What will you do with the day you have been given?

My view of life is shaped by my experiences. I find myself viewing events through the same filter and I it is only later that I realize I missed an opportunity to be kind and to lift someone's spirit. Consider the two images below. They are both images of the Rosette Nebula located approximately 5,000 light years from earth. The only difference between the two is the filter used to photograph the nebula with. In much the same way, changing the filter we use to view life around us yields a much different result in how we see things.

For more pearls of my attempt at wisdom click on the "Photography" menu item "My Attempt at Wisdom" in the left-hand column. Or alternatively click here

I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?

Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Rather than hurt friends and family with negative and hurtful words, lift each other up in your words and actions as if a song.

Stop the hate.

For more pearls of my attempt at wisdom click on the "Photography" menu item "My Attempt at Wisdom" in the left-hand column. Or alternatively click here.

We came across this small chapel and cemetery above the Arctic Circle in Haukland, Lofoten Islands, Norway. We arrived by bus in a small tour group. The wind was blowing in the 30 MPH range. It was February and bitter cold. No one wanted to get off the bus but we didn't come all that way to sit on a bus. At first only a couple of us got off and walked up the hill to Unstad Chapel. A couple who had tried to camp battled with their tent, struggling to stake it down. They eventually gave up and returned to their car. A few more got off the bus but only a small group walked up this hill where the chapel was.

Life is full of little lessons. We can sit on our bus and watch life go by, or we can get out in it and live every breath of it. The latter has always been my choice.

For more pearls of my attempt at wisdom click on the "Photography" menu item "My Attempt at Wisdom" in the left-hand column. Or alternatively click here.

The movie "Wild" was based on the true story of a young woman named Cheryl Strayed who hiked the Pacific Crest Trail. There are several worthwhile quotes in the movie and book but this one has always been a favorite.

“There’s always a sunrise and always a sunset and it’s up to you to choose to be there for it,’ said my mother. 'Put yourself in the way of beauty.”

It is true that we live in a world of ugly, but look closer. There is so much beauty to be found. Choose to "put yourself in the way of beauty."

Yes, I know I tilt at windmills. You can see in my posts the ongoing effort to remain positive in such a negative space. It matters not a whit to me. Though many inhabitants of our world seem destined to live in darkness great truths are often right in front of us.

"...take a deep breath of life... and consider how it should be lived.

Call nothing thine except thy soul.

Love not what thou art, only what thou may become.

Do not pursue pleasure... or thou mayest have the misfortune to overtake it.

Look always forward.

In last year's nests... there are no birds this year.

Be just to all men, courteous to all women.

Live in the vision..." ~ Don Quixote (from the 1972 movie, Man ofLa Mancha)

I took this photo a few years ago, not long before Frisco Pier was demolished. The title is a play on words from the 1998 movie, The Last Days of Disco.

I have always considered Earth to be a living, breathing entity, capable of showing emotion through great beauty and great destruction. In this image Frisco Pier has been badly damaged after years of storms. On this particular morning there was a storm on the horizon with occasional strikes of lightning threatening more damage. Something else was happening though. The rising sun lit up the sky revealing great beauty in the clouds, and sea.

This year we have seen great destruction through the pandemic, riots in our cities (yes I said riots), the fires in the western states, the storms and hurricanes that have caused flooding and havoc. When we look at the whole picture though, we can also see great beauty. Something else is happening. We are an industrious and creative people, capable of rebuilding our lives and dreams even bigger than they were. We are also a generous people, lending helping hands and going extra miles. These are the times we show the world the stuff our hearts and spirits are made of, the place where great beauty really resides.

At the end of the day is someone's life better because you passed by?

“Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend - or a meaningful day.” ― Dalai Lama

We can live vicariously through tv shows and movies. We can watch sporting events from our favorite chair. Or, we can get out and live our own lives.

Some days you just have to make your own sunshine.

Why do people so often want to hurt and harm others? I think there is a lot of truth in the theory that people are mean to others in order to feel better about themselves.

Flowers don't need to hurt other flowers in order to look good. They just bloom and look gorgeous.

