View allAll Photos Tagged Humankindness
The installation by Yui Inoue.
Natadera Temple is dedicated to the worship of Mt. Haku.
At 'Go For Kogei' exhibition, Natadera Temple, Komatsu, Japan.
Because survival and love are the immortal truths of humankind, no generation is a total stranger to the forerunner generations of humankind...
― Kilroy J. Oldster
"God made the cat in order that humankind might have the pleasure of caressing the tiger." Fernand Mery
The Robin's red breast and habit of living close to humankind makes it one of our most familiar birds.
Robins are widely distributed in Britain & Ireland throughout the year, from Shetland to the Channel Islands, apart from on the highest mountain tops. Robin breeding numbers increased through the last part of the 20th century and have been fairly stable since, albeit with some fluctuations.
The Robin is both a resident and also a migrant visitor to Britain during the winter months, when birds from northern and eastern Europe help to swell numbers. During particularly cold weather this pugnacious little bird can be seen sharing bird tables with several other Robins, all of them trying to defend the food source they have found.
Space is as infinite as we can imagine, and expanding this perspective is what adjusts humankind’s focus on conquering our true enemies, the formidable foes: ignorance and limitation. - Vanna Bonta
I was at my little garden plot today in the heat of the day and a constant companion was this four-spot dragonfly. Plus a couple of his friends. They were all darting around finding things in the air to eat, some of which were intent on eating bits of me. So I was glad to have the dragonflies there. And I didn't begrudge them their short rests.
I think this is a "four-spot dragonfly," so-named for the black mark on the edge of each of the four wings.
As neuroses go, it's probably not among the most damaging that a poor tortured soul might have to endure. In fact, considering everything that ails humankind these days I probably shouldn't mention it at all. But here's the thing. I hate my name. Always have done since I was old enough to master all three syllables. And don't tell me it's a nice name. It doesn't matter whether you think it is or not, because as the person who has to live with it, it's on my birth certificate, my driving licence and my passports (both British and Irish) and I detest it with a passion. During the early years of my working life I'd give my name to somebody over the phone and then have to spell out every single letter. One builder whose accounts I was given to work on called me “Sebastian” instead. Which sounded quite ridiculous in a West Cornwall accent. He thought it was hilarious, and he was the customer so I had to grin politely and put up with it. Whenever I say my name it sounds as if I'm a very minor member of the aristocracy. An impoverished fourth son of the baron of a dried up salt marsh who stopped receiving invitations to an audience with the king in the early 1950’s. Nowadays, only people who've known me forever call me Dominic. Generally speaking that's my parents, although my sister often slips into it. She's also had three syllables dumped on her. Rebecca, but only Mum, who remains insistent on this nonsense, calls her that. Everyone else has always called her Becky. My brother is kinder and calls me Dom unless he's in a playful mood and wants to annoy me. As you’ll read later, he got away lightly.
I dropped the “inic” many years ago and anyone who has come into my orbit over the last twenty years simply knows me as Dom. My closest friends only know me as Dom, because that's what I told them my name was when I met them for the first time. “Dom” I can deal with, even though it's often misheard as John or Tom, or mistyped as Don. Once in Barcelona I told the waitress I was “Domingo.” It was the only way to avoid confusion. As for “Dominic,” hardly anyone could spell that correctly. There'd be a K on the end, or two many O's and not enough ‘I's. Or all of those things. One secretary where I worked in my twenties always called me Dominique. Spelt it that way on Christmas cards too. Even though I love France, I'm not French. In the same workplace, an IT consultant spent a few weeks with us and was introduced to me as Nic. It was only when he had to put his full name on a form that I realised we had the same first name. He obviously hated Dominic too, but had been rather more inventive than me at throwing the nomenclature pedants off the scent. Why hadn't I thought of Nic? That would have been much better. Although I suppose everyone would still have added a K on the end. Later on, a cleaner who was hovering on the brink of retirement became convinced my name was Duncan. “Alright Duncan?” she’d chirp squeakily as she came in to empty the bins at the end of each day. I’ve really no idea where she’d got Duncan from, and before long, it was too late to disabuse her. To her, I’d always be Duncan. My colleagues loved this. As for my surname, don't even go there. It's Haughton, not Houghton or Horton or any similar version of events. Hardly anyone gets that right first time. Almost everyone says it wrong too. Even people who've known me for years pronounce it wrongly. I've been on many adventures with Lee, and he still pronounces it Howton. But it's Horton. Spelt Haughton. With an A and only one O, and definitely no R's. Keeping up? Can you see why it drives me around the bend? Told you it was a pain to live with. I've been dealing with this for nearly sixty flipping years!
