"...one can no more deal with people without love than one can handle bees without care."

Your Friday photo…

Photographer Juan Mendez focused his camera on the flowers at Meher Mount and captured this close-up of a bee.

“The whole trouble lies in that people think that there are conditions excluding the necessity of love in their intercourse with man, but such conditions do not exist. Things may be treated without love; one may chop wood, make bricks, forge iron without love, but one can no more deal with people without love than one can handle bees without care.”

— Leo Tolstoy, Resurrection

---

This quote is from Resurrection, a novel by the Russian writer Count Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), also the author of War and Peace.

Nadia Tolstoy (1884-1946), a close follower of Avatar Meher Baba, was the daughter-in-law of Leo Tolstoy. Nicknamed Nadine by Meher Baba, she was married to Leo’s son Ilya Tolstoy, also an author.

Upon meeting Meher Baba, Ilya asked, “How can one love when there is so much evil in the world?”

“You have to take love into your heart,” Meher Baba responded.

Ilya died a year and half later, and Nadine joined Meher Baba in India to live in the ashram.

---

"I will often find the opportunity to do a 'quick draw' in my sketchbook."

Your Friday photo…

Bees buzzing around a rosemary bush at Meher Mount prompted this playful drawing by temporary caretaker Kristina Somma.

“Meher Mount inspires me to be aware of Meher Baba’s presence in nature.”

— Kristina Somma, Temporary Caretaker

With vast skies and beautiful grounds, wandering around Meher Mount is a tranquil meditation.

I will often find the opportunity to do a ‘quick draw exercise’ in my sketchbook. This exercise is not meant to be serious or perfect, only playful and lighthearted. It’s a way for me to be present, to listen and to look for what captures my attention.

One morning when the birds were singing and splashing in the fountain, I heard an amazing amount of buzzing coming from the rosemary bush by the Visitor Center.

Watching the bees swarm over the blossoms, I was inspired to pick up my sketchbook to do a quick draw. Later, I added some watercolor and played with my new paint pens.

This is just one example of how Meher Mount inspires me to be aware of Meher Baba’s presence in Nature.

And each time I visit, I make sure to bring my sketchbook, my journal and my camera — finding this inspiration, I bring that energy home with me and share what I find with family and friends.

~Kristina Somma

---