Today was the last day of visit from Erin, Victoria and Joe and we decided a few days ago that the visit would end with a trail adventure over at Circle B.
Erin had her own camera so the idea was to take a leisurely morning through Alligator Alley as it ran alongside Lake Hancock.
What we didn’t plan on was that today decided to be grey and rainy so the expectation of bright images with blue skies in the background, had to be postponed until another visit.
But determined to make the best of a bad lot, we donned jackets and headed off to the trail regardless.
Yes, our feet got wet as we tried to dodge the overly muddy sections with standing water. And yes, some of the expected subjects for our photo adventure were taking cover somewhere. And yes, the duller than normal light meant that our images wouldn’t be as crisp.
But we still had a wonderful time. We saw wild pigs, alligators, osprey and hawks. We saw a myriad of herons, egrets, and anhinga. Not to mention some amazing butterflies.
But the truth is, none of those made the time wonderful.
It was made wonderful by the company we each traveled with and particular one little seven-year-old girl who ignored the wetness under her feet and the extra layer of clothing in the Florida heat. Her focus was on the search for creatures, the sounds coming from the trees and water around us, and her unbridled sense of adventure as to what her camera might capture for her memory bank.
She is still learning her camera and undoubtedly has a number of blurry shots in the process. But didn’t we all, when we first picked up a camera and tried to figure out what we were doing. Some of us still do …. that’s what makes the delete button on our PC such an important photography accessory!
But whatever struggles she may have had, they left her completely undaunted and happy to stay the path and keep trying.
It is impossible to be in the company of such brightness and still stay in the dark. And my own adventure was heightened as I fed off her energy and enthusiasm.
I have posted a little selection of images from today at the end of the blog and I hope you enjoy. See if you can spot the jumping fish in the background of one of the shots.
But anyway, the idea for today’s blog thought has nothing to do with the images I got. Only the company that I kept.
The thought that emerged after all the goodbyes and the parting tears, was how the experience today was totally fashioned by virtue of the positive energy of the youngest member of the expedition.
It was an energy that some people might call an aura or spiritual emanation.
But I like to think of it as a song. A melody. Something that plays out within our soul and other souls nearby can hear it. Like a dog whistle, our normal senses can’t but we feel the positivity and it engages us.
When we walk our journey in the company of someone with a loud and positive song, then we find ourselves humming along, walking in step to it, and eventually it energizes our own melody within us.
I remember a Fraggle Rock episode about how each Fraggle had their song and how important it was to have one. And I believe that.
We have to have an inner melody that gives our steps through life a pace to travel to. Otherwise we will wander aimlessly and easily lose our way.
When our melody is in tune with what our life goals are, then we are best likely to live a happy and rewarding life. And the energy of a nearby song can help us remember our own when we begin to lose our way.
Sometimes we allow negative tunes from others around us to fashion what our song becomes. They drown out our own positivity and silence our happy song.
This is why when we travel in the company of others in life, it is important to shield ourselves from negative people or negative influences. If we can’t lift them with our own song, then we need to put our headphones on, drown out their beat, and keep marching forward to the rhythm of our own drum.
Negative influences are the single most reasons for people losing their way in life. Oftentimes people don’t even know they are marching to the wrong tune until they are so far down life’s journey, they can’t even remember their own.
People can confuse loudness and popularity with an acceptance of the tune being good. Only to find out later that the tune is full of hate, lies, and misdirection. And by then the soul is so confused with the loud screech of insanities that they no longer know what truth is, and they march ever closer to the cliff of stupidity.
And if you think for a moment that your soul is going to be saved by the song of someone you are traveling to that cliff with, then think again. Their song is every bit as stupid as the one your soul is singing.
So, how do we decide in the first place, whether we are listening to a good song or a bad one?
There is no simple litmus test but if a song is about to alter your life journey, it needs to be adding a harmony of more love, respect, tolerance, caring, decency, and truth to the melody you already have.
I’m sure there are other positive aspects than my little list above. It wasn’t meant to be exhaustive. But if the new song has less of any of those than your current one, then beware.
And if the new song encourages hatred, racism, disregard, demonization, and lies, then get those headphones on and keep walking.
… just a thought.
