Many times I've walked through Budapest being struck by something I wanted to share. Here, I do just that. What follows are glimpses along life's path that had touched my heart. Enjoy! Budapest Daily Photos recently moved to its own home. The photos here may be enlarged by clicking on them unlike BudapestResources.com website, its previous home.
As if the colors and design were not plain enough - take a look at the sign above these gentlemen. The name of the store is simply a description 'italkereskedes' (beverage sales). Across on the bottom of that sign, in oh so many plain run-together letters is the statement: smoking seriously damages your health and the health of those in your immediate environment. 
The Invitation
It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.
I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”
It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.
11 comments:
the sign looks amazing though with all the alphabets! it looks almost like an art with random characters.
I amazed to see no "so what" graffiti on it! :)
Nice picture! In some ways people seem to be the same all over the world.
Smoking is a terrible addiction. One has to hope this man will one day give it up.
This could be on any street corner in Texas. I gave up the habit over 2 years ago. Never looked back.
I see it inspired you about as much as it inspired me. Perhaps it was not a good choice for a Sunday. Then again, life is like that - things go hand-in-hand with the not so lovely.
Fenix - perhaps it is too high up for grafiti? or people are so used to looking at it that they no longer see it.
Don't know how the citarette boxes are these days in the US, but I remember a discreet little lable with the warning statement before I left. In Hungary now I see this statement in large letters covering half of each large side of the box.
A dear friend is a heavy smoker despite doctor's repeated warnings about his already high stress lifestyle. Each time the topic of putting the habit down comes up, I have to remember that the things that make him reach for a cigarette make me reach for food. How much better is it to be a food-aholic?
Jim - and anyone else who was able to quit - a hearty congratulations for the level of self discipline it took to make you a winner.
Hee hee. Well spotted, Isadora!
its all over the world. Try to educate people that smoking is bad for them
That's funny.
It's an interesting still life.
~Oswegan
Now, let's not forget the stirring sight of the giant Coke cans in the background too...
I think this is a great 'everyday living' photo capture, and I like your commentary too. Nicely done.
Thanks,
Wayne
It is a great photo actually. Two guys smoking in front of a smoking warning sign is brilliant.
Contradiction at its best.
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