Three syllables for goodness sake. Nobody needs three syllables in a forename. It's one too many. When I was four and a half, my brother came along. I was not impressed at having to share my parents with anyone else, and to add insult to injury they called him David. Why couldn't I have been called David, like David was? I protested bitterly and begged our parents to call me David too, but they heartlessly ignored me. I was stuck with Dominic, no matter how much I detested those three syllables. And he can be abbreviated to Dave. Everyone hears and spells Dave correctly. Nobody says, “come again, was that Wade?” Or “pleased to meet you Gabe!” You couldn't possibly get it wrong.
“So why bring all of this up now?” is a question you might be asking. Well at the time of writing, and after a few days in Cork catching up with my family, I'm on the west coast of Ireland, on the Dingle Peninsula in Kerry to be exact. Kerry. That’s another name you can’t really get wrong. Staying in a cottage where the host greeted me as Dom. “A good place to write,” as my cousin Fiona pointed out. She's the only one of eight siblings with a triple syllable by the way. But really, Fiona is more like two and a bit as you can merge the vowels almost seamlessly. All eight of my Irish cousins, and my aunt and uncle, being among the people who've known me longest on this planet, call me Dominic, pretty much without exception. I've been Dominic for four days now. But the strange thing is, I don't mind it so much when they say it. Something about the easy stretching of the vowels and the gentle Cork lilt that makes me sound like the strange Cornish cousin that I am, rather than the landed gentry at the big house in Midleton where my Great Grandfather worked as head gardener over a hundred years ago. They all have that same twinkle about them that Grandad did too. But when you breathe in a landscape like this on a daily basis, it’s no wonder really. It’s a rare place this.
I'm here today and tomorrow, and then I'm back to Cork where I'll become Dominic again for a couple of days until I land back in Cornwall early next week. When I’m home, I’ll be Dom - so don’t get any ideas. Not unless you’re Irish that is. Especially if you’re from Cork. Then, just maybe, I might just let you get away with it without pulling a face that tells you what I really think about those three dreaded syllables.
The Eye of Providence (or the all-seeing eye of God) is a symbol showing an eye often surrounded by rays of light or a glory and usually enclosed by a triangle. It is sometimes interpreted as representing the eye of God watching over humankind (or divine providence). In the modern era, the most notable depiction of the eye is the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States, which appears on the United States one-dollar bill. This also reminds me of a natural Egyptian pyramid constructed by nature.
“The Land of Eternal Night” -
Experience the downfall of humankind and the rise of the lords of the night.
In Nox Aeterna, vampire society has flourished and through impressive spellcraft they’ve even bent the sky to their rule guaranteeing that none need fear the rays of the sun ever again.
Atop the mountains sits one such stronghold, sprawling amongst the crags and peaks. Beneath it a village on the edge of a lake, steeped in tradition and protected as much by the denizens above as the forest surrounding it.
Nox Aeterna -
Sponsored by Quills & Curiosities
Region by Dacien & Marcel Blackwood
A Shopping Region
Horsbere Brook Natue Reserve.
The Robin's red breast and habit of living close to humankind makes it one of our most familiar birds. A firm favourite with many.
Robins are widely distributed in Britain & Ireland throughout the year, from Shetland to the Channel Islands, apart from on the highest mountain tops. Robin breeding numbers increased through the last part of the 20th century and have been fairly stable since, albeit with some fluctuations.
My thanks to anyone who views, faves or comments on any of my photos. It is much appreciated.
(Just kidding of course. Here's the real deal from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)
The Mountain View Cemetery is a large 226-acre (91 ha) cemetery in Oakland, Alameda County, California. It was established in 1863 by a group of East Bay pioneers under the California Rural Cemetery Act of 1859. The association they formed still operates the cemetery today. Mountain View was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect who also designed New York City's Central Park and much of UC Berkeley and Stanford University.
