All of life we seem to separate and fragment into their individual elements.  We try so hard to distinguish between, life, work, and our spiritual pursuits.

The way I see the world though my lens, is that the elements are fragmented, but only because we choose not to see the way in which they are all interconnected with everything else in our life, and the world that surrounds us.

All the fragments merge together to create the collage that we all assemble as individuals called life.  These bits and fragments form the synapses of our being.  As we step though the world new ones are created while some decay into forgotten memories.

fragmented, divided, or collaged?

We must choose how we will view the world.

I would like to ask this question, “Can the wind produce muted light?”  I do not have the answer to this question, only that it is an interesting question to ask.

The wind was blowing hard all day today.  If were living in a house made of straw I would have had to run for cover.  The light just seemed to be perfectly diffused as I made my way back to the station.  The colors seemed more alive.  The shadows were less harsh, even though the sun was out in full force.

It never ends. The search goes on and on.  Every time we think we reach the end of one goal, another will take its place.

Searching the world for our voice is a continual struggle.  Never being completely satisfied.  Always wanting to do more, to say more, or to push it one step beyond.

Explore our world!

The stroll around the little red light district behind Tsudanuma station yielded some macro treasure.  Some up close urbanized details of a city that is in flux.  An every changing landscape filled with oxidizing metals, faded stickers and lights that strain the eyes.  Into this urban space I step.  Into this urban swirl I play, live and rest.

Rest, those weary eyes, so that your soul can open and retain it’s former glory.

The sun came out with a vengeance today.  After a few days of rain the mercury hit a high of about 30 degrees Celsius or 87 degrees Fahrenheit.  Not a record breaker yet, but it could be a sign of a long hot summer to come.

I was able to enjoy some of the sunshine on my face as I wandered around Tsudanuma in the long afternoon shadows of this late spring day.  Finding what little treasure that lay ahead.  Those backstreets where the red light district meets quiet suburbs.  All nestled in between the tracks and the asphalt.  All trying to find the space to breathe.

Houses in such a state of decay that no one lives in them anymore.  Store fronts so faded there is only a hint of their vivid past.

Wander, loose one’s self.

Find those treasures.

What ever they might be hiding.

Rain!

Again!

I must sound like a broken record, it seems to rain so much, and it isn’t even officially the rainy season yet.  The is a beauty to the rain.  It cleans the town, it makes the grass, trees, so green, and then there are the wonderful umbrellas that pop out at the first sign of rain.

Bang, bang, Click CLICK….

here we go, again, again.

My daily stroll after finishing up my day under the blue and windy skies was beautiful.  The air was warm as it whipped around my body.  I came across an old barbershop’s rotating pole that was no longer rotating.  I was interested in the abstracted lines, and colors of the stepped like pole.  I was amazed to discover once I got on my computer that my own self image had been merged with that of the barbershop’s pole.  I hate to say it but that Barber sure made me look fantastic.

I was fortunate to just catch the fire disk as it was slipping down to the horizon.  It was sinking fast over the Keiyo tracks, off to light the other side of the world.  It will soon be visible to my friends throughout the world as a hot orange morning.

Live up for all wether you day is just ending or beginning, for life is truly circular.

I was intrigued by the distinctly feminine aspect of this political poster.  It was covered with pink, purple and lavender patches of camouflage.  I guess it might be from the the Woman’s Party here in Japan.  Trying to reach out to their base.

Abstracted, removed from it’s context. By inverting the viewer’s view on the sign’s designed to get the people to vote for a political candidate, I hope to inspire beauty in their political constructs, and construct a new world based on beauty and love.  These might seem like lofty goals, but we as one people must strive together for a better world.  We must not let the ugliness impede our lofty goals of creating more beauty.

Seek it out, find that beauty that is out there.  Do not let the mass media tell you how terrible the world is.  Go out there and find the goodness in the world.

There was a little festival happening in my neighborhood.  A nice sign that the weather is warming and that the summer festival season will be upon us.  Time to grab your spare change to grab some food, and take in the delights at the festival.  Get some okonomiyaki, baby castella, and kebabs.  There are so many smells and flavors fill the senses.

Tsudanuma is the place!

A good place to get lost winding thought those backstreets, in and out of the red light district.  Finding what there is to see.

Wander, Seek and ye shall find.  And if you don’t just keep on looking and searching for it.  Sometimes one must totally loose themselves in order to find what you are looking for.

I know I should have charged those batteries before I left this morning, but being mad tired it just slipped past my mind.

I usually treat my self to a nice stroll after finishing up for the week, and before the sabbath begins.  I was walking all over Tsudanuma snapping up a storm.  There were some fabulous little nooks and crannies that need to be explored further.  I will make sure I have a fully charged battery the next time I hit that part of town.

Keep a spare, charge em up.  I also thought of bringing my half frame, but I was NAH, i don’t need it.  That will teach me, I hope.

Batteries are charging as I type.

The first image was taken at a local workshop in my neighborhood.  I must have passed by this front a million times.  I had never noticed how beautiful and balanced the front was.  I guess the main reason I never noticed it was usually there are several cars and trucks in the driveway.  Today it was as clear as the skies.

The second image the sun was just hitting the stop sign.  You know the way light will just hit some object in the late afternoon or the early evening, this was a perfect example of that case.  I had no choice but to obey the stop sign and and SHOOT.  SNAP, SNAP went the shutter.

Both images are a wonderful example, of no matter how many times we tread down the same streets, unless we can shake of the mundane and truly see, it would be just another day.  Instead if you can beautiful enlightening moments can occur.

After 36 plus hours of cool weather and rain the the sun was allowed to shine down upon all of us in the Kanto region today.  We were able to open up and soak up those wonderful rays.  My plants on my patio were blessed with yellow rays of light to make them shoot up tall and strong.

This lovely weather caused me to take stock.  No matter the season, we need to find that beauty that is out there.  Open up our hearts and let all the goodness pour in, and let love flow out.  Let there be a bounce in our steps as we trod though the city.  The sky is blue, the concrete is so gray, yet this combination enlightens me.  This contrast of nature and the things that man has built only strengthens my heart and gives me the energy needed to overcome all odds.

The merging of seeming impossible elements.  They all blur and pixelate in my camera until what bursts fourth is love.  At least this is my intention.  It is what I am trying to accomplish with my art.  I do not know if I will ever achieve it, but I know it is the direction that I must travel.

one love.

Look to the heavens.  Do not try to build there, for only the spirt can truly reach the heavens.

This Monday was pretty much usual, except for my best mate catching a bad cold, and sweating it out.  Drizzle came down for a little bit today on my way home, and will return for most of Tuesday.  So, my sights became focused in.  Trying to find some reason to the sometimes haphazard madness that is a Monday.