A Delicate Beauty
“Men do change, and change comes like a little wind that ruffles the curtains at dawn, and it comes like the stealthy perfume of wildflowers hidden in the grass.” ~ John Steinbeck
Finland has a delicate beauty. Gentle landscapes. Still blue lakes. Silence. Its gems lie apparent only to those who lead an unhurried life.
I came to Finland 13 years ago, young and I’m afraid rather full of metropolitan drive. I looked with uncomprehending eyes. Eyes accustomed to the big smoke, lights, glass and steel. I couldn’t see.
These tiny woodland wildflowers and flowering weeds are so easy to miss peeping between blades of grass. Small and petite wild pansies growing along craggy cliffs and mossy rocks.
With every passing year, I begin to notice new delightful sights and sounds I had somehow missed earlier. The blossoms, the trees, the nature have remained steadfastly unchanged.
I think it is I who have changed. And that, perhaps is a very good thing.
Beautiful images, laced with recollections of a previous new beginning, coupled with inner growth makes for a lovely write! Thanks for sharing!
It’s always a pleasure to receive your comments Wendell. Lyrical and always so beautifully crafted. Thank you so much. Happy 35th Anniversary to you. To life’s wonderful journeys. Sharon
In response to such a Delicate beauty, a few words from ” The Book of Flowers” Pondicherry,
Be Like a Flower. ….It is frank, it hides nothing of its beauty. What is within, what is in its depths, it lets it come out, it is equal, it has no preference, everyone can enjoy its beauty and perfume without rivalry. It is generous, without reserve or restriction, how it gives the mysterious beauty and the perfume of Nature.
It sacrifices itself for our pleasure, even its life it sacrifices to express the secret of the things gathered within itself. And then, kind. It has such a tenderness, it is so sweet, so close to us, so loving. Its presence fills us with Joy.
Beautiful–thanks for sharing that, withoutboundary!!
My dearest Mona, thank you for sharing with us the essence of a flower. How we can all learn to let our lives be like flowers. Beautiful. Just beautiful. You are that kind of a flower to me. With deep gratitude, Sharon
Lovely photos and sentiment. It’s good to ‘stop and smell the roses’.
Dear Gunta, written by one who indeed has stopped transfixed by the beauty of life. Thank you so much for stopping by! Loving your stunning moments. Sharon
Sharon-indeed a VERY good thing. Sheer poetry in your prose. Always enjoy your lovely messages-you are kissed by the gentle angels of nature.
Oh Diane…thank you. It is indeed a blessing to wake up, open our eyes to see that this little spot where we are planted is a beautiful patch to bloom. Many hugs, Sharon
so very beautiful, Sharon… a masterful post. From that great quote by Steinbeck, to these deliriously beautiful images… and then the explanation… perhaps you told more of your move to Finland in a post before I started following your blog… if you did… I would appreciate a link, perhaps, so I could understand better how it happened for you… but thank you so much for this fine gift.
Dear Shimon, your message meant a lot to me especially since I admire your work so very deeply. Thank you. Mine is a classic case of going to the ends of the earth to be with my beloved 😀 My husband is a Finn and we got married in 1999 and I moved to Finland then. It’s been quite a journey and many lessons learnt along the way. I actually haven’t written about this part of my life but was just planning to! Thank you for your kind interest. Once again I appreciate so much your warm encouragement. Sharon
P.S. This marked a major turning point in my life Shimon. Sharing this link with you https://aleafinspringtime.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/a-survivors-guide-to-hope/
Thank you once again for following. I am honoured. Sharon
How beautiful! The flowers are so impressive.
Thank you so much for leaving me a message! I appreciate it very much. Still much to learn about the fine art of photography but enjoying it very much! Loving your work. Sharon
I just love dropping by your space and reading whatever you write. Even if sometimes I have nothing very meaningful to add… love the thoughts and your writing..
Dear Sublime, so very good to hear from you! I too just love to drop by your place as excited as coming home from school and wondering what’s for lunch beneath the large plastic food cover! Where are you now? Last time I saw you was in Bedok, Singapore. Hugs xx Sharon
:)) I am from Singapore Sharon. My name is Vishakha:) Now you don’t have to call me Sublime 🙂 hugs back to you! Hope you are having a fun weekend:)
Hello Vishakha! Oh how lovely to get the name behind your sublime blog 😀 Thank you. I was just in Singapore in January. My brother and his family live in Woodlands and we have plenty of relatives in the Lion City too. Ahh…you have such great good food there. I miss a good roti prata 😀 Could you make one for your next post?!! Please!
This is masterfully written and photographed, Sharon. I am glad that you have learned to appreciate the delicate beauty and simple joys of that lovely country. And once again, in your words and pictures, you have inspired me to make changes in my own, hurried life.
Have a wonderful day!