Many of California's important historical figures, drawn by Olmsted's reputation, are buried here, and there are so many grandiose crypts in tribute to the wealthy that one section is known as "Millionaires' Row." Because of this, and its beautiful setting, the cemetery is a tourist draw and docents lead semi-monthly tours.
Olmsted's intent was to create a space that would express a harmony between humankind and the natural setting. In the view of 19th century English and American romantics, park-like cemeteries, such as Mountain View, represented the peace of nature, to which humanity's soul returns. Olmsted, drawing upon the concepts of American Transcendentalism, integrated Parisian grand monuments and broad avenues.
The Robin's red breast and habit of living close to humankind makes it one of our most familiar birds.
Robins are widely distributed in Britain & Ireland throughout the year, from Shetland to the Channel Islands, apart from on the highest mountain tops. Robin breeding numbers increased through the last part of the 20th century and have been fairly stable since, albeit with some fluctuations.
The Robin is both a resident and also a migrant visitor to Britain during the winter months, when birds from northern and eastern Europe help to swell numbers. During particularly cold weather this pugnacious little bird can be seen sharing bird tables with several other Robins, all of them trying to defend the food source they have found.
Drone Haven, a city long abandoned by humanity, stands as a haunting testament to the fleeting importance of humankind in the grand narrative of nature.
Rusted skyscrapers rise from fractured earth, their decayed frames wrapped in vines and moss, bearing witness to nature’s quiet reclamation.
Faded posters and graffiti whisper a warning from a forgotten era: “The End is Near!”
On the city’s outskirts, a survivalist camp briefly clung to life.
Dreamers and pragmatists built it as humanity’s final stand, cultivating gardens and creating shelters in defiance of the inevitable.
Yet disease, dwindling resources, and discord proved stronger than their resolve.
The camp fell silent, overtaken by creeping greenery, its remnants a poignant symbol of resilience overshadowed by decline.
At the city’s heart lies the ruins of a once-famous butcher shop, its walls weathered and its windows shattered.
Moss softens its rusted fixtures, and vines snake through every crevice.
Outside, the grim message echoes: “The End is Near!”
This decaying relic serves as a stark reminder of human hubris and the fragile nature of survival.
Amid the ruins, drones roam like spectral caretakers.
Left by their creators, these machines continue to perform their programmed duties, planting native flora during their annual Echocycle rituals.
They maintain Drone Haven as a paradox—a city simultaneously embodying human ambition and nature’s enduring dominance.
Yet even the drones are not eternal.
As creations of humankind, they too are bound by the finite nature of energy.
Like their creators, they will eventually exhaust their resources and cease to function.
This juxtaposition—humanity’s ephemeral existence and its legacy in the mechanical species it forged—underscores the fragility of all things, natural or artificial.
Drone Haven whispers a layered tale: a reminder that humanity, for all its self-importance, is but a fleeting presence in the face of nature’s vast, enduring cycles.
In its rusted beams and flowering vines, it reflects on collapse, resilience, and the inescapable truth that all energy is finite and ultimately consumed.
_________
If u visit the sim, listen to landradio if u like.
The stream is custom made for Drone haven by Christo Winslet.
and u will also hear Drone haven advertisements on it, like the one u hear in this Flickr post :)
Taxi to Drone Haven;
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/TheRefuge/129/126/21
And don't forget to CONSUME!!
_________
Sound : Christo Winslet
Text : Cate infinity
Billboard add and idea : Myrdin Sommer
That's why, when Philo Farnsworth invented the first all-electronic TV set in 1927, he should have forever destroyed the prototype once he learned that one day, an asinine concomitant TV-borne instrument would arise called THE SITCOM!
How incredible that we can be, at once, 99% identical to one another; yet at the same time, so infinitely, beautifully unique.
"Only a spirit of artistic sincerity can console the souls of humankind."- Qui Miaojin
Make This Original Painting Yours etsy.me/2deCYUT
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I hope, we as humankind goes the path of insight !
Pano from 58 single vertical images, taken in 3 rows.
Looking down on the Piazza della Signoria from above, I can't help but think of the spectrum here from a single individual on through humankind's greatest creations. At one end you have a simple man. Next to him is a statue, which is a larger-than-life representation of a man who was himself considered somewhat larger-than-life during his time. Then you have various buildings, in increasing order of size and complexity. Finally, you have the greatest edifice of them all: the Duomo. They go in order from simplicity to complexity, which might lead one to believe that that wonderful cathedral is the highest form of truth, the most timeless and real thing in the image. And yet, as Plato would point out, the very "reality" or respective "truth" of these various forms might better be seen as traveling in the opposite direction, as that great church with its remarkable dome is merely the most elaborate (and thus arguably the most unreal) extension of an idea, a representation or creation of a particular individual, conceived originally in the mind of a simple man.
Of course, it's also just a really pretty view. :)
I hope you have a wonderful weekend, wherever in the world you might be, and whatever it is you think about the nature of truth.
"I dreamed I had an interview with God.
"So, you would like to interview me?" God asked.
"If you have the time," I said.
God smiled. "My time is eternity; what questions do you have in mind to ask me?"
"What surprises you most about humankind?"
God answered:
"That they get bored with childhood -- they rush to grow up and then long to be children again.
That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health.
That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live neither or the present nor the future.
That they live as if they will never die, and they die as if they had never lived..."
God's hands took mine and we were silent for while and then I asked... "As a parent, what are some of life's lessons you want your children to learn?"
God replied with a smile:
"To learn that they cannot make anyone love them. What they can do is to let themselves be loved.
To learn that what is most valuable is not what they have in their lives, but who they have in their lives.
To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others.
To learn that a rich person is not the one who has the most, but is one who needs the least.
To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons one loves, and that it may take many years to heal them.
To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness.
To learn that there are persons who love them dearly, but simply do not know how to express or show their feelings.
To learn that money can buy everything but happiness.
To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it very differently.
To learn that it is not always enough that they are forgiven by others, but that they must also forgive themselves.
And to learn that I am here -- always."
Thanks for visiting.
May we have a peaceful world,
Healthy life, surrounded by truthful trustful people, in safety everywhere. With respect for human rights & private life in particular.
Love & PEACE.
Copyrights (c) Nira Dabush.
Planet Earth Needs your Help. If you are interested in saving the planet for our feathered friends, wild flowers, wild animals and nature areas, as well as humankind follow the links below to articles I and my girlfriend have published. Each article explains in mostly layman terms what scientist are observing and forecasting about climate change as well as offering things an individual can do to help reduce global warming.
Latest Article
Our second article in our series on climate tipping points is on the dramatic decrease in arctic sea ice. Here is the link. planetearthneedsyou.blogspot.com/2020/12/what-will-happen...
All Previous Articles
“The Land of Eternal Night” -
Experience the downfall of humankind and the rise of the lords of the night.
In Nox Aeterna, vampire society has flourished and through impressive spellcraft they’ve even bent the sky to their rule guaranteeing that none need fear the rays of the sun ever again.
Atop the mountains sits one such stronghold, sprawling amongst the crags and peaks. Beneath it a village on the edge of a lake, steeped in tradition and protected as much by the denizens above as the forest surrounding it.
Nox Aeterna -
Sponsored by Quills & Curiosities
Region by Dacien & Marcel Blackwood
A Shopping Region
Tribute to the innocent victims of terrorist bombings in Sri Lanka. What has happened to the world we know? Not only are we poisoning the environment , we are also poisoning the minds of vulnerable people in the name of religion ! Truly a very sad day for humankind.
Taken at the MIGFS 2019. A tulip flower in a plot of same tulips at a show stand.
Many thanks for your visit, kind comments, invites and favs ...it is always appreciated.
HBW
Planet Earth Needs your Help. If you are interested in saving the planet for our feathered friends, wild flowers, wild animals and nature areas, as well as humankind follow the links below to articles I and my girlfriend have published. Each article explains in mostly layman terms what scientist are observing and forecasting about climate change as well as offering things an individual can do to help reduce global warming.
