perspective

so much of life comes down to a matter of this -- perspective. is the glass half empty or half full? where is the greenest grass? the sun is shining somewhere. if you're healthy, you've got reason to be thankful .. even on our worst days, we're still doing better than we deserve. going through a hard time? -- maybe God's trying to teach you something, and this is the best way for you to learn...
so, if it truly is a matter of perspective, then let's do what we can to stay "chin-up" -- if you click pix, change your angle -- lay down on the footpath for the different shot, and it's ok if others look at you like you're wacky...
if you have a nasty habit of being self-centered, find something good in someone else, and tell them about it (it's called encouragement, but more on that later)
if you think you've got it bad, and wonder why so many others have been given so much more than you --- consider the children who've lost their parents to sickness, starvation, poverty (unfortunately the list goes on and on) and be thankful for what you have --- and maybe take it a step further and share what you do have with those who aren't as blessed as you.
after all, it all boils down, the good and the bad are only a slightly different perspective away from each other.

sometimes you just gotta look a little harder

the other day, i spent some time with my brother and his family.. they were "cashing in" on a christmas present - a photo shoot with their little guy micah. the morning came, it was very foggy, and i wondered what kind of pictures we'd get...

i showed up at the site early - to scope it out, and to poke around for other photo ops. at first glance, there didn't seem to be much catching my eye - neighboring houses were just close enough to not be "fogged out", and the field was mostly turned over. there was a stretch of wildflowers growing on the edge of the field, but they were all but dead and colorless -- that is, until i walked around the back side and found these two, with an exquisite showing of drops-on-webbing.. and, there you have it, the fog played right into my hand, and the backdrop blurred into nothing.

interesting enough, when we were done with the shoot, tricia's grandfather took the tractor and turned over the rest of the field, including those poor late bloomers that stuck around just long enough for me to catch'em through the lense...

here's the take-it-home: there's always a photo out there waiting to be taken - sometimes you just gotta look a little harder