I am a wee bit behind in posting and reading blogs……at least it feels that way.
I don’t have an excuse. I just get distracted very easily. Sometimes, my attention is here, then it is there. I just go with the flow. It makes my life less chaotic. If I tried to over-analyze it, I’d probably end up with a diagnosis of ADD or bi-polarism.
The truth of it is……I just lack organization and planning skills.
Plus, I’m interested in too many things and can’t fit them all in.
Oh, but I try……and there’s the rub.
What does this have to do with illumination? Well, understanding myself and trying to get where I want to be. It is illuminating.
Accepting myself – flaws and all – gives me a sense of peace.
Resolve was the theme for Project 52 last week.
Fitting for this time of year. My resolve is to be more positive. So, I took a photograph of our wind chime outside.
Happy, sunny, smiley, and all glowey. It’s perfect, no?
But it wasn’t. It wasn’t perfect at all. Something was distinctly off about that representation.
I stared and stared at the image. Trying to pinpoint what didn’t fit. I wanted to be happier, right? But happier didn’t seem to ring true.
I am happier. Even depressed, I am happy. I am very laid-back and easy-going. Oh, there are certain times of the month I get wound up, most especially, if I have just taken a dose of steroids for my gigantic hives. But mostly, I am content.
I love my life. The good, the bad, the ugly, and the beautiful.
But there are times, when the darkness of my past….when the sting of bad decisions…..and all the wrongs of the world…..threaten to take me down.
Sometimes, I let them.
And it is not a pretty place.
So my resolve, the one that fit the most, and called to my heart…is to always shine, even when the days are dark.
Just like my Christmas Cactus….
This flower is engineered to come alive when the nights get longer. See, it only blooms when it has so many hours of darkness – about 12. That happens to coincide with the time change, and the winter months. When our days get shorter….and darker.
Click on any image to display a larger slide show of images.
Not only are they gorgeous blooms from a dry old cacti plant, but there is something special about them.
An inner glow. An illumination. Do you see it?
That is what I strive for.
No matter how dark it is…..open despite the darkness and shine from within.
The photo above I submitted for Week Two of Project 52. It was chosen as a top ten artist of the week. You can view the feature on Daphne’s blog: Ellenburgh’s Photography.
Maybe, just maybe….I’m on the right path here.
In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present. -Francis Bacon
For more illumination, check out The Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge.