Skip to content

Posts from the ‘Photography’ Category

Jul 16

2 Comments

Rise and Shine

“Appreciation is the highest form of prayer, for it acknowledges the presence of good wherever you shine the light of your thankful thoughts.” – Alan Cohen

Each day we must choose light over shadow, rising above to shine bright. There’s an ease that comes with letting go of our assumptions, frustrations and judgments. Surrender to joy each day. Rise and shine. And when you stumble and wilt, re-rise and re-shine. Defeat only comes when we stop trying.

“People deal too much with the negative, with what is wrong. Why not try and see positive things, to just touch those things and make them bloom?”- Nhat Hanh

“People deal too much with the negative, with what is wrong. Why not try and see positive things, to just touch those things and make them bloom?”- Nhat Hanh

Mar 30

2 Comments

Melt

“I will greet this day with love in my heart. For this is the greatest secret of success in all ventures. Muscles can split a shield and even destroy life itself but only the unseen power of love can open the hearts of man. And until I master this act I will remain no more than a peddler in the marketplace. I will make love my greatest weapon and none on who I call can defend upon its force… my love will melt all hearts liken to the sun whose rays soften the coldest day.” – Og Mandino

“I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.” – George Washington Carver

“I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.” – George Washington Carver

Even as winter lingers into the dawn of April, the sun’s strength melts away the past, the ice, the cold. Transforming the winter into nurturing water to awaken the ground, turning the brown to green. Nature teaches us to melt, to soften, to wash away the sand and awaken to the newness of the day with gratitude and joy. Easter and Spring partner to renew and refresh. Melt.

Mar 8

9 Comments

Joy Filled Days

“When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.” – Tecumseh

“Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.” - Mother Teresa

“Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.” – Mother Teresa

It’s Lily’s 3rd birthday today, reminding me that time moves briskly and there’s no time to waste. Each day, even the tough ones, have a deep capacity for joy, if we seek it fervently.

Lily and Molly give me joy each day, more than I give them. Dogs (four legged family) give and take joy from each moment without delay, getting more out of their short time here than many do in a life six times as long.

Pursue and find the joy in each day. Hold tight to the goodness and let go of the rest. The three F’s – faith, family, friends mixed with health (running), laughter, hobbies, work (most days) create intense light that overpowers any shadow that the world can cast. Joy filled days indeed.

Mar 3

12 Comments

GrOw Through It

“Yes, now I understood for the first time that my soul was not so poor and empty as it had seemed to me, and that it had been only the sun that was lacking to open all its germs, and buds to the light.” – Max Muller

“As long as we are persistence in our pursuit of our deepest destiny, we will continue to grow. We cannot choose the day or time when we will fully bloom. It happens in its own time.” - Denis Waitley

“As long as we are persistence in our pursuit of our deepest destiny, we will continue to grow. We cannot choose the day or time when we will fully bloom. It happens in its own time.” – Denis Waitley

We are doers – checklists, multitasking, moving fast, solving problems, busy, looking for the shortcut, the next big thing. Often times, life doesn’t require “doing” but rather “being.” In our challenging and difficult moments, we are called to not merely go through but to grow through, daring us to go deeper and to let go of our old selves.

With cultivation, patience and light, our bud will burst through to blossom anew. Spring always comes at just the right time. The promise of the blooming bud in all of us, ready to share our true beauty with the world. GrOw with it.

Feb 2

3 Comments

Your Window

“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.” – Dale Carnegie

Today is it. Look for the good in your garden of people, place and spirit. Lighten your spirit and lift the burdens from your heart. Tend to your garden so each day is filled joy, delight, and beauty.

There are beautiful roses, even in the midst of winter. Right outside your window.

“I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things... I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind.” - Leo Buscaglia

“I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things… I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind.” – Leo Buscaglia

Jan 22

5 Comments

Echo

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” – Mother Teresa

The sun bursts through clouds with strength and brilliance. Amidst your many plans and aspirations for the day, above all, be kind. A word, a smile, an acknowledgement. A simple act that echoes well beyond, breaking through the clouds of the day. Cast light.

“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.” - Edward Abbey

“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.” – Edward Abbey

Jan 20

3 Comments

Sunday RESeT

“Sunday is the golden clasp that binds together the volume of the week.”- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Sometimes the most urgent thing you can possibly do is take a complete rest.” - Ashleigh Brilliant

“Sometimes the most urgent thing you can possibly do is take a complete rest.” – Ashleigh Brilliant

Sunday rest, reflection, and restoration resets our perspective on the past week and prepares us for the next, ultimately our life as a whole. The fruits of a Sunday well done carry through all of our days. After six days of creation, God rested on the seventh, showing us the way.

Work hard, play hard, rest hard.

Jan 16

3 Comments

The Very Bright Side

“Always keep your mind as bright and clear as the vast sky, the great ocean, and the highest peak, empty of all thoughts. Always keep your body filled with light and heat. Fill yourself with the power of wisdom and enlightenment.” – Morihei Ueshiba

“Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.” - George Bernard Shaw

“Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.” – George Bernard Shaw

Assume positive intent from others and take positive actions on your own part. We too easily shift with the others’ winds instead of creating our own. We live in degrees, often putting too much emphasis on the irrelevant. We have put most of the obstacles in our own path with our thoughts, attitudes and actions. The bright side – we can change these.

If we believe the best in others and foster it in ourselves, forgetting the “they don’t deserve” mindset, we can see the world in a new light. So ease up on the judgement and discontent. Give what you want to receive. Choose to see the bright side, the dark side will take care of itself.

Get out of your own way, expect the best, give your best and seize the very bright side of the day.

Jan 13

9 Comments

Weeds and Seeds

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

“To see things in the seed, that is genius.” - Lao Tzu

“To see things in the seed, that is genius.” – Lao Tzu

In life’s garden, there are weeds and flowers. We can be overtaken by the weeds, those daily irritations, small minds and minor inconveniences. Pull weeds every day and plant seeds in their place, and sow twice as many seeds to hinder the weeds return.

What weeds will you pull and what seeds will you sow?

Weed varieties: complaining, gossip, pettiness, jealousy, entitlement, negativity, unforgiveness. PULL THEM.

Seeds varieties: encouragement, laughter, hope, enthusiasm, fun, gratitude, joy, patience, grace, generosity, compassion, service, faith, optimism. SOW THEM.

Grey doesn’t look good on you. Go color the world.

Jan 5

9 Comments

Keep Pulling

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

One week into the new year, keep the resolve in your resolutions, the promises to yourself. While I wasn’t a 100% successful in each resolution this week, I did well in some areas and there’s more work to do in other areas.

Day in, day out, shifting, readjusting, getting back up. Each day we keep promises to ourselves and others, we form habits and new mindsets. So instead of pushing, we are pulled by the habits that we build through repetition and consistency. True fulfillment is found in the work to achieve the goal, not in finding a shortcut. Create the pull every day, a step at a time.

“Pull the string, and it will follow wherever you wish. Push it, and it will go nowhere at all.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower

“Pull the string, and it will follow wherever you wish. Push it, and it will go nowhere at all.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »