The Butterfly Hours ~ #01 Contemplation

 
 
 
 
 
"What's a butterfly garden without butterflies?"

Roy Rogers 

Lizzy Sider - "Butterfly"

About a month ago, I decided it was time to visit the Schmetterlinghaus (the Imperial Butterfly House), located in the Burggarten, Vienna. The last time I went was a number of years ago. The Schmetterlinghaus is located a part of a gloriously large greenhouse structure called the Palmenhaus.  This visit was initially to take some photographs.

Once I arrived, the visit, not unlike a caterpillar, metamorphosed into something quite different. It became a butterfly hour of profound contemplation on the beauty of truth in love. Growing up with my Father, I learnt the value of being truthful, as it was so important to his sense of ethics, how he behaved as a parent and a friend.

I realised, what I subconsciously always knew, but like most children failed to recognise, that my Father was one of those rare individuals that handled his family, friends and the wider world without deceit. He dealt with life in complete openness, truth and free from illusionary masks. I now understand this is why we successfully survived as a family unit of three. Father taught my sister and me, the value of truth through the profound love of his family. He showed us that love does not deceive, but deals only in truth when we truly care.

The Circus is Coming to Town!

  
Logo courtesy of Roncalli 

"The attraction of the virtuoso for the public
 is very like that of the circus for the crowd. 
There is always the hope that something dangerous will happen."

Claude Debussy 

Julius Fucik - "Entry Of The Gladiators"

I haven't been to the circus since I was a kid. I am not sure whether my Dad took me that last time. I know I was with him the first time I saw a circus. Dad always arranged tickets through one of the clubs he where he was a member. That last time he may have organised a group of tickets for friends with kids. My baby sister and I may have gone with them Most of the Dads would go the club and wait it out until the show was finished. Each year he would arrange for us to go to these summer events, while the clubs still offered them.

This was when we lived in Australia. In those days, it was a thrill for kids to go to the circus, as it was a rarity in the cities and the country. A once a year chance, for something “exotic” besides the shows, regattas and rodeos, to found annually in the country towns and the big city. The circuses generally had exotic animals that shouldn’t have been performing in captivity, kept in always sad and sometimes bad conditions. Reflecting on it now, I can only imagine the stress and sadness these animals must have endured, to delight and make us human kids, as well as the human adults, smile, laugh or gawk in awe, at their performances.