photography

A New Mindset on Passions and Professions

September 7, 2010 by Farnoosh Brock

How many careers do you plan on having in your life?
How many passions can you turn into a profession in one lifetime?
Are we really bound to one single profession from our first chosen path to the rest of our days?

The Sense of Urgency

I used to think that the rest of my life may have something to do with engineering, just to be faithful to my schooling. Then I used to wonder whether my career is bound by the offerings within the corporate walls. Now I see the world far more clearly than that limited point of view. Experience and time shifts your perspectives and sooner or later (sooner being the much preferred one here), the passions left unexplored demand your attention and the gaping holes of your heart can go unheeded no more. You can no longer put off dreams of your burning desires and your unquenchable curiosities. You are finally ready to seriously pursue a passion, a hobby, a budding new profession against all odds. The waiting is over and the new beginning is here. [Read more…] about A New Mindset on Passions and Professions

A Visual Journey on Why you should Embrace Travel in your Life

July 27, 2010 by Farnoosh Brock

Tell a story without so many words for a change!

There is the newest challenge yet from my spouse. An exercise in brevity and a tall order to my devotion about writing my epic blog posts but variety is the spice of life and so I am up for the challenge. Thomas Jefferson once said: “The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.” Where words are scarce, I shall rely on the beauty of photography to tell my story.

Should we have a reason to travel? Why, do you have a reason to breathe, to live, to get up in the morning and face your days? You travel to be somewhere else and yet in that place, to find a sense of home and belonging, to explore the fabulous world we live in, to meet your other self, to step an inch closer to another culture and another people, to embrace Mother Nature in its stunning glory, to find out how you get on with your sweetheart, your life companion or most significant of all, just with yourself, to grow, to be fulfilled for months and sometimes years later from memories that you create, to share your stories with others, to open doors that no fantasy or reverie can lavish upon you because this earth is better than any dream and filled with more promises than any heart can behold. So get up, pack your bags, do away with your excuses, put an end to the waiting, pick a destination, and TRAVEL. [Read more…] about A Visual Journey on Why you should Embrace Travel in your Life

My Top 10 Pillars of Blogging Excellence: Part 2

June 28, 2010 by Farnoosh Brock

The best part of this blogging mystique is the flow of conversation and thoughts among readers on the blog. The pleasure you afford the writer by sharing your thoughts or spreading the word on a good article is immense. It matters very little if there is complete agreement or a bit of challenge or a few questions in these responses. To me, it matters only that I can make my own website and be able to share something worthwhile and someone has found value in it. In Part 1 of this post, I shared 5 of my top 10 pillars of blogging excellence and you, my dear readers, added dozens of ideas and thoughts to enrich the original 5! A heart-felt thank you!

Now that formalities, however sincere, are out of the way, let’s get on with the next 5. [Read more…] about My Top 10 Pillars of Blogging Excellence: Part 2

A Yoga Breakthrough and 8 Ways to Build a Conscious Practice

March 1, 2010 by Farnoosh Brock

It is only now, after nearly 8 years of on and off the mat yoga practice, growing, regressing, obsessing, trying, giving up, and returning again and again to yoga, that I am making a small breakthrough, one for which I dearly wish a permanent stay. The irony of the breakthrough itself is humbling. It is imperceptible in my outer form and vibrating with excitement in my inner core. [Read more…] about A Yoga Breakthrough and 8 Ways to Build a Conscious Practice

Thunderstruck by Mother Nature: Whale Watching in Hawaii

February 21, 2010 by Farnoosh Brock

Whale watching in Hawaii is an experience of a lifetime.

It is just after sunset here in Maui on a glorious February evening. For the last hour, we were glued to our balcony not to watch the stunning sunset against the magnificent drop that is Hawaii. That alone should have sufficed, for the beauty which Mother Nature has bestowed upon Hawaii is abundant. But we had more. We were following the playful slapping of a young humpback whale’s tail against the surface of the big blue waters. We have witnessed it dozens of times during our short week here and yet, there is no tiring of such a sight. The sight of these gentle giants of the sea playing, breaching, and tail slapping is something to behold.

It is February and it is the height of season for humpback whales here in the Hawaiian islands, and it is this beauty alone that I believe can restore all of what winter has taken away from us in its bitter cold this year. You can watch these amazing creatures right from the shores of Kaanapali beach (among other beaches in Hawaii) as well as going on special whale watching tours. The humpback whales spend their summers in Alaska where they feed in the polar waters, and then migrate to tropical waters of Hawaii to mate and breed. You can see them there from December to May, but February is the sweetest month of all for indulging in their action and beauty!

The Pacific Whale Foundation is a superb non-profit organization with a mission to research, study, and most of all protect marine life especially whales and dolphins. They do a magnificent job. I have been to several of their whale watching tours over the years and highly recommend using them exclusively for your whale watching trips. Most of all, they speak against the despicable act of Whaling, which there are not enough ways to condemn and which still goes on, unbelievable as it may be, in some parts of the world.

You can join me in supporting their tireless efforts by becoming a Pacific Whale Member and by learning about these beautiful mammals that add so much beauty, grace, and delight to the oceans of the world.

Traveling changes your mind and expands your horizons! If you like to see the other travel stories here, check On the Road category.

Educating ourselves is the first step to better understanding and protecting anything on this planet, and this extends without an exception to the humpback whales. So learn a little about these magnificent animals and love them a lot. Even though the web is filled with heaps of information about these gentle giants, here are my Quick 10 Humpback Whale Factoids for you:

1. Whales are marine mammals. They have lungs instead of gills, hair instead of scales, and they give birth live.
2. The whales do not eat the entire time (6-8 weeks) spent in Hawaii during whale season (Dec-May).
3. The whales come to Hawaii to breed and mate. Their babies are referred to “calves”, and the Mama Whale does not let them out of her sight during their entire stay in the Hawaiian waters.
4. The male whales produce a 10-20 minute male song, the most complex vocalization in the animal kingdom, during the mating season (partially recorded on the video here.)
5. No vessel in Hawaiian waters is allowed to operate when a whale approaches to within 100 yards.
6. The weight of an adult humpback whale is around 80,000 pounds (36,000 kgs)
7. They are called the gentle giants of the sea, and pose no harm to people or other mammals despite their magnificent size.
8. The dolphins in Hawaii have been observed to “hang out” with the whales and researchers still do not know why!
9. Breaching is when the whales jump entirely out of the water, using their powerful pectoral fins, and they do it either to clean their skin, scare off prey or just to have fun!
10. Approximately 1,500 to 2,000 humpback whales visit the waters around Maui each year between December 15th and May 15th and there is no experience like watching them during their yearly visit to paradise.