Latest Article
Our latest article is the first in a series that will speak to the many climate tipping points that threaten our living conditions on our planet, and what you can do to stop the tipping point.
planetearthneedsyou.blogspot.com/2020/11/could-we-be-faci...
All Previous Articles
World War 1 was one of the bloodiest wars in all human history, with numbers of deaths recorded as 16.5 million and the number of wounded at 20 million.
World War 2 had 48,231,700 as an approximate total number of deaths.
The figures above are combined civilian and military for all nations involved.
Personally, I much prefer there to be peace in the world for all people of all nations, is it too much to wish for to have a world where there is no conflict? Is it to much to ask for a world where we see each other just as other people? No matter the colour of our skin, no matter what religions we practice, no matter our sexuality, no matter our gender, no matter anything that shows that we are all different, but then, we are just the same, open your eyes, open your minds and open your hearts, in one world, anything is possible. No nations, no borders and finally all humankind can be freed from the chains that restrain us.
Travel back over the millennia, to a land of vast beauty, now grasslands, now an icy expanse, paths carved out by great, woolly mammoths and humankind alike.
Fossil ivory, amazonite, labradorite, and fine silver wire.
Skippy smiles bright, holding his tiger and his box light, and loudly shouts, "Come on, everyone! SHIPS!!!"
Drone Haven, a city long abandoned by humanity, stands as a haunting testament to the fleeting importance of humankind in the grand narrative of nature.
Rusted skyscrapers rise from fractured earth, their decayed frames wrapped in vines and moss, bearing witness to nature’s quiet reclamation.
Faded posters and graffiti whisper a warning from a forgotten era: “The End is Near!”
On the city’s outskirts, a survivalist camp briefly clung to life.
Dreamers and pragmatists built it as humanity’s final stand, cultivating gardens and creating shelters in defiance of the inevitable.
Yet disease, dwindling resources, and discord proved stronger than their resolve.
The camp fell silent, overtaken by creeping greenery, its remnants a poignant symbol of resilience overshadowed by decline.
At the city’s heart lies the ruins of a once-famous butcher shop, its walls weathered and its windows shattered.
Moss softens its rusted fixtures, and vines snake through every crevice.
Outside, the grim message echoes: “The End is Near!”
This decaying relic serves as a stark reminder of human hubris and the fragile nature of survival.
Amid the ruins, drones roam like spectral caretakers.
Left by their creators, these machines continue to perform their programmed duties, planting native flora during their annual Echocycle rituals.
They maintain Drone Haven as a paradox—a city simultaneously embodying human ambition and nature’s enduring dominance.
Yet even the drones are not eternal.
As creations of humankind, they too are bound by the finite nature of energy.
Like their creators, they will eventually exhaust their resources and cease to function.
This juxtaposition—humanity’s ephemeral existence and its legacy in the mechanical species it forged—underscores the fragility of all things, natural or artificial.
Drone Haven whispers a layered tale: a reminder that humanity, for all its self-importance, is but a fleeting presence in the face of nature’s vast, enduring cycles.
In its rusted beams and flowering vines, it reflects on collapse, resilience, and the inescapable truth that all energy is finite and ultimately consumed.
_________
If u visit the sim, listen to landradio if u like.
The stream is custom made for Drone haven by Christo Winslet.
and u will also hear Drone haven advertisements on it, like the one u hear in this Flickr post :)
Taxi to Drone Haven;
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/TheRefuge/129/126/21
And don't forget to CONSUME!!
_________
Sound : Christo Winslet
Text : Cate infinity
Billboard add and idea : Myrdin Sommer
"Godzilla? It's the name of a monster that lives in the sea. It will come from the ocean to feed on humankind to survive."
('Godzilla' by NECA)
Diorama by RK
It is a big philosophical question. Whether humankind or human nature is a counter-force to the nature?
There is also a similar question to photographers. Whether any man-made objects or even people in the scene will destroy a composition of fall colour? That is a challenge to the shooting of fall colour in city.
This is early fall colour seen at street parking in West Point Grey neighbourhood.
West Point Grey, Vancouver. September 2016.
