Loose associations on aspects of the feminine inspired by the submitted photography
Paradise Found

My photograph of the doves gives me a feeling of a paradise found
A stillness  A moment of tranquillity   Of equanimity 
A moment suspended outside of time  An experience that can´t be sustained
And with the image came associations to aspects of the feminine

An aspect of the feminine 
Is that we would like things to remain the same 
Once we find what we are looking for 
And seek to be suspended outside of time and the world 
To have moments unaffected by the constant of change
For a few breaths not affected by the ebb and flow of life flowing through our bodies
The constant waxing and waning that is our lives 
The forces that determine our fates continue to run through us 
As we rejoice or resent them to no avail 
However much we fight against them   Against reality

It is not the female´s role to find what might be found in the dark  In the woods   
Behind the mountains   She finds it fine here   In the light  In the warmth of the sun   
She doesn´t seek change and doesn’t feel a thrill at the thought of her world being shaken up
Doesn´t want it breaking up, being destroyed in order to be recreated   Differently
We are moved enough by the forces of the months, and the years that shape us 
Despite our kicking and screaming in silence against the tides of life 
The ebb and flows we are helpless to change 
Forever floating on or being thrown about by the great powers surging through our veins
Whether despairing or rejoicing at their gifts

We are looking at ourselves in mirrors and what our surroundings reflect back
Yet often have little awareness of ourselves   Of our shadow lurking in the shadows  
Always there with or without our knowing    And so risk simplifying the world
And find it difficult to acknowledge the premise of light: that there is darkness
Our faces tend to turn towards the light to enabling us to exclaim; 
All is as should be - Bright and beautiful! 
Rather than explore that which we prefer not to know   Pretend not to see   
Or hear
Not to know the darker unfathomable things 
Stirring in the depths of ourselves and others
Lest our paradise be lost    

Or possible found   For real    
A different one   Another paradise found in realising 
How the world and its mysteries takes place inside of us   
Through us   With or without or will   Still we make the world  
The premise and promise for us to be blessed and cursed both
Our challenge is to know our true experience 
And accept it 

Perla Aurora was born and is currently living in Sweden, but is also a citizien of Aotearoa New Zealand. She has university degrees in Economics and Psychology and has worked in many different sectors in a variety of roles. Her current focus is on writing and photography, with exhibited and published works. She volunteers as a creator of community projects aimed at bringing people together through exploring deeper aspects of life. Her book To him from her with love, a collection of poems and stories that acknowledges and celebrates men and masculinity has just been published.