Oh hugs to you my dear! I’ve realised this that sometimes the very good things, the precious things are staring right at me but I’ve been too blind to see them. I’m glad to be proven wrong because this means I actually get a second chance. Thinking of you way too much past my bedtime these last few days! 😀 (I know you’ll understand this rather cyrptic message!)
My dearest Shaz, Once again you have made me fall in love with a place I have never been…what a blessing to hear your words of slowly opening up to this landscape like a flower in the morning dew. I have been travelling for a few weeks and have been writing hard–little time for meeting good friends in their most beauteous spaces. What a breath of fresh air you have offered me this morning. I have missed you, friend 🙂 May blessings and wonder fill your day.
ANGELA!!! I have missed you and was just about to go over to say hello, where you been 😀 We had a the most glorious mid-summer day yesterday full of warm sunshine, blue seas, boats, picnics in the park, swooping seagulls and…I thought of you. Hope you get to make it to this lovely, fair shores one day. So good to have you back after a fruitful work trip! Hugs and happy summer days. Shaz
My dear Shaz, how picturesque a scene– I can almost see you and your beautiful family among the boats and seagulls and blue white waves. I hope you brought your camera and will be posting!!! I’m really glad to be back–I’ve missed you, too, my friend. I have thought of you often, though, especially whilst I was in the mountains (the Adirondacks). Lots of love!!
Lovely photos. I think wildflowers are the most beautiful of all.
I really think so too! Thank you so much for coming by. I really appreciate it. Have a great mid-summer weekend! Sharon
Really beautiful Sharon! 🙂
Thank you Carol… Blessings to you and your beautiful family! Sharon
Beautiful post, Sharon.
Hugs, thank you… Have a lovely weekend with your gorgeous girls! A new chapter awaits us after summer in pre-school! We grow because our children grow 😀 Keep in touch! Sharon
I’m glad you are noticing. Such joy! And thanks for sharing these delicate yet stunning flowers.
Yes, it’s such a lovely thing to awaken to the beauty of life and live each day as a living miracle. Thank you so much for dropping me a line. I sure appreciate it and it’s been a joy visiting yours too! Hugs, Sharon
Finland looks beautiful. Where did you move from?
Dear Paul, so lovely to hear from you! I moved from Kuala Lumpur in 1999 when my husband and I got married. Finland is indeed a very beautiful place and very pristine nature. Wishing you and your family a wonderful summer! Thank you so much for all that you impart in your blog. Sharon
Change comes, and when it does it opens new possibilities! You are embracing the change, and that is a beautiful gift. Blessings, Mark
Dear Mark, I treasure your kind and gentle encouragement every time. Thank you. It means so much. Blessings to you and all the many lives you touch. Sharon
Lovely Sharon…I too came here with “metropolitan eyes'” (what a great way to express that)…24 years ago…and I too see something new and wonderful each day!
Dear Meryl, it seems we have quite a bit in common. I too was a journalist before getting married and moving to Finland. It is indeed good to grow and see the world with new eyes. Hugs.
Ahhh…no wonder you are such a good writer and keen observer…and that must have been quite the transition for you..thanks for sharing with me…xom
These are lovely. I especially like the third shot down.
Hello Sandy! How good to have you come by. Third shot down is also my husband’s favourite. Thank you and I have loved your photos and haiku. Keep in touch from me in rainy Helsinki. Sharon
As always, thank you for sharing such beauty with the world. Beautiful flowers, beautiful writing, beautiful message. Beautiful glimpses of nature and of your spirit.
Russ
Dear Russ, thank you so very much. I cherish your comments. Sharon
These photos are simply beautiful. The light and colour really shines! I have also begun to see nature differently since living out in the countryside. The more you look, the more you see… never-ending wonders!
Lovely post! 😀
How wonderful to hear from you Cathy! It is indeed an endless wonder to see the beauty of each day. And that’s why your blog is really one of the loveliest I know. My heart is delights each time I visit you. Thank you. Sharon
The photos and your words are inspiring and beautiful.
Thank you so much Brenda! A beautiful day from rainy Helsinki, Sharon
Beautiful post Shaz! Beautiful photos! Have a great weekend. It is so beautiful to grow and change in a positive direction isn’t it? hugs. 🙂 Renee
Such delicate beauty indeed, it’s not necessarily the showiest flowers that are the most beautiful, their colours are vibrant yet calming all at the same time. I think as we get older we see things for what they really are and can discover the beauty in everything around us 🙂
Don’t you think life has indeed become richer and more mellow in our 40s?! My heart fills with a pang of delight at a cluster of tiny wood stitchwort twinkling like white stars on the forest floor. Thinking of you with much fondness. Sharon
Oh most definitely richer. Life begins at 40 so they say, I think they’re right! I also think we become more emotionally aware of our surroundings, I know I certainly am. Hugs to you dear friend 🙂
Couldn’t agree more with either of you! Wait till you hit 50 ladies! Its been awesome so far! A multitude of HUGS! D.
