Luck or Skill - Answer #3

A comment from my query;
Do you believe in luck or skill...?

Luck?
Usually
it's really a matter
of having the skill
to see an open door before you -
and the courage to walk through it.
Being in the right place at the right time
may seem like luck,
but it's always a choice.
-Lisa



Speaking of courage
with an open door;
a few blooms
pushing
our soon-to-be-a-patio
pile of bricks
out of the way...






M

St. Francis of Assisi - Santa Fe

Favorite statue near the plaza, Santa Fe:
St. Francis of Assisi
having a chat with a prairie dog...






And thanks, for the submission of a
very artistic doorway.


M

Luck -vs- Skill Answer #2

My question: "Do you believe in luck or skill?"

Luck? I think you make your own luck
by being aware or open to opportunities.
At the very least,
being in the right frame of mind can bring "luck" to you.
-Ruth

Luck -vs- Skill Answer #1

Answer #1 to my question: Do you believe in luck or skill?

Luck,no. Grace, maybe. Certainly too many coincidences to be chance.
Love your website! Beautiful photos and thoughts.
You even have a photo of my "talking tree" at Chimayo.
Really great site!

-Deborah

A Little Luck

Do you believe in
a little luck...
or
do good things happen
due to a little skill?

Right place at the right time...
or
it is not what you know, but who you know?

How do others find;
the perfect job...
the perfect partner...
the perfect house...
their favorite restaurant...
a forever-mileage car...
a trusted doctor...
or their best friend, forever?

Easy-going optimistic outlook
or
careful pessimistic view?

In the time it takes
for blooms on my flowering tree
to completely open;
tell me what works for you
and what you believe
about luck.



And maybe in a few posts
I will give my thoughts, too.
M

Chimayo

Leisurely drive back to Chimayo today.
Rugged landscape with single foot paths
where so many recently traveled.
Outdoor Stations of the Cross near a
full newly melted mountain stream, and
El Santuario de Chimayo Shrine.
The blossoms are out on the trees now,
and tulips and jonquils are blooming near our door.
M

Cougar or Jaguar?

Cat fighting a snake
composed entirely of tiny glazed mosaic tiles
near Guadalupe Street
and Paseo de Peralta.
M

Playing Favorites

What is your favorite place?
When I think of my favorite places
they are usually concrete, specific locations,
at a certain time of day,
certain season,
with specific players "on stage" with me.
And yes, I have several:

First on the list:

Maderia Beach, Florida
on the gulf coast
of the Atlantic ocean,
the way I remember it;
not the way it has been bulldozed
and built-up now.
Very late summer,
or very early fall; the beach is quieter,
children are back in school,
but velvety sand holds warmth of the season,
digging toes into soft, cream-colored blankets of sand.
Very early morning, before even the sunrise,
when blues and pinks and purples of the ocean match
their dark reflections in early sky.
Walking along that magic area between
dry and wet
warm and cool
with bits of tiny shells
caressing my feet and ankles
as they swirl in a tide.

My challenge to you?
Let me hear your thoughts
and votes
for
your
favorite place.
M

The Lady

Lady of Guadalupe near downtown Santa Fe;
this image is made up of more than 40 separate glazed tiles .

Happy Retreat

Road Trip North With Connie

Good Friday, and Easter this weekend.
Thousands of New Mexico residents
make a yearly pilgrimage north of Santa Fe
to a religious area called Chimayo.
Although most try to arrive by Good Friday,
even the day after Good Friday
we saw many walking alongside both major highways
and simple 2-lane roads
to reach their destination.

From an article at:

www.holychimayo.us

Chimayó Easter Pilgrimage

During Holy Week
thousands of pilgrims journey to El Santuario de Chimayó,
a tiny shrine in northern New Mexico.
They leave from their homes,
or their cars parked on the roadside,
to walk 10, 20, 30, or even 100 miles to reach Chimayo.
In the darkness before Good Friday,
pilgrims line the highways north of Santa Fe
carrying crosses and glow sticks.
By Easter Sunday tens of thousands of worshipers
pass through the doors of the little chapel,
built almost 200 years ago
on a site that is sacred to many Pueblo Indians
and descendants of Spanish settlers.
Somewhere around 1810,
a Chimayó friar was performing penances
when he saw a light bursting from a hillside.
Digging, he found a crucifix,
quickly dubbed the miraculous crucifix of
Our Lord of Esquipulas.
A local priest brought the crucifix to Santa Cruz,
but three times it disappeared and was later found back in its hole.
By the third time, everyone understood that
El Senor de Esquipulas wanted to remain in Chimayó,
and so a small chapel was built on the site.
Then the miraculous healings began.
These grew so numerous that
he chapel had to be replaced by the larger,
current Chimayó Shrine -- an adobe mission -- in 1816.
Believed to be built on sacred earth
with miraculous healing powers,
the legendary shrine El Santuario de Chimayó,
is probably the most visited church in New Mexico.
The crucifix which began the original shrine
still resides on the chapel alter,
but for some reason its curative powers
have been overshadowed
by El Posito, the "sacred sand pit" from which it sprang.
Each year during Holy Week thousands of people
make a pilgrimage to Chimayó to visit the Santuario
and take away a bit of the sacred dirt.
Pilgrims walk a few yards or a hundred miles.
Many claim to have been cured there of diseases,
infirmities and unhappiness.
The walls of the sacristy are hung with discarded crutches
and before-and-after photographs as evidence of the healing.

Santuario de Chimayó
Chimayo, NM 87522
www.holychimayo.us

We did not travel to Santuario de Chimayo today,
as the village is filled with pilgrims for this Holy weekend.
Instead we traveled nearby and witnessed several;
searching and hoping for help and peace,
in their quest to reach Chimayo.

Stopped at a rural road-side cemetery
where one grave has been decorated
with stylized motorcycles,
while other graves could only be
decorated with rough carved, wooden crosses.
The cemetery has a glorious view of the mountains,
and although lonely, is peaceful.

Views from Connie's Retreat tomorrow.
M

Full Moon Rising

Nature Conservancy Trail,
near Two Mile Reservoir.
Part of Dale Ball trails
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Road Shot to Albuquerque

Next week - I promise to get out of the fast-moving car
and take some "still" photographs of this wonderful land.
M