Community Photo Challenge - Spooky

Okay – My first try at this didn’t end so well, but we’ll try again. This is really more of a test than anything – and a chance to promote the Community Photo Challenge. Their theme this week is ‘Spooky’ in honor of the season. While this image is more somber than spooky, as a judge I can’t participate in the voting round anyway, so I’ll use that as my excuse to bend the rules a bit.

This image was captured in a large cemetery not far from here. Among its more famous residents are John D. Rockefeller, President Garfield and Elliot Ness – as well as Ray Chapman, immortalized in one of my previous entries. The cemetery treats itself more as an outdoor sculpture garden than a place of sorrow – and as such is typically filled with walkers, joggers and students from the nearby university studying or simply decompressing after a stressful day. It is a place that celebrates life while still showing respect for loss, and it’s that mixture of emotions as well as the serene beauty and wonderful play of light no matter the time or the season that draws me here often.

This particular monument has caused me to pause and reflect for the silent power of its message since the very first time I saw it, so I’ll share it with you and allow you your own opportunity to reflect if you wish.

To participate in the Photo Challenge, simply click on the link above and post an entry. Topics vary widely and a new Challenge is offered bi-weekly. It’s a fun way to share your work and an opportunity to see the wide variety of approaches people take to a subject. Good luck to all entrants – and I’ll attempt to be back here with a more typical entry in the near future.

Thoughts from the Car

 

I don't take the time to write here often enough and when I do it seems that there are too many common themes.  So if you've heard a version of this before, please forgive me and don't further waste your time.
 
One of the things I used to treasure was 'alone' time in my car.  It was my refuge from life and a chance to be alone with my thoughts.  But in these days of wireless phones and bluetooth headsets and email alerts and text messages, the car has mostly just become an extension of the rest of life.  Most times that's a good thing - because it allows me to continue to accomplish things and stay in touch.  But sometimes its nice to have a break - and last night was one of those times.  

I had my car in for service the other day, and took the phone charger out to put into the other car.  I failed to put it back and found that I had a depleted battery and no charger - so suddenly it was like the 'good old days' - me and my thoughts and nothing else.  I put on the radio but there wasn't a whole lot to keep me company, so on a whim I pressed 'play' on the CD to see what disc I had in the player.

Initially I was shocked to find that I still had a Christmas disc loaded - and at first I started to scramble for something else to listen to. But after a few moments I simply let it play - and the longer it did, the wider my smile became.

So here, just a day or two before the official start of summer, I turned up the music and lost myself in the spirit of a season and a state of mind that too often we reserve for only a limited part of the year.  And by the time I reached my destination, my load seemed lighter and my outlook brighter than it had when I got in the car.

I think I'll keep that disc loaded and ready.  I don't know when the next chance will be for me to lose myself in the spirit of Christmas and a general feeling of warmth and peace again, but for now my heart rests a little more easy - and the magic of that season lives within me - even without a blanket of snow and a 'silent' night.  

I hope that the peace and calm and warmth of the Holidays visit you at unexpected times and in unexpected ways - and that your heart smiles as a result.

Photo Challenge - March into Spring

I'm honored to be acting as a judge for the AOL Community Photo Challenge again this week. Feel free to join the fun by entering in the category of your choice. Since I'm ineligible to participate, I thought I'd throw a small curve into my entry.

Some days you wake up not feeling particularly well, but when you look out the window and find this perched in your backyard, suddenly you think 'Gee, maybe I'm not feeling so bad after all....' and just hope it goes away soon!

Actually, this does fit the 'March into Spring' category, since the tradition in these parts is that in early spring the buzzards come home to roost in a local park - not quite as romantic as swallows to Capistrano mind you, but still a reason to look forward to warmer days ahead.

