Into The Light

 "Come forth into the light of things, Let nature be your teacher." ~Wordsworth

Nature can be a wonderful teacher if you just take enough time to let the lessons sink in.   This may require that you go sit in the woods and let the golden rays of the sun shine through the trees until they rest on your head.  The energy of the sun will then soak into you and give you warmth, hope and a new sense of peace.

I wish you a day filled with peace, love and joy.  :-)

Emotions Out of Control

"Emotion turning back on itself,
and not leading on to thought or action,
is the element of madness." John Sterling (1806-1844), Scotland/England

Do these clouds remind you of a world gone mad?  Is this how you feel when you don't deal with your emotions?  Do you feel totally out of control & subject to whatever the world wants to dump on you?   When you have negative feelings, or positive ones for that matter, deal with them.  Don't hide them away or at some point, when you least expect it, they'll re-surface and bite you in the behind.  It's better to deal with emotions when we initially experience them and may be better prepared to deal with them.  Emotions seem to build if they're repressed, so deal with those feeling when they arise.  It may be difficult, but you'll be better off for it in the long run. 

The Mind & The Sky

"The mind should be a vastness like the sky.  Mental events should be allowed to disperse like clouds."  Longchenpa  (1308-1363), Tibet

This seems like pretty good advice to me, because if we dwell on worthless or negative thoughts it impacts our entire state of being.  So, next time your thoughts get you down, just remember this quote & look up at the vastness of the sky & try to focus on something positive.  Most negative thoughts seem to get worse if you dwell on them, so try to rekax & put your thought in perspective.  Have a great day!

To alter or not to alter - That is the question

Colors can look quite different depending on the light and the time of the day we visit an area.  Sometimes, however, we can't be at a spot at the ideal time.  So, what do we do?   Do we just leave the picture the way it was taken or do we change it?   I guess purists would say that we should leave it the way it was taken, that we shouldn't mess with nature.   Although there is some validity in that point of view, I like to keep the original version and then see what I can do with the colors in PhotoShop.  The bottom version shows what the scene looked like, with a little lightening & a little color correction for too much blue.  The top version was modified to show how the colors would have looked if I'd taken the picture earlier in the day.  I like this one best because the colors are more like what I think of when I envision "fall colors".  Which do you prefer?

Alone in the Woods

"Deep in the woods I sat for a long time with the trees.
Feeling their roots reach deep in the ground,
watching their leaves stretch toward heaven,
basking in the joy of being present
with their beauty."  Author Unknown

This picture was taken in Montana a couple of years ago.   I added a little lens flare in PhotoShop to create a more dramatic effect.  Isn't it strange how we try to avoid lens flare "in camera" and then sometimes add it in PhotoShop?    LOL!

I hope you enjoy the quote and the picture.  Have a wonderful day.  :-)

Tomorrow is not Promised

One day a woman's husband died, and on that clear, cold morning,
in the warmth of their bedroom, the wife was struck with the pain of learning
that sometimes there isn't "anymore".

No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together,
no more phone calls just to chat, no more "just one minute."

Sometimes, what we care about the most gets all used up and goes away,
never to return before we can say good-bye, say "I love you."

So while we have it, it's best we love it, care for it, fix it when it's broken and
heal it when it's sick.

This is true for marriage..... and children with bad report cards, aging parents
and grandparents, dogs with bad hips, and old cars.
We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.

Some things we keep -- like a best friend who moved away
or a sister-in-law after divorce.
There are just some things that make us happy, no matter what.

Life is important, like people we know who are special.
And so, we keep them close!

Suppose one morning you never wake up, do all your friends know you love them?

Let every one of your friends and family members know you love them.
Even if you think they don't love you back.

Live today, because tomorrow is not promised.

Meditation

"Meditation is a time of quiet when the mind is free from its attachment to the hysterical ravings of a world gone mad.  It is a silence in which the spirit of God can enter us and work His divine alchemy upon us."  Marianne Williamson

Enjoy Nature

"The best remedy for those who are afraid, alone or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God.  Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature."  Anne Frank (1929-1945)  Netherlands

Relaxation for the Soul

"The mark of a successful man is one who has spent the entire day on the bank of a river without feeling  guilty about it."  Chinese Proverb

Little Cabin in the Woods

I thought this little cabin would be the perfect subject for some enhancements, so I played around with a couple of Topaz filters to get this painterly effect. The original picture was fine, in focus, etc., but I thought the filter gave it a little extra pazazz, as my mom would have said. I hope you enjoy it and have a wonderful Friday. :-)

Sunset on Kauai

"With hurricanes, tornadoes, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thurnderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Alligiance?" Jay Leno

Well said, Jay! If you don't want to say the word God, then don't say it, but don't expect it to be removed simply because you don't believe in God or don't want it there. It's not abusing your rights by leaving it in, but it is abusing ours by being forced to remove it. If you don't like it, just do what the kids do these days, and put your hands over your ears and say, blah, blah, blah.

Happiness

"Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars . . . . and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful. Everything is simply happy. Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to become rich and they will never have any bank balance. Look at the flowers - happy for no reason. It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are." Osho (1931-1990) India,USA

It's too bad that we can't just be happy for no reason. Why can't we? Do we just make things more complicated than they need to be? Do we constantly strive to have more, to do more or to be more? Do we complicate our lives unnecessarily and, as a result, cause unhappiness and dissatisfaction? Perhaps we need to examine our lives and determine if we're causing ourselves unnecessary unhappiness and stress. If we are, maybe we need to work on being a little more like the flowers, the birds and the trees, and be satisfied with what we have. Does that mean we shouldn't strive to do better and shouldn't have goals? No, it just means that we need to determine what's important to us and do the things that will help us achieve those goals instead of stressing about those things that aren't important.

Possibilities

"What has happened is not nearly as important as what can happen. Look to the possibilities of your future for direction, forsaking the burdensome limitations of your past." Keith D. Harrell

As we go through life, we often think about things that have happened and regret that we didn't act differently, say kinder words, etc. If we stay in that frame of mind, however, we're preventing the possibilities that are ahead of us from occurring. It's important to move beyond the regrets and the guilt that is tied up with the past. We can't change what has already happened, but our attitudes can have a tremendous impact on our future. So, keep your head up and look towards the future, not the past.

Meditation

"Meditation is a time of quiet, when the mind is freed from the hysterical ravings of a world gone mad. It is a silence in which the spirit of God can enter us and work His divine alchemy upon us." Marianne Williamson

Photo Tip: I used Topaz Simplify - Buzz to get the painterly effect on this picture. This beautiful scene from the Arkansas Ozarks seemed to lend itself to this type of treatment. When you get ready to apply a filter or plug-in, make sure it fits the picture. A harsh filter might have ruined the sense if serenity this picture conveys. Of course, photography is subjective and perhaps you think a different filter would have been more appropriate. If so, just let me know and perhaps I'll try it next time. I welcome your comments.

The Woods

"One attraction in coming to the woods to live was that I should have leisure and opportunity to see the spring come in." Henry David Thoreau


Spring is here and it looks like today is going to reflect that. I hope you'll go outside and enjoy the beautiful world that we've been given.


Have a wonderful day!