"We live only to discover beauty. All else is a form of waiting." -Kahlil Gibran

originally uploaded by yaznotjaz.

The above photograph was taken last Friday, after I had completed Jummah salah (the Friday congregational prayer) in Oakland and decided to swing by downtown Berkeley really quickly. The lovely SI and I had discovered the Poetry Walk on Addison Street (as well as the Capoeira Arts Cafe, where we stopped to watch a group of small children practice their dance/martial movements) this summer, but my disposable camera photos from that day came out horrific, so I'd been meaning to revisit for a while.

Anyway, how could I not get down on the sidewalk and photograph the phrase "beautiful day" from all angles? We all know "beautiful" is my favorite word. I wince whenever I realize I use it about three times in the course of a single email, but what can I do?

You can see the entire set of photos here. [View each of them in the large size, if you have issues reading the poems.] I only took photos of the poetry I really liked, so if you want to see all the others, you'll have to come to California so we can go wander around together. How's that for good times?

This may be a good time to mention that the ramblingmonologues.com domain is about to expire soon. Many thanks to the rockstar who set it up for me, but this is just as well, I suppose, since I've been itching to switch URLs for a while now. I know the name is an apt description for my blogging style, but still, I need something different, a bit more creative. Change is good. We can handle this, right, kids? Don't worry, I'll be letting you know when I switch over. I'd ask for advice in this whole drama (and it's not really drama at all; I just like using that word a lot, since I never have any real drama to speak of), but, sadly, I never follow advice even if I ask for it. Don't let that hold you back, though, if you're so inclined.

And the important stuff: May these last couple of days of Ramadan be blessed, peaceful ones for you and yours. I'll leave you with my favorite poem for this Ramadan, actually, a portion of a poem by Attar called The Newborn:

.
.
.
Let loving lead your soul.
Make it a place to retire to,
a kind of monastery cave, a retreat
for the deepest core of being.

Then build a road
from there to God.
.
.
.
Keep quiet and secret with soul-work.
Don't worry so much about your body.
God sewed that robe. Leave it as is.
Be more deeply courageous.
Change your soul.

Also: if you know someone who doesn't have any family or friends to spend Eid with, then invite him/her to spend it with you. That would be a beautiful thing to do.