The sun has risen so bright that it eclipses the scene below. Too bright to peer at directly, the sun overrides visual clarity of all else. So where do we look...A hint of tree tops in the distance, a few outlines of houses lining up nearby?  Color has blended into white light and black background. This happens in life. Some circumstances blind our discernment. We can't see clearly or even take in the obvious, feeling overwhelmed. Like sitting in the blinding sun, it may help to just close the eyes a while, look inside, bask in whatever warms amidst the circumstance, until clarity returns. We were meant to rest, and the sun was made a gift.

In what way can you give yourself a rest today?
What might you gain if you took a break from trying to solve the problem of a blinding circumstance?

The spotted landscape jumps with color this morning. Orange, green, and brown leaves hanging on to the trees, watching others below; brilliant red dots of roses holding strong on the shrubs lining the houses; small openings in the clouds, allowing ivory patches to light up the steel blue sky, and brown and yellow specks scattered across the green lawns. It speaks of the messy order of life. What appears to be confused, or nonsensical, has a purpose and perfect construct to it for our lives. The challenge is whether we can see the beauty in the chaos, and embrace the harmony of the collective dissonance.

If you step back from your problem or frustration, what do you notice about how it fits into your life's  purpose?

Across the sky are gray strips moving in synchronicity. A glance away and then back reveals a brilliant pink layer breathing a joyful color in to the darkened ceiling. It makes the soul leap with its sudden appearance. A glance away and it's gone. The stretches of gray appear as if the pink was never there.
In life we have moments of joy that come unexpected. They light up the present, and soothe the soul. We know they can't last. It's easy to dismiss them. Yet if we avoid looking away in our busyness of life, their impression will sink into our hearts to supply joy when needed. Linger in the joy...

What are some joyful moments that you recall which can still make you smile?

Look for moments of surpring joy today and linger there a while.

Letting Go

The brilliant green expansive tree, full of life, is changing colors, slowly from the top down.  From tip to mid branch new reddish hues light up the leaves, as if the tree was a burning bush. The display of autumn orange pointing upwards is even more lively than the green beneath.  As change takes hold, its surprising new beauty invites anticipation rather than dismay of the disappearing green. Prospect relies on perspective. And perspective relies on presence. What do you see?

Where is the present beauty in the change in your life?
What new possibilities will letting go of the past open you up to?

The pink in the sky lies just above the fog. An airplane glides slowly above the pink ribbon, viewing it all; then another plane, lifting higher into the blue beyond.  In life, foggy confusion can burst into pink joy. And that joy can lift us, and those around us, to heights we didn't imagine only moments before. It's in the haze of transition that new joy is birthed, as we reconcile the old to the new.  Without a dawn, there is no new day.

What value can you find in the haze or confusion of your transition?
What are you learning in the midst of change that will serve you when you arrive where you want to be?

Encircling the view are gray smoky borders that make the earth seem as if on fire.  They are misty, darkened and ominous.  With the bend of the neck, above we see a magnificent white pillow filled with light, and millions of shaded complexities that not even DaVinci could brush. The contrast is startling. Just looking in front, beauty is masked and hidden. Turning eyes up, indescribable beauty, a masterpiece inspires. Sometimes it's just a turn of the eyes upward that shifts the feelings and perspectives to renewed Hope.

A small cluster of pink roses sits like a bouquet between two large shrubs of red blooms. There is a purity to them as they bask in the morning sun's rays.  Protected, they sit inside the cave of green leaves surrounding them, as if designed for a private display only. There are times when the world sees red but we see pink, beauty, and delicacy. The noise around us almost intends to detract us from the contentment that innocence and integrity offer. Yet, focused on the pure, we breath in peace again.


Where do you find peace?
What will it take to stay focused on the best in life?

