Your 5 favorite posts from my blog, 'Reflections and Travels' - Thanks.

   The #1 and your favorite post was my "Tribute to my brother +Dan" written on September 25th 2018. There were 24,505 viewers who read this article. 
   Following in 2nd place was "An Appreciation of +Camille Claudell" written on June 22nd 2013. 4,230 viewers loved this post.  
   The 3rd place was "Tribute to Dr. Hordinsky and G. Wieland" written on April 20th, 2018. 2195 persons read this post. 

1638 persons read my April 12th 2018 article entitled, "Tribute to Fr. Pat O'Brien"

763 persons read my March 8th 2012 article entitled, "Native American Saint Kateri."

I would like to thank all of you for your interest in my writings, "Reflections and Travels." Hard to say "Au revoir" as this 340th post is my last on this blog. I cannot begin to thank you enough for your friendships. Thanks to "Google" for giving me this opportunity to share my writings with an international audience. Grazie di cuore. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, Ronaldo and the late +Daniel.

"Grateful. Gracious. less Grumpy" - the 339th post on my blog

                                Grateful. Gracious. less Grumpy. 
I hope this means I can be more joyful, the word "joy" with its double-barrel meaning: to be happy for whatever life throws in your path and to be optimistic for the future. 
   First of all, I am truly grateful for all of you who have read my blog for the last decade. It's hard to part ways as 'Google' closes shop. At a time when I needed to express my views; you were there. Thank you. Gratitude has been my focus, the lens by which I view life. Out of that gratitude has emerged a gracious way of living. Graciousness was a nice byproduct that caught me unaware. So what's not to be grateful for in one's life? Family. Friends. Faith.
   I come to being less grumpy. It seems as we get older; we begin to mutter. We lose sight of what we have and not because we are short sighted; it is simply, life weighs us down. Then, our bodies remind us we have to pace ourselves. Our energy truly changes, leading us to becoming increasingly grumpy, not necessarily complainers. Most of us who have been grateful all our lives; are not complainers. And we choose not to get in that mode. I have.
   Friends, again thank you for accompanying me on this journey. I wish each of you well in your lives. Bon Voyage. Adieu. Until. Your brother, Ronaldo.

Another year has arrived for Ronaldo and the sky ... it's still there!

After the blizzard toward the end of January, the sky looked like a 'water painting.' I tried to capture its beauty.

A friend of mine sent me a few 'kind' words on my birthday today. "Our energy changes," she said to me, "as the years go by. We either accept that reality or adjust to it; if we are going to be happy and find some measure of joy." I didn't think I had a choice, especially losing my closest friend last year. Then, she added a quotation she liked: "The quickest way to change your attitude toward pain is to accept the fact that everything that happens to us has been designed for our spiritual growth." Again, I didn't think I had to change an attitude. But you know, another year has passed away and I am still here. If I can enjoy and photograph the beauty of a translucent sky; I can adjust to some 'kind' words from a friend as I celebrate another year of life. "Ad multos annos" to many of you as my "blog" days are numbered by "Google." Thank you for all your greetings, Ronaldo.

The loving soul as a huge harbor

Louisiana - photo credit K. diStefano, friend.

"Do not allow your heart to be confined in the straits of impatience and cowardice, so that when a fierce storm of passion rises, you cannot endure it; but, be enlarged in your heart, receiving the adverse waves of anger in the wide gulf of that love ... which suffers all things, bears all things. These waves of anger will be received and diffused and forthwith vanish away."
                  (Cassian's Conferences, chapter XVI,7.)

John Cassian is a 4th century monastic writer who used this metaphor to describe the loving soul as a huge harbor absorbing anger and thus, calming the storm. He writes about giving wrath its place and refusing to allow it to master one's life. I am a firm believer that the source of our diverse problems today stem from unresolved issues of anger, be they, personal, communal, national or international. As a graduate student of monastic history and spirituality in the 80's, I discovered Cassian in Rome and have tried to focus my life as a person of peace. 

In memoriam +Daniel M., co-author of this blog, a loving soul and a 'harbor of peace.'

Happy Chinese New Year - "Gong Xi Fa Cai" -

February 5th begins Chinese New Year and the zodiac sign is that of the Pig. The symbol is that of good fortune, wealth and general prosperity. For Chinese worldwide and those who enjoy this season, we think of honesty, understanding, reliability, trust, being more sociable and giving more sincerely. They are high ideals which I hope I can emulate. After my own "annus horribilis" (2018), I am aiming for more joy and so, this Chinese New Year for me is about moving away from sadness and sorrow. Here is my own symbol in this year of the pig:

    "Gong Xi Fa Cai" - Happy Chinese New Year to all.

"My Mexico City" (January 2019)

A Poem honoring Mexico city - "My Mexico City" 
copyright by Ronaldo YM           (New Year 2019)

Alameda Park in Mexico City

a city of contrasts
where subjugation numbs
a still proud people
criollos, peninsulares, mestizos
a pozole of fusion
where once stood defiance
now crowd capitalists, shoe-shiners, young lovers
taquerias, hawkers dot in corners
quiet by churches drowning in voices
cascading in sadness, pain, hunger, homelessness
dancing in song, parties, happiness, humor
a plethora of music echoing powerfully
as i sit where Cortes once ruled regally
on this journey, i, born of criolla and chinese, yearn
again for home where i see mis bisabuelitos selling
tamarind sweets and local tacos
where business men in suits hide in shades
where clerics mingle less and more Hidalgos needed
with the ordinary
where survival and wealth co-exist
Por fortuna siempre llega un Ano Nuevo.
                                 *

Museo Frida Khalo in Mexico City (December 2018)

   Late December 2018, I had a unique opportunity to visit the museum of Frida Khalo in Mexico City. The museum was actually the home she shared with Diego Rivera. Her introspective canvases and self-portraits are full of the suffering she endured after a crippling accident. Her unforgettable image appears in many of Rivera's murals. It was an interesting experience walking through her bedroom, living room, art studio, gardens. Most visitors are quite respectful of the artist's privacy even though she has been dead for a number of years. I felt I should not be there and yet, still privileged to share her sublime spirit. Having had such a horrible 2018 in my own life, Frida gave me a sense of comfort. Her home with its iridescent colors gave me a sense of hope. She had conquered pain and suffering. "Viva la vida! Gracias, Frida." The beauty of her art lives on. Here is a quote that caught my eye while I was there: 

Thanks, Frida. My friends and family who died in 2018: Dan, Ming, Joy, Gloria, Robin, Roma, Pat and Leo have conquered pain and suffering. "Viva la vida!" So will we, one day, too!
                               A few of my other photos: