#tbt, our world in flames

Throwback Thursday with a story and a message. These were taken a little over two years ago in Santa Rosa, to this day unseen. The selection depicts burned-out neighborhoods that I had a chance to visit only a few weeks after the fire happened. Even though the devastation was overwhelming and the sadness from pollution real, I was thinking that the people from these affluent neighborhoods probably stay at nice hotels and the insurance will allow them to rebuild - bigger, better. One year later I was traveling through California, working on another project when the biggest fires, probably in the history of the State hit really hard. The town of Paradise, CA burned almost completely to the ground. I made some prints and donated them into a silent auction for the residents of Paradise - the least I could do. Because unlike the hillside neighborhoods of Santa Rosa, Paradise was a humble, working city. I stayed in the area at the time and inhaled smoke-infested air for weeks. For over a week we couldn't see the sun. It was a sad continuation of what I saw a year before in Santa Rosa and what's becoming a norm in CA. Right now half of Australia is burning. As much devastated as I was touching upon the tragedy in California, nothing beats the half a billion dead animals and an uncountable amount of destroyed wilderness in Australia. How many more disasters do we have to witness to start really acting against climate change? Humans do influence changes in the climate and these fires are indirectly our fault! We simply cannot continue on this path of consumption and destruction. I know that an individual may feel hopeless, but every action helps. Even in setting the example, spreading awareness and educating others. Let us start taking care of this beautiful home we have. We won't get a new one.

we are the woods

We Are The Woods was a niche nature retreat/festival of the Czech art scene. Over the weekend we slept in tents and hammocks, walked the woods, sat for lectures about forest and permaculture, witnessed several performances and, for the most part, immersed ourselves in the beautiful wilderness and near-total silence. The meals were only cooked with fire, the electricity for lecture presentation and screenings came from the sun, the herb-infused water from the local well, 70 meters deep. I only took out my camera a handful of times but managed to capture some of the highlights.

joga reset

Such a trip deserves a blog post... Joga Reset was organized by Joga Jana, Moc Głosu (The Power of the Voice), and Cici and Alicja of Średniak, the mountaintop home and retreat. It took me a while to go through all the pictures, because that weekend was something really special. We practiced yoga every day, took part in various workshops, walked the hills, valleys and forest, ate delicious vegan meals and meditated among the unspoiled wilderness. Have a look at this visual diary of my time up the mountain. Full documentation on Janek's facebook page.