I see it in your social media posts everyday. Some have a real heart and love towards each other and show it. Others are so full of hate they can't recognize their hate is as bad as the ones they talk about.

My grandmother looked after and took care of me throughout my childhood. Tucked away in her drawer was a hand written copy of this poem. It was how she lived. Show each other kindness.

Bring Me All Your Flowers Now

I would rather have a single rose
From the garden of a friend,
Than have the choicest flowers,
When my stay on earth must end.

I would rather have the kindest words
Which may now be said to me,
Than flattered when my heart is still-
And this life has ceased to be.

I would rather have a loving smile
From the friends I know are true,
Than tears shed 'round my casket,
When this world I've bade adieu!

Bring me all your flowers,
Whether pink, or white, or red.
I'd rather have one blossom now
Than a truck load when I'm dead!

-R.D. RICHARDS

The lighthouse has always been a guide to lead ships at sea through dangerous waters. Be a lighthouse for those around you.

If I concede that I have never walked in your shoes and faced the problems you have, will you concede that you have never walked in mine?

If I concede that you have the right to kneel in protest when the National Anthem is played will you concede that I have the right to stand and put my hat and hand over my heart?

One of my go to movies is "An American President". I don't necessarily agree or disagree with the politics of the movie, but there is a moment in there when the actor playing the part of the presidents says, "America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You've got to want it bad, because it's gonna put up a fight."

The quote is longer, but you can look that up yourself. What I do know is that rights carry responsibilities, responsibilities to our country and each other. It doesn't matter if you are republican or democrat, or something else. We must stop the blame game. Our so called leaders in Washington are an absolute mess. The only thing they want to do is point fingers at each other and blame. And they do that for one reason, if the opponent looks bad enough they will look better. It is numbers and only numbers game. No solution, only blame.

Can we not rise above that and respect each other? Rioting and looting is not justifiable, but it points to deeper problems with our government. You know, the ones in Washington too busy blaming each other to do their jobs and protect the people of this country.

We are better than that.

“There's a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and they're absolutely free. Don't miss so many of them.” ~ Jo Walton

We have a way of not understanding nature. There is panic when the smallest things in our lives are out of balance. Sit and watch a sunset. Slow it down in your vision. The world will slowly come into focus and balance restored.

Teach yourself not to look at the world as viewed through the headlines, but through the people around you. The headlines only want to make you afraid of something. The people around you will reflect the beauty and love this world has to offer.

Do you find social media overwhelming with negativity? Don't you just want to shut your computer off, put your phone down, and find the real beauty in our world? What are you waiting for?

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 2nd Chronicles 7:14

Stand out from the rest with kindness

Until we learn to respect each other we will forever be locked in a dance of hate and mistrust, orchestrated by competing media networks.

We are not enemies, you and I. We are merely pawns pitted against each other by the privileged elite who place themselves above the law. If they can keep our attention on each other and not them, perhaps we won't notice they are sacking the country of its wealth. We are not enemies, let us not act like we are.

"Therefore, my advice to you is, endeavour as much as ye can to show kindness toward all men, deal with perfect love, affection and devotion with all the individuals of humanity." – Abdu’l-Baha, Star of the West, Volume 1, p. 2.

This is also known as Grandma's Rule, "If you can't say something nice say nothing at all."

It seems we have forgotten how to show each other kindness and respect. Our posts and comments are filled with hate, half truths, misinformation, and accusation. Can we not change the rhetoric and give consideration to our friends on social media?

I photographed this flag on a sailboat a few years ago. It had immediate meaning to me but I have never shared it. I recognize, as we all do, that flying a battered and torn flag is contrary to our flag etiquette as well as federal law concerning the proper handling of flags. A battered and torn flag like this often evokes feelings of anger in vets who will naturally see it as disrespectful. Being a vet myself I treat the flag much differently than others I know who haven't shared that same military experience. I mean no disrespect by sharing this photo of an old a tattered flag.

Today, though, today that deeper meaning for me sings through. Our country is battered and torn, much like this flag. We seem to be coming apart at the seams and we stand by helplessly and watch the madness unfold. Today though, today this battered and torn flag tells me "We are still here."