Wintry reflections in a pond

wintry reflections in a pond
Originally uploaded by donaldtownsend.

Winter is often grey and dull. They sky remains overcast all for weeks on end and instead of snow there is just rain or some kind of slush. Days are short because the sun comes up late and night falls early. So it's wet and cold paired with wind. But sometimes the skies clear up and the sun comes out. The air grows crisp and carries a certain freshness. Snow, if there is any, seems pure and clean. And even if winter returns to its unfriendy dullness there might be something that is bright and shining like this reflection in a pond.

Reigned in by shadows

Shadows on a wall
Originally uploaded by donaldtownsend.

The past throws its shadow onto the present. It might loom tall over everyday life like the shadow of a giant imposing its will upon everybody. Kemal Attatürk is such a giant. His legacy is still strong, his shadow still reigns politics in modern day Turkey. Germans still live within the shadows of the Holocaust. It's a shadow that weighs down on people's consciousness. Einstein is another shadow giant. Astrophysics is under the sway of the shadow he left behind. A shadow is nothing but the inversion of a fleeting exposure. But nevertheless it often holds tremendous power over people's minds and actions.

Time will wear us out

broken gearwheel
Originally uploaded by donaldtownsend.

Fragile like a piece of delicate machinery we are. When we grow up there isn't any activity that can tire us. We are fed by a magic pool of energy, jump and run and climb and shout, all day long. Why should we care, why ask? Every morning we wake reloaded, bouncy, ready to conquer the world. Time moves on and slowly we become thinking persons, begin to reflect upon ourselves. What kind of body we were provided with we begin to see and judge. First it is size that matters, then it might be shape and later perhaps even strength. Our body is a given thing. It is, is for us to use. Who cares for the future? That body can take it all, no matter what we do. We are deaf to our instincts. They know better. If only we would listen. Extreme sports, sports over done, lack of sleep, drugs, overeating, sunbathing, you name it, they take their toll, sooner or later. One day we come to notice that our body doesn't run as smoothly as before. This is the beginning, our body shows signs of wear, we pay the price. Time has started to wear us out.