Friday, October 3, 2014

Gathering Breadcrumbs at The Center at Westwoods...


   The Center at Westwoods is an amazing place.  My friend and I spent a lovely hour or so walking the grounds recently.  My fist thought was that it would be an ideal location for contemplative photography.  The landscape is thoughtfully and exquisitely laid out with various locations you can visit and enjoy for their peace as well as their contemplative possibilities.

   Sculptures, like this stone spiral dot the landscape and you can feel the energy flowing everywhere you walked.  The following are a series of "breadcrumbs" I gathered during my short visit.  I wish I had had the time to walk the amazing labyrinth.  Or I should say, I wish it hadn't been so hot in the sun!  I will return on a cooler day for that experience.  In the meantime, I can reflect on the breadcrumbs I gathered this day...



   The breadcrumbs I gathered were all very muted, one even black and white, until I got to the Koi pond.  The sunlight was a bit glaring but I was mesmerized by the color!  The sweet little green frog on the yellow lily pad, the blue water etched with the reflection of the metal sculpture beside the pond and the stunning orange and yellow fish all came together in a riot of color.  This is a place I could return to again and again and never run out of inspiration.  Like my pond here in Maine, I have a very similar experience every time I visit.  Do you have a contemplative landscape that fascinates you?  One you can return to over and over again?  Isn't it time you found one!

  

2 comments:

Dotti said...

I could contemplate on these photos for a while, too. Beautiful! I don't have a nearby contemplative landscape but I live about 10 miles from a restored Shaker Village and I do return there again and again for contemplation and photography and feel blessed to be able to.

BTW, I love the background for your blog. Where is it?

Patricia Turner said...

I love visiting the Shaker Villages! Stayed overnight in the Pleasant Hill village in Kentucky last year. They are wonderful places to photograph. Thomas Merton often photographed in the Kentucky village which wasn't far from the abbey where he lived...stayed there too! As to the blog background...I chose it because it reminded me of the coast of Ireland but I'm not sure where it actually is, it was one of their stock images for the blog. My photograph of the sunset clouds is in the title box. It is from the Western Isles of Scotland.