The Photographic Art of Shadi Ghadirian

I stumbled upon the photo gallery site of Shadi Ghadirian and was so impressed I had to share it with you. I wrote to her and asked if I could share her work with my readers and she was kind enough to agree. I hope you will visit her site and view each of her photos. She makes some great observations about women in Iran but I think relevant to women everywhere. As it is most of the time, we all seem to have more in common than our differences, at least that is the feeling I get when I look through these photos. I may see them from a different vantage point as in the Qajar Gallery. I feel "where is my history?" But I think many women can totally identify with "Like Everyday" Gallery. Go visit I think you will love it!


"I am a woman and I live in Iran. I am a photographer and this is the only thing I know how to do." "It does not make a difference to me what place the Iranian woman has in the world because I am sure no one knows much about it." - Shadi Ghadirian

Mother's Day Should Be Everyday!

It is true, I say that because I am a Mother and I like presents. I like to give them and I like to get them. Mothering or nurturing, I have learned comes in many forms and from many figures - at least that has been the case in my life. I have friends and family members who have served as mother figures for me at times in my life and I think of them often on Mother's Day. Their support and experience has seen me through difficult or uncharted waters in my life and I am always grateful for their presence. Are there special "Moms" in your life? Women who show up and give or leave something special for you to draw from? I hope you recognize them. If you need a little something for them I would love to send it out for you. Check out the great gifts for Mothers Day in the Gift Boutique at Soul of the Rose Gifts.

Beingness...

I was barely watching Cesar Millan's Dog Whisperer the other night and thumbing through a few books on the bedside table, Wayne Dyer's "The Power of Intention" and Geneen Roth's "Women, Food and God". The latter because I must now lose the weight I have put back on from inability to exercise over the previous months of injury, surgery and recovery. I must be honest here, during recovery it was not uncommon for me to come downstairs and enquire "Who will be going to In & Out Burgers today?" So it was not entirely for lack of ability to exercise that caused all the weight gain. Just clearing that up...

The TV was on as background noise, I thought I was present and ready for soul searching. As I picked up these latest self help books it came to mind that there is a point of recognition that takes over my desire to change or cure myself. Oh sure I need to shed a few pounds but I see myself clearly and I like what I see. Certainly I laugh a little too loud. and I always love too hard. I feel way too much for my own good and there never seems to be any dessert that is really too rich for me. But do I really need to "fix" all this?

It was about this time that Cesar began talking to me. Well, he was talking to some dog owners about their dog problems. I like Cesar - even though I am a cat person - he is easy on the eyes if you get what I am saying. Anyway, Cesar was making some great points here.

Master the Walk - set aside time and engage the proper frame of mind, position matters, be the pack leader and define exploration time.

Achieving Balance - Calm assertive leadership not emotional arguments or outbursts. What are the needs, take responsibility for the state of mind.

Energy as Communication - Energy is what Cesar calls Beingness; it is who and what you are in every moment.

I LOVE THIS GUY!

So perhaps I am not some wild overgrown puppy tearing up the furniture or dragging my owner down the street on our walk but I do get out of hand from time to time. I forget my Beingness, I forget how to Master the Walk and then I need to work on Achieving Balance again. I don't need to fix everything in life as there is no thing that is wrong; rather recognition of my Beingness and re-setting the right frame of mind is all I really need right now.

Happiness held is a seed. Happiness shared is the flower.

It is a burst of spring here at Soul of the Rose Gifts. Actually it is almost always sunny here in San Diego - sorry about that friends in the mid west and back east as you are suffering in the rain. However, we have just the thing to lift your spirits and get you ready for the new season. Habitat Gardens from BloemBox are in full bloom here! These wonderful little gifts are a special treat for yourself or someone you love. Habitat Gardens are a colorful assortment of flowers selected to attract butterflies, hummingbirds and bumble bees to your garden. Peek inside and you will find three 5' biodegradable, plantable, tissue paper seed ribbons of nectar-rich flowers for each garden visitor. We think these make great gifts that seem to announce the arrival of Spring.

The hand-wrapped paper boxes are adorned with hand-crafted silk flowers made to look like the real garden flowers. Each box is carefully filled and then tied with a lustrous satin ribbon and gift tag with a poetic reference to the flower. BloemBox gifts contain the finest premium seeds distributed between biodegradable tissue paper for effortless planting. The paper boxes are printed in soy-based ink. Each gift is hand crafted and assembled in the BloemBox seed house in rural Northern California. We are so happy to offer these fun gifts. We hope you enjoy them.