I wish you all warmth and sunshine - emanating from the inside, out.

aoljurlAdd, aoljurlAdd_1

Photo Challenge - Winter Blues

Since I don’t seem to have much to say lately, and since I’ve been privileged to act as a judge for the new AOL Community Photo Challenge these past few weeks, I thought I’d post a photo that relates to this week’s theme. The theme is ‘Winter Blues’ and I’ve always liked the way that this photo portrays the stark beauty of new fallen snow painted with shadows, while the blue of the sky offers a promise of hope for the warmth and life of the Spring to follow.

As a judge I can’t compete in the Challenge, but perhaps this scene will inspire you to share your own work. To learn more about the Challenge, its simple rules and timelines, click here: AOL Community Photo Challenge Good luck!

Silent Nights

 

 

 

 

As the spirit and the hope and the peace of this season descend upon us and touch our hearts, my hope is that each of us takes the time to realize that life and love and family and those close to us and those we hardly know, whose lives we may touch for only an instant, are all important and special in their own way – and should never be taken for granted.  

 

This has been a year when those lessons have been brought close to my home and to my heart on too many occasions – and the best and only way I know to honor those I have lost is to try to live my own life in a way that will prove that those lessons were not taught in vain.

 

I wish you warmth of heart, closeness of loved ones and kindness of and to strangers.  I wish you silent nights and peace on earth, simple pleasures and the time to truly enjoy them.  I wish you a glow that starts deep within, and reaches out to all with whom you come in contact – spreading light and hope to any and all.  Each of us makes a difference in the lives of some or many – and I pray that each of us will remember to live each day to its fullest and to never take this gift for granted.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and all you hold dear – and a bright, happy and healthy New Year.

Reasons to be Thankful

Its been a long time since I’ve visited this space, but Thanksgiving has always been an important time of the year to me – and, even though circumstances are far different this year, there is still and always much for which to be thankful.

There will be a large vacancy at the table this season – yet the absence of a physical presence does not also portend an absence of the spirit and the memory of all that has gone before.

In things small and large, happy and poignant, there will be moments to remember. In words said and in traditions continued, there will be memories. And in fleeting moments, it will seem that all is as its always been – and that is just as it should be.

Whether this Holiday finds you exploring long-honored traditions or those in their infancy, whether family and friends are near at hand or simply close in your heart, whether the sun shines on your day or clouds prevail, my wish is that your heart knows peace, that you remember and celebrate the things for which you are thankful – and that you let those who are important to you and who you love know exactly how much you care.

To my friends here old and new, to those who have visited frequently or just this once, I thank you. Your many words of kindness during a difficult time in my life have been and are very much appreciated and I am grateful to you all. And to those who brighten my life and my days – who listen and provide support and love to help me always see the sunshine on the horizon – thank you from my heart.

May each day of the year give you reason to be thankful. May each day of the year give you reason to smile.

Blue Skies

 

 

A friend asked if I’d ever participated in any of the Journal-based photo challenges and I replied that I never thought my work was good enough to expose any more widely than I already have.  But I took a look at the suggested sites again and found a topic I particularly liked in light of all the grey that’s descended in my life lately.  The topic was ‘Blue Skies’ and the ‘assignment’ was to post a picture dominated by cloudless expanses of blue.  You can find links to others who have posted entries here: Your Monday Photo Shoot: Blue Skies.

 

 

I’ve always liked the subject of this photo because its always made me smile.  Another photographer also captured a less-than-flattering image of me in the process of taking this shot (lying flat on my back in a wet parking lot in order to get the perspective I wanted)  - and that helps keep me humble in case I ever need it.  To any and all who read this, I wish you blue skies - regardless of the weather.

 

 

 

 

My sincere thanks to all who took the time to read my last entry and for the wonderful, supportive comments you left.  I intended it to be a celebration of the life dad led and the inspiration he has been to me - and not a maudlin lament of loss.  I truly hope that you found it as uplifting to read as I found it cathartic to write.  I know without doubt that he has received the rest he sought and so richly deserved.  And that’s one of the reasons I chose this topic – because for him the skies will now always be blue.