Fuji X-T1 camera
Fuji XF 35mm F2 lens
停車問童子，
秋色何處尋。
Orion Orbits Overhead On Stunning Starry Seaside Sky - IMRAN™
The cluster of stars often known as Orion’s Belt is one of the most familiar sights in the sky. It has fascinated humankind for millennia. Who knows if there are living creatures in the universe that also have views of this combination of heavenly bodies. I’m sure the shape would have to be significantly different ... unless their planet happened to be in the same exact linear alignment as our Earth’s position relative to the points of light making up that imaginary figure.
They are all different distances from earth. I was thinking about how the lights from some of the key stars took so many different periods to hit my eyes when I gazed upon them.
Light from one of them that I captured in this image left the star when Jesus was living, 2000 years ago. The light from another of the points is actually from a combination of stars with one revolving around the other every 1500 years. That is about the time since Prophet Muhammad was alive in Mecca.
Just the thought of the cosmic insignificance of our planet and our individual existences sent a shudder down my spine, as did the chilly Florida winter night as I stood seaside at home looking up at the sights past the palm tree. As I clicked the photo on the warm iPhone in the palm of my hand, I felt a warmth in my heart and a fire in my soul....
I got to see these stars’ lights from almost the exact times when God’s favorite prophets had likely looked up towards the stars near their last days on earth. And Allah, the One God, still has given insignificant me, standing alone on the shore on this cold night, on this tiny insignificant planet, to have unlimited powers.... of imagination, thought, and faith.... to achieve anything I dream, desire and decide. God willing.
© 2020 IMRAN™
#Florida #TampaBay #ApolloBeach #IMRAN #Jesus #Muhammad #history #astronomy #science #philosophy #inspiration #motivation #humility #gratitude #stars #OrionsBelt #prose #religion #spirituality #humanity
Dresghar: "A compulsory feature of elven formal gardens, classical sculptures tend to represent scenes from a mythical time period when elvenkind, humankind and nature lived in perfect harmony."
4. Fotofestival Mannheim Ludwigshafen Heidelberg
"The Eye is a lonely Hunter: Images of Humankind"
At the Roger Ballen Exhibition.
I love cities for their close proximity to culture, which represents, I think, the best part of humankind. Unfortunately for me, humans themselves are the worst part of humankind, thus my love-hate relationship with cities.
Given this ambivalence, you might undestand why I only "budgeted" two days in Rome during my trip to Italy this summer. Well, it wasn't enough. The city was amazing despite the crowds, despite the lines, and despite Roman's annoyance with tourism in general.
Somehow I thought 48 hours would be enough time to cross the city off my bucket list. Just writing that sentence makes me feel stupid.
I will be back, Rome.
5-shot vertical panorama, Fuji Xpro-1 and Rokinon 12mm f/2.
Christmas Eve on the sidewalk in the rain.
Looking For Random Acts of Kindness and receiving many...but probably not enough.
Humankind - be both.
Dark and Wet Monsoon. And the Frangipani along the Kerandangan road thrust themselves upon my mind and senses. They're beloved flowers for funerals here and planted often near or in cemeteries. That custom can only be around half a millennium old because Plumerias hail originally from South America. They were introduced to these parts probably by the Spanish in the early sixteenth century (www.flickr.com/photos/87453322@N00/4405497843/in/photolis...).
Today I mourn. Far away in Groningen his friends will be saying their requiescats to Fokke Akkerman (1930-2017), and I do the same here on Lombok. Fokke was a foremost philologist and an international authority on the great northern humanist Rudolf Agricola (1443-1485), sometime master of Desiderius Erasmus (www.flickr.com/photos/87453322@N00/8030053741/in/photolis...), and the philosopher Benedictus Spinoza (1632-1677). More than this, he was a fine literary scholar, and most of all a true friend.
Not a great traveler he nonetheless had a lively interest in strange climes and it was always a joy to send him postcards.
His last name translates to 'Agricola' in Latin. That's appropriate not only for their shared Republic of Learning, but also because a central concern in Agricola's thought was to pay attention to the things themselves: precise philology and a high regard for what meets the eye in nature, in geography and in humankind.
This mythic creature towers over humankind, awing all with its stunning plumage and gigantic size! Wings and tail are built using LEGO's new Forma skins.
Learn more about this build on my blog.