positive thoughts

The Jubilant Journey

This Alphabet Game is great because it prompts me to explore words. Words link to other words and—as I follow the trail—ideas literally spell themselves out. I thought it would be fun to share my journey through the letter “J” today.

While exploring Joy—the first “J” word that came to mind—I found that one of its synonyms is rejoicing. Rejoicing is defined as: Great joy; jubilation.

There’s a word you don’t see every day—Jubilation: a feeling of great happiness and triumph. Aha! That really caught my eye. I love the word triumph. Triumph: a complete victory or success achieved especially after great difficulties, making the result particularly satisfying.

Maybe I’m filled with so much happiness and joy because of jubilation; I’m forever celebrating the victory that I’m living in. After great difficulties, the result is particularly satisfying—to say the least.

But… it’s not just the joy of past victories; it’s also the hope of those to come. New trials bring opportunities to experience new triumphs, and failures pave the way to success. It all circles back to our state of mind; our thinking—and we have the power to choose how we will think.

What a jubilant journey indeed!

Our life is what our thoughts make it.

Marcus Aurelius

The featured photo is being recycled from an old series. Homework is starting to trickle in, and it takes precedence over the creation of new images. That’s okay… I think this one works perfect! Joy is there, it’s just chilling in the shade until I’m finished with my work.

Thank you for reading. I hope you’re having a joyous weekend, full of jubilation!

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. —Isaiah 43:18-19

Dreamers of Dreams

D is for Dreams

Everyone knows what dreams are, but I wanted to find a more personal way to describe them. Not the dreams we have when we’re asleep; the dreams we dream when we’re awake. I poked around google and found exactly what I was searching for:

A synonym for dream is HOPE.

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Happy Thoughts

Just think happy thoughts and you’ll fly. 

Peter Pan

A couple of days ago I set out to write a poem inspired by the Word of the Day Challenge; the word being “dubious.” While wandering around the house, sentences and phrases welled up inside of me, and I sat down numerous times to jot down my thoughts and get them out of my head. As I sifted through memories—thinking of the people I’ve encountered whose intentions were quite dubious—I couldn’t help but feel as though I was drifting to a place that was now off limits.

Struggling to remember the people and events from that particular space in time seemed a bit taboo, and I wondered if I was taking a risk by trying to peer in at it. My life is awesome right now… so, why go back there?! Besides, it’s a very DARK place, and it’s a part of my past that seems so distant now that on occasion I wonder whether it was real or imagined. Continue reading →

A Ton of Bricks

Devote yourself to an idea. Go make it happen. Struggle on it. Overcome your fears. Don’t you forget: this is your dream.

Read, read, read… I’ve been doing that a lot to learn new techniques in Photoshop.

And I’m back to my sketchy images. The featured image is Bricktown, Oklahoma City. I took this during the road trip with my son. I absolutely LOVE brick, so I must say that I really enjoyed this place!

Anyway, I thought this was a great photograph for a sketch. I really like the baby blues, and slightly turquoise tones that seem to pop out at you. I also thought it was a good day to share some positive thoughts. I enjoy anything that drowns out doubt, and reinforces positive thinking.

Courage is fear that has said its prayers.

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” -Winston Churchill

Rise & Shine

I caught a bee in action this morning, in the crepe myrtle, so thought I would share! Hopefully you can spot him. 🙂

I looked up bee quotes, and really liked this one for today.

The honey is sweet but the bee has a sting. 

Various translations I found: If you want good things you have to pay the price; nothing ventured, nothing gained… or hardships are sometimes a blessing in disguise.

Happy Saturday!

A Good Start

Rise up and attack the day with enthusiasm!

It’s already 11:45 a.m. here in California, so this quote is a wee bit tardy… but it’s a good one nonetheless. And I had an extended coffee time, so it’s still morning in my eyes. 😉

I did some wandering around the backyard earlier and shot this bloom in our Crepe Myrtle. I was actually tracking a squirrel… but having camera in hand got my creative juices flowing and I decided to focus on the colorful flower instead.

I did a little Photoshop work, to mimic a painting (again). I guess I’m kind of stuck on doing exaggerated effects at the moment. It’s so fun!

I picked up another library book, called Composition: From Snapshots to Great Shots. Looking at it last night got me itching to get out and walk the streets again. I just might later this week!

Anyway, I thought I would share some Wednesday enthusiasm with you all.

Have a beautiful day!! (or evening for some of you!)

Blessings, Peace and Love!

A Bright Burst

“Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference.” – Max Lucado

My journey sure is getting interesting! Every day I learn a little something about myself, about my habits, and about the power of thoughts.  Continue reading →

Signs of Change

Now that I’m back in the realm of randomness, I’m messing with alterations. This is a street sign by my old High School. Actually, it’s the street that I used to hang out on when I would cut classes, and do other experimental things. I’ve always said that I hated school. I really DID back then—but I thought of something today.

When I was hanging out there recently and taking pictures, I watched the kids for awhile. Some were practicing their sports, joking and laughing, and others were talking and hanging out while waiting for their parents to pick them up. They all looked so happy.

For a moment, I was a bit sad (or disappointed) that I hadn’t experienced that kind of enthusiasm in my school days. It appeared to be a fun place now!

Looking around, I thought why did I hate it here so much?!?

Today I knew the answer to that while I was modifying this sign. There was only one reason why I was miserable back then, and it had nothing to do with the school- or the people that I went to school with. It was me. What was erroneous back then was my state of mind. Fear and negativity.

Now I see everything differently.

And now the sign is a bit different too! Besides changing the sign… I added the moon and the bird.

My signature I guess.

The real voyage of discovery exists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. Marcel Proust