There is A Red Heart in the Window

British Columbia, Solidarity, Spread love not the virus

Red heart in a window. Love during difficult times.
(R. Ferguson image, March 2020).

Softness to My Eyes

There is a red heart in the window as I walk the quiet of the early evening. Mallards huddle closely in the quiet of a school field as the spring rain washes our town, our nature. The moisture runs freely along the roadside, its watery current in syncopation with the 7pm clang of pots and pans, sirens and noisemakers in homage to our health providers. The moisture is pleasant to walk through. I turn the corner to find a red heart in the window…people finding a way…there is kindness in the air tonight.

This Saturday I have learned much from the moving images of Steven Soderbergh and Peter Farrelly, two films Contagion and Green Book, previously unseen, have provided idea cracklings within my person. I choose my walk (some exercise is helpful with my contemplations) and as I saunter past multiple blossoms I recall Katsumoto, The perfect blossom is a rare thing…You could spend your life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life.

I turn a corner to find some ever-entertaining crows choosing their roosts for the night, sitting in silence until my disturbance creates disorder in their balance. They bounce between branches and wire, one to the other with the occasional caw until I have passed…there is balance again as neighbours wave to a stranger…there is kindness in this night.

As I move closer to my walls…special words comfort me…In times of trouble Mother Mary comes to me speaking words of wisdom…Let it Be…Let it Be. I have long realized these disconnected but meaningful tangles of contemplation (it is a busy mind this day and night) must come together…they are a comfort stringing them, as I do, a synchronicity. I am eager for tranquility as further visions of blossom-stands offer softness to my eyes. Like Katsumoto I am content in discovering, much to our happiness, all blossoms are perfect. Everyone shine on until tomorrow, a new day to shine. There is a red heart in the window…from which these words have come and new ideas soon to blossom.

Last Samurai

Katsumoto’s blossoms. Softness to my eyes…they are all perfect.
(P. Ferguson image, March 2020)


About The Author

pferguson
Paul has worked with the Paradigm Motion Picture Company since 2009 as producer, historian and research specialist. Paul first met Casey and Ian WIlliams of Paradigm in April 2007 at Ieper (Ypres), Belgium when ceremonies were being held for the re-dedication of the Vimy Memorial, France. Paul's sensitivity to film was developed at an early age seeing his first films at RCAF Zweibrucken, Germany and in Sardinia. Paul returned to Canada in 1967 and was further amazed by David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Bridge on the River Kwai". Film captivated Paul and with time he became increasingly interested in storytelling, content development, character, direction, cinematography and soundtracks. At the University of Victoria, Paul studied and compared Japanese and Australian film and became interested in Australian film maker Peter Weir and his film "Gallipoli" (1981). Paul was entranced when he learned Weir had visited the beaches, ridges and ravines of the peninsula. The film "Gallipoli" alone led Paul on many journeys to sites of conflict in England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Malta, Hawaii, Gallipoli and Salonika. It was, however, when Paul watched documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, "The Civil War", that Paul understood how his own experience and insight could be effective and perhaps influential in film-making. Combining his knowledge of Museums and Archives, exhibitions and idea strategies with his film interests would be a natural progression. Paul thinks like a film-maker. His passion for history and storytelling brings to Paradigm an eye (and ear) to the keen and sensitive interests of; content development, the understanding of successful and relational use of collections, imagery and voice. Like Paul's favorite actor, Peter O'Toole, he believes in the adage “To deepen not broaden.” While on this path Paul always remembers his grandmother whose father did not return from the Great War and how his loss shaped her life and how her experience continues to guide him.

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