Reflection post #AtoZChallenge

Is this the sun

reflected in water?

Or

have the waves given birth to many suns?

Or

Are stars skinny dipping in broad daylight

to refresh and relight

before they go back up to twinkle in the night sky?

Coruscant! Deborah may say.

What will you?

*****

This year's A to Z has been the most enjoyable one for me. This is my third year of diving in unprepared (just like the previous two times). So what was different this time round? I reckon it's the rhythm of this year's challenge that I stumbled upon quite by accident which made it such a treat despite the demands of posting daily.

April started with family visiting, so I had limited hours each day in which to post and visit. As a result, I didn't seek out too many bloggers--just four or five to read every day. By the end of that first week, I had fallen into a comfortable pattern of visiting bloggers who'd visited me and some whose comments on other bloggers' posts made me want to visit them.

This year, my heart's desires were more about seeing than being seen. So, after writing and  posting, I allotted my time to visit the blogs which pulled me towards them. I will be sharing a list of those in this post.

I'm a blogger and the reason I share what I write is because I do enjoy being seen. So, no-- I'm not heading to the hills to become a hermit just yet. But, there was a sense of calm that I felt this year. If I got comments, it was awesome and if I didn't, that was fine too. I visited the blogs I enjoyed at different times of the day.

Mornings were usually set aside for reflective posts from :

Yamini who ignited a desire within to explore Advaita Vedanta 

Susan who introduced me to Lilith

Deborah offered new old words and perfumed my mornings with her fragrant writing

and Beth provided the morning stretches.

Humour and giggles were provided by:

Keith and Rosey

So anytime I needed a little respite, I'd visit them.

Evenings were spent with a cup of tea and fiction set in the EU with Iain Kelly and

sometimes discovering new weird things like a diamond prince in a rubber suit with  ZALKA CSENGE VIRÁG.

Post dinner time which till March was Netflix time, got assigned to visiting my blogging friends from last year's challenge: 

Jz who can make you laugh out loud with a post on zucchini--trust me.

Emily who was awarded the title of the Ambassador of all things wonderful from Ecuador by Deborah. 

This year I added the blogs I enjoyed to my blog roll, so it was easier to visit whenever I could snatch snippets of time in between washing dishes and tempering daal with cumin and curry leaves.

I met a bunch of talented bloggers from India:

Shilpa's travel inspired posts gave me some very useful tips.

Seema's art and words made me want to pack my bags and head out to India--such amazing talent.

Shalini's love of books criss-crossed my path and made me happy.

Kalpana writes and photographs and with the magic of her photos managed to convince me that I must see Delhi with fresh eyes.

And then there was poetry and lyrical verse: whimsical, beautiful, sometimes direct, sometimes wavy...

Leslie, who pens poetry in moondust

and

Lissa whose words and art are moon dust--whimsical and poignant, magical and real.

I couldn't visit Tamara, Shirley and Kristin as often as I'd have liked to. Thank you girls for dropping by:)

And then there is my old blogging buddy April who I visited the least number of times in April. I love her writing and she's a beautiful soul. I reckon I'll let April spread over my summer while I play catch up with all the missed posts.

Thank you for your visits Eva and Pinkz:) 

I met Ashwini on Z. So, I've not had a chance to visit her properly. 

I hope that the abundance of April will spill over into the rest of the year and we'll continue to meet and visit each other.

It's been an amazing month of seeing and learning. I'm grateful to all you generous souls who took the time to visit me. If you left a comment, it made me very happy. And if you read or looked at the photos and let me into your day for a few minutes, and didn't sign your presence, it made me happy too.  And if you chose not to stop by, that was cool as well. When it's time, it's time.

A Big Thank You to all the organizers.

As I said, it's been an awesome April. I'm grateful and so is my heart. 

May your days sparkle like stars 

and 

May your nights keep you safe

and 

May the in-between hours be filled with magic.

*****

A list of A to Z that was a gift of April---in case you're in the mood to read or browse:)

A is for Alum Chine

B is for Brihadisvara

C is for Cheddar Man

D is for Darshan

E is for Expresso

F is for Five of my Favourite Things

G is for Golden Cap

H is for Head Wash Day

I is for Ishq

J is for Jam

K is for Katara

L is for Laitlum Canyon

M is for Mawphlang

N is for No to News

O is for Overheard at Old Harry

P is for Paradise in Plain Sight

Q is for Quotes on my Fridge Door

R is for #RallyforRivers

S is for Street Art

T is for Tales of Tailors

U is for Umshiang Double Decker Root Bridge

V is for Vintage

W is for Wells

X is for Xavier's College Canteen

Y is for Yartsa Gunbu

Z is for Zaroorat and Zahrah

Art bought from a tiny shop in Phnom Penh:

artist unknown

 joy of journey: known, felt and relished.