Beautiful post about nature and lovely pictures too. I love wildflowers, they have special magic. Have a great weekend Sharon.
Dear Aditix, wildflowers are truly magical. From the land of light raindrops & immensely happy barnacle geese outside my window 😀 Sharon
LOVE the flowers!
Thank you Mehmudah! So good to hear from you and hope all is good where you are. We’re having our summer holidays and school is out. Listening to A Thousand Years and looking outside at the swirl of rain on this beautiful afternoon. Sharon
Ahh, change. I resist it and yet I seek it. I am always impressed with your awareness as you share what is around you…these tiny, wonderful things.
Oh, I too am fully acquainted with the tug of war of change. You may not know this but I have been inspired by you in your quest to be a lifelong student. Thank you so much. Btw I am unable to locate your blogsite on wordpress. Could you send me a link? Thanks again. Sharon
Such a simple yet beautiful post. Your blog always softens the heart of this rough old man.
Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change – this is the rhythm of living. Out of our over-confidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress. Bruce Barton
Thanks …just because.
doug
Dear Doug, thank you so much for sending me this wonderful quote by Bruce Barton. I love it. Always good to hear from you. Take care now. Wishing you and Thai a great summer! Sharon
you are very welcome. See – I’m not just a crazy mud running fitness nut after all.
Thai and I try to enjoy every season – hope you do as well.
doug
I keep returning to this post because that John Steinbeck quote really calls to me. Thank you so much for all of this delightful post, and your wise musings on changing. And I could look at purple violets all day. I am blessed at have a huge 2-foot-square patch of their shining happy faces in my front garden, right next to the sidewalk cheering passersby. While Violet is a lovely name, I adore their nickname of Johnny-Jump-Ups! But back to John Steinbeck. This quote brings such hope… that people “do change, and change comes like a little wind that ruffles the curtains at dawn” or of course the fragrance of your delicate wildflowers amongst the grass. Blessings and Love, Gina
Hi Gina, I love purple violets too! You must have a beautiful garden. The wild pansy featured in the photos above have the same effect on me. It’s a common European wildflower which grows abundantly along lichen rocky slopes and meadows near where I live. I’m glad the Steinbeck quote called out to you as it did to me. Many thanks for your comment as always. Sharon
Sometimes the hardest thing to do is stop and make our harried minds still and open to the environment around us. I’m still working on this.
Lovely flower photos! It’s important to stop and notice the small beauties!
Sharon, your flowers always possess a wildness about them that is missing in so many. I like that.
Hi Dave! Thank you so much. I’m not sure if the wildness you so rightly picked up from these flowers had to do with the fact that I had clambered up a steep rocky cliff, equipment and all and perched myself on a narrow ledge to capture these shots! 😀 I bet you have found yourself in such a place many times too! How’s your holiday going Dave? I’ll be on summer vacation very soon. Take care and I’ll be over in a bit to see what you’ve been up to!
Lovely images to illustrate a really good point. If we appreciate the little things it’s much easier to keep the bigger things in perspective too! Nice thoughts Sharon, thanks for sharing.
Amazing photos. They are full of colors presenting the joy of life!
Beautiful photos and lovely, insightful reflections. There is a stillness in your voice which is at once soothing and inspiring.
Thank you so much for these beautiful words which touched me. I am so glad you came by. I really look forward to getting to know you. Hugs, Sharon
I loved your post and the images were so very peaceful and soothing to my spirit! Your radiance in your spirit always shines brightly…thanks for the blessing you have shared with us all!
My dear Wendell, getting a note from you is like a beautiful gift each time. Thank you for your thoughtful messages which you leave me which is a testament to you own beautiful self. Sharon
Ahhh, so well written and so wisely said, Sharon. What part of Finland are you in? I worked for a summer in Mariehamn, Aland Islands, Finland and loved the people, beauty and nature of the place.
Blessings.
Valerie
Oh wow! When were you in the Åland Islands and what were you doing there? I haven’t been there myself in these Swedish speaking parts but I hear it’s gorgeous. So glad to hear you had a great time. I’m catching up with your glorious blog. Funny, I was pretty sure I had followed you but will click the follow button again. Many hugs! Sharon
Yes, I found the islands beautiful and peaceful as I travelled to explore them on my time off by bicycle and ferry boat. I was an au pair teaching English to two young Swedish-speaking kids some decades ago now. I even learned the fine art of Finnish sauna bathing! It was a memorable experience as I travelled to a few other parts of Finland by train and bus as well, including inside the Arctic Circle. (Thanks for following my blog too.)
Thank you for reminding us to really look at what is truly in front of us, the gifts that are there, instead of being disappointed that our expectations weren’t met.
Every so often I happen upon a really great blog, this is it!