Month: March 2020

The Track

by Ebb Then Flood

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We cannot mistake the track for the journey.

A track, like the one pictured, can be arid and stony, hard and winding.

When winter comes, it will become soft and muddy, difficult and at times seemingly impassable.

Varied conditions for sure but whatever they look and feel like, tracks are purely functional.

They take you where you need to go.

We obsess about tracks – upward and downward trajectories, paths to success, shortcuts – while missing the point that the journey is everything, and that having reached whatever lies on the horizon we see now, another, different, horizon presents itself to us.

Whatever track we are on is just the necessary means by which the journey of ourselves unfolds.

‘Braemar’: Survivor

by Ebb Then Flood

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‘Braemar’

Apparently ‘Braemar’ is the sole late-Victorian period house in Auckland’s central city area still in use as a residence.

Despite its blackened exterior, this is one of my favourite local buildings, with its gothic exterior architrave; the name proud above the arch; wrought iron fence; lace curtains; and the glow of a welcoming light within.

Believe me, there’s been an awful lot of crappy, inconsequential stuff erected around this baby since it was built.

It is a tenacious, grimy survivor and that is something I always admire – in people, and in anything that outlasts the others of its ilk.

 

 

 

On Arriving And Departing

by Ebb Then Flood

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Barcelona Estacio de Franco     October 2019

Numbered platforms, nameless people.

Coming and going as they please, or as they must.

For every departure, an arrival.

Many journeys.

From a short distance I observe those on the platforms coming and going.

I am a stranger here, but am a fellow journey maker, so there is a momentary affinity of sorts.

Even the sweeping ironwork of the grand station roof speaks of the lines and curves of travel.

There is wonderment in such a place, but always anticipation of the next destination.

For we must keep moving…

 

 

Beached And Bleached

by Ebb Then Flood

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Wenderholm, NZ.      March 2020

Washed up and trapped on the rocks below a cliff, beneath the hot sun, a bleached out log speaks of the netherworld.

Between stages.

Defying the elements.

Light, wind and water may continue to shape that which has no longer any cause to be concerned by it.

Where it grew, what it sheltered – none of that matters now.

Lying in state; in a state of transition.

From expansion to deterioration.

And back again…

(see Beach And Bleached for more glimpses of the place between)

Complicated

by Ebb Then Flood

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Calton Hill, Edinburgh    October 2019

This hotchpotch building, with its quiltwork of bricks and windows caught my eye in Scotland late last year.

Quirkily fascinating.

And complicated…

It’s as if there was more than one hand in the plans, or perhaps the cash ran dry at some point and they started up again later, with whatever was around at the time.

Much is made of having a focused “design for life”.

In reality though, most of our somewhat random lives resemble this sort of thing, more so than any sleek, linear design!

 

 

 

 

A Place Beyond Belief

by Ebb Then Flood

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Given that a belief is just that, and not a  fact or certainty, what does that place beyond belief look like ?

Asked another way, what is the substance of your faith and hope?

And, if you get to that place or find that thing, would you actually realise that you are there or what it was ?

None of which questions I can answer but I have the nagging feeling (not a belief, mind) that I have actually arrived at some of those places beyond belief , only for those beliefs to change, and so too, the destination.

All clear then?

Oh, and I will let you know when and if I get there….

Daybreak Intent

by Ebb Then Flood

 

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Early this morning; another Monday with it all ahead, but with a head that is somewhat emotionally clouded.

The short walk to the train tosses up a cloudscape of its own.

One radiant with a warm energy.

An ornamental pole stabs at the fiery sky with a directness and intent that was lacking in me.

There is a simple message for me there: upwards and onwards, mate – the day will follow your intent.

And just pausing to admire the scene and take a picture is a simple way to take you out of your own head…

 

 

Black & White Greenhouse

by Ebb Then Flood

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   Winter Gardens, Auckland  NZ.     January 2020

The twin conservatories of the Winter Gardens – one cool, and one warm – are personal favourite places of mine locally, and are botanical wonderlands.

It may seem perverse to showcase a haven of greenery in monochrome.

But the black and white picture certainly emphasises the curves, lines and angles – natural and manmade – that draw me in, time and time again.