Traveling is like flirting with life. It’s like saying, ‘I would stay and love you, but I have to go; this is my station.’ (Lisa St. Aubin de Teran)
The last of my Belgium photographs…
One of the most beautiful churches I’ve seen ever. This is Basilica of the Holy Blood in Bruges, Belgium.
Originally used for flour, Laura says.
What a coincidence!
The original Godiva store!
Jet lagged.
Oh mama!
Haagen-Dazs ice-cream was everywhere in Japan! I bet my Japanese friends and students would love this cafe.
Everyday I thirst to see more, to do more and to experience more. And everyday, I miss my family, I miss familiarity and I miss home.
Italy, shmitaly.
Sometimes when uploading or sending via messenger, Facebook flips photos. Turns out it ain’t a bad look!
This is Château De Coudrée a 12th-century castle now a 4 star hotel.
These last pictures are from Yvoire; officially one of ‘The Most Beautiful Villages of France’, a former fishing village, fortified in the early 14th century, it’s a riot of turrets, towers and old stone houses.
I feel really silly writing this with all of the terrible terrible adversary happening in the world and how incredibly lucky I am compared to it all but one of the “troubles” of travelling is being unable to buy the big beautiful things to take home.
Can someone romance me already?!
An all-wooden toy-store. “Very German,” according to Auntie.
Spotlight is a must-see. Even without its two 2015 Oscars: Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. Why? Because, here I go again, it means something. It’s based on the true story of the year-long investigation by Boston Globe’s “Spotlight” team headed by Walter Robinson (Michael Keaton) and his crew Mike Rezendez (Mark Ruffalo) Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams) and Matt Carroll (Brian d’Arcy James) of child molestation by Priests. Wow, I have goosebumps just writing that. With such a dynamite topic and a talented cast giving much realistic performances, we as an audience can’t help but watch with good nervousness and hopeful longing as the four labor to uncover secrets and publicize the unbelievable case.
After watching this movie, I started thinking about religion and in particular the affect human beings have on religion. This concept, of people’s actions tarnishing Religion’s good name is not a new phenomenon. It has been around since the very day said religions originated and has unfortunately continued through to this day. The terrorist group Isis, acting in the name of “Islam” is one example, for instance. Because of such individuals, the word “religion” has acquired negative connotations. Connotations of war, disunity and injustice. Which is so utterly unfortunate as true religion is the very opposite with its sole purpose being unity and togetherness.
When I was an even younger girl (wink wink) growing up in NZ, I often felt scared to tell others I was religious. I knew that the very word would connect me with the corupt government of my birth place (Iran). When I attended university, my nervousness remained for a single mention of “God” sparked hateful debates. Today, I like to think I stand strong in my faith. I stand strong because I have realized that it is foolish to let said individuals win. I know what my religion is about and I firmly stand by it. To finish, I’d like to share a quote from the Baha’i Faith in relation to this idea:
Religion should unite all hearts and cause wars and disputes to vanish from the face of the earth, give birth to spirituality, and bring life and light to each heart. If religion becomes a cause of dislike, hatred and division, it were better to be without it, and to withdraw from such a religion would be a truly religious act. For it is clear that the purpose of a remedy is to cure; but if the remedy should only aggravate the complaint it had better be left alone. Any religion which is not a cause of love and unity is no religion. -‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Sorry about the tangent. Spotlight is not only entertaining but informative. And as you can see, thought-provoking as well! He-he.
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