Month: March 2019

My Saturday was kind of a rough one where everything seemed to be a struggle and life was taking no prisoners. You know the kind.

I refused to give in to the loss and figured I might try for a sunset  by the lake to try to turn the day on its head. Hence these sunset pics rather than my normal sunrise moments ?

But it made me think (and this is the thought I want to leave you with for the week) … sometimes no matter how hard you try, happy moments won’t come to you. So you have to get up and go to them … Mohammed and the mountain springs to mind.

Here’s hoping you find your happy moments this week.

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… some people go through life only looking at the big picture. They rush past all the finer details that make this world such an intriguing and wonderful place. So this week’s message is a real “stop and smell the roses” kind of message ?

A couple of weeks ago I tore an ankle ligament on a trail and it has truly slowed me down. Unable to take my normal weekly trail adventure, I decided yesterday to limp my way through a flower garden here in Lakeland. I enjoy going there every few months anyway to check out what might be blooming but this weekend, my hand was forced.

Around me there was several photographers, doing shoots of people and using the gardens only as a prop. They were doing portraits shots, family shots, and one seemed to doing kind of model shoot. The inner me was shaking my head at their failing to take in the beauty of what they were standing in. Nature is more than a splash of color in a photograph or a backdrop to a pretty face …

I took myself in the opposite direction, delving into the fine details and soaking in the sheer beauty of each little droplet of moisture that reflected the vibrancy of the ecosystem around it.

By the time I hobbled back to my car, I felt at one with nature and all the richer for the experience.

I hope you like this little collection and that they help brighten your week a little.

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My girls and I have come up with a lovely way to visit with my parents now that they are both gone. It isn’t a sad moment, but rather a way to remind ourselves of the love and memories we so took for granted while everyone was still here. Today being their anniversary, we lit candles, wrote messages, and set them out to float at the spot where we spread their ashes.

I took these two pics this morning of the exact same scene just with a different focus. I was hoping to capture the story of how sometimes if we change the focus of how we reflect on life ( or those we have lost) that we can develop a different appreciation of our time here. It is too easy to get sad and depressed about the life we once had or the people we shared that life with. So I chose to focus on the happy memories of past love and a greater appreciation for the life I now have.

Anyway … just wanted to share the thought with you and hope that your new week is filled with happiness and the love of good friends and family!

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That’s what the signs were warning, as I navigated another trail under Florida’s almost ever-blue skies.

I am sure the sign-creators were well-intentioned when they established these ordinances but they didn’t allow for the fact that sometimes we get tempted by the intriguing promise of some distance colors.

I was near the end of yesterday’s journey when I spotted a distant smattering or orange and red among all the green and  what I believed to be a Viceroy Butterfly flitting in amongst the colors.

And so I broke the rules, wandering off into the long grass, oblivious to the threat of snakes or whatever else might lurk beneath my feet.

I hope you like these little images from my illegal adventure but it made me think that sometimes life is like that; you have  to step off the trails, break the rules, and take the risk. The reward isn’t always guaranteed and sometimes you do come across a snake-in-the-grass. But that is what makes it a risk in the first place.

Have a wonderful week!!

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… even the big fish! Yesterday’s trail moment with the Great Blue Heron spearing his breakfast, was so brutal, I had to walk away from it before it was done.

But (as nature often does) it also got me thinking about death and life and other such sobering thoughts. Reminded me that life is not so much about our own experience and certainly not what we accumulate over its course. But rather what we do for others … the impact we have on those around us. This is what we leave behind in the memories of others and enhances their own life experience.

Striving for fame and riches is a fool’s errand; a real indication of missing out on the true meaning of life. Sharing, loving, giving, …these are the true pieces of our lives that will define our final death-bed thoughts.

On nature’s trails none of these creatures get the comfort of life-reflection surrounded by loved-ones as their time here comes to a close. Humans are almost unique in being outside the food-chain.

So in appreciation of this blessing, perhaps we should go through our lives making sure we have something meaningful to reflect on. All else is frankly irrelevant!

Have a thoughtful week ?