Revisiting Myanmar

One of my favorite things to do, when I have the time (which is not often enough), is re-playing and re-editing photos I’ve taken in the past.

This week, I decided to take a look again at some of the photos I took (and posted on Flickr) when we were in Myanmar. I then chose this photo to give some extra attention to:

I love the sweet and gentle expression on this young monk’s face as he walks the streets of a small border town in Myanmar.

He walks among a mixture of modern dirt bikes/motorcycles, older ox-carts, noisy tuk-tuks and crowds of tourists and locals unfazed by the dust that is kicked up by such an overcrowded dirt street.

No matter how much I try to simplify my life, I doubt I will ever be left to feed from a rice offering bowl that I carry around reliant on the generosity of others. Still, the peace I feel when looking at this photo encourages me along the path of pursuing a more minimal life.

Examining really how little we actually need to live life can bring such comfort in hectic, busy times.

Every morning that I head out on my bike to commute to work, I imagine being off on an adventure carrying all I need in the camelback on my back. These moments are so freeing and bring me such a sense of peace as I ride along the creek path enjoying the wildlife sights along the water’s banks.

I’m finding as I grow older (and hopefully a little wiser) that having even small moments like this every day bring such a sense of well-being to my mind. A sort of imaginative, yet also visual, meditation game I play with myself.

With the beginning of Lent here upon us, it can be so easy to dwell on what we are giving up for these 40 days. Yes, I have my list of things, but I’d also like to try to remain aware of what we actually can gain when we have less to bog us down either mentally or physically.

I have definitely experienced a sense of calm throughout this past year every time I’ve cleaned out and given away/donated excess clothing, shoes, housewares, etc.

A calmness I hope to feel more and more as the years go on.

What brings you moments of peace and calm in your life?

P.S. I edited the photo above in Lightroom initially and then popped it into Photoshop to do a little more adjusting and to add a texture created by Kim Klassen (I used the KK_Kristin texture rotated 90 degrees). Working/playing with photos brings me more of those “peaceful” moments I need to work on having more of.