a door to our humanity. Upon reading the words, our souls can take flight, lifted high by the wisdom and our hearts lightened. Quotations offer rays of hope in a world that is all too dark. They reflect ourselves, the people we want to be, and the world we long to create.

When it feels increasingly difficult to find direction, quotations nudge us back on track. They are a gentle reminder, an inspiring greeting to one’s inner self.

As the world rushes by they allow us to take a ‘beat’, a pause for that all-important re-set.

*‘I pick my favourite quotations and store them in my mind as ready armour, offensive or defensive, amid the struggle of this turbulent existence.’ Robert Burns*

In school we are flooded with quotations during literature studies, some still remembered to this day. At the time we often think of them merely as supportive evidence for a point, an argument we are making in an essay. Much later we realise how profound they were, etched on our minds still decades later.

Later in life, we come across quotations in books, magazines and yes, online. Blogging has clarified the important role of quotations in our lives.

*‘Like your body your mind also gets tired so refresh it by wise sayings.’ Hazrat Ali*

Every year I open a quotations folder and feed the empty pages which are greedy for the latest wisdom. A haphazard, eclectic source of sayings is gradually created, with quotes from the ancient Greek & Roman times to the present day.

It’s often said that home-made Christmas presents are the best and not being blessed with any needlecraft skills, every autumn I instead create a calendar for my mother. This is made from some of my favourite photos along with some special sayings. I cherish the joy it gives my mother, how every month she will message the new pictures and quotations; commenting upon them with her innate sense of wisdom and fun.

Next to the originator of a good sentence is the first quoter of it. Many will read the book before one thinks of quoting a passage. As soon as he has done this, that line will be quoted east and west.’ Ralph Waldo Emerson

As I am away for a while in beautiful Sweden for a long sojourn, it is my joy to share some of these calendar images with you in my next three posts – I hope you find them enjoyable, rewarding and insightful!

Many of you know that during my stay away involves living amid the forest which although it has most mod-cons deliberately has no wifi. Hence my absence from blogging however I look forward to catching up upon my return. Comments are turned off for this post.