On the full, green, tree covering the front lawn of the house, lies one tiny yellow leaf. It hangs there, resisting the path others have taken, and standing out among the crowd of green.  Amidst thousands shaped like it, it attracts the eye, humble in its posture, holding on partly covered by two others in front. Still, it's bold in its tenacity, and difference. The winds have not pushed it down.
This reminds of our own need to stand true to who we are; resist the trend to blend; and hold on, even when the circumstances of life would naturally knock us down. Inner strength stands out.

What do you need to resist to stay true to yourself?

In what way does your uniqueness bring you strength?

Before looking outside, the clouds begin. Early morning worry or strain usher in the rain clouds; all while those in the sky are breaking up, with bright blue straddling the gray, gilded by the rising sun. The hope of a new morning sings in the sky while our minds crowd the sight with past and future phantoms. In this moment the rain is absent and the heavens are shedding new light. Don't miss it.

What do you notice around you right in this moment that you have missed?
If you close your eyes right now, what do you notice going on inside you that is asking for attention?

Almost imperceptible is the light rain racing to the ground .  Other than the richer blacktop with a new sheen, all might appear still and dry. No dark cloud covers the sky, only a myriad of gray blues, with brighter white poking through.  It lightens to a point that only the hoods of those standing out in it can reveal its presence. It reminds that much is happening right around us of which we are unaware. We think we understand until we step into a situation and then realize the limitations of our spectator sight.

In what do you need to cease being a spectator, and step into experience--where you will enrich your life or deepen your understanding?

Draped around the morning sky is a light shawl of gray, hanging in the air after a late night rain.  The sun's effects generate a quiet glow between patches of faint clouds .  Other than the damp pavement below it's difficult to discern whether the rain has just passed or is about to fall. We sometimes feel like this in our lives. Having faced some trials, we await the sun of opportunity and hope. We see a glimmer of it and become cautiously optimistic, but wonder, even worry about what is next. Is this challenge over or is there more ahead.  We long to dance in the freedom of joyful expectancy, but our minds quell this hope, in the shadows of recent rain.

Despite feelings, hope is always available, offers a lens that multiplies itself, and if we take its view long enough, will never disappoint.

What do you need to renew your hope for today?

What would happen if you shifted to a perspective of hopefulness in a challenging area?

One side of the full tree is richly green, branches raised toward the sky, with hints of tan scattered around; while on the opposite side the tree branches droop just a bit, leaves paler, and an orange hue permeates the entire side. The side nurtured by the morning sun is thriving and fresh, dressed to present. While the other seems hungry and in need of refreshment and life. It seems to speak that sometimes in all of us there is more than meets the eye.  What is upfront presents well, dressed for success and brushed up. And we may tend well to this part of ourselves.  While there may be a more hidden part, we do not reveal, that is in need of tending, care and refreshment.

What part of you needs tending today?
Is there any shame keeping you from bringing a part of you to light?

Sprouting from the ground is a tiny flowering shrub, with bright pink blossoms. Although small it draws the eye among all the larger green surrounding it. Nearby a small child plays, running back and forth as his mother, delighting in him, attempts to keep him in the viewfinder of her camera.  Directly across the street from there is a tree covered with a lime green hue, with exception of two or three tiny white flowers that stand out it their delicate beauty.  The small can be ignored often, amidst the dominant. Yet never underestimate the tiniest of authentic beauty to command full attention.
That, within you, is never insignificant.

What part of you have you dismissed that reflects your natural beauty?

In front of the house stands a tree, a portion of which is trying to bloom into spring growth, while the remainder sits broken, molded, rotted and dying. The dying part will bring more and more disease to the rest rendering it useless and ultimately fallen. The truck carrying saws and axes arrives and parks far enough away to avoid any impact of the branches.  Nearby, a fragile growth, a fraction of the tree's size, sits by in a planter, pink buds holding back, but prepared to bring forth vibrant new blossoms. With a few cuts, the trunk tumbles, branches breaking the fall on to the concrete. The diseased stump is removed and ground, new soil laid out, and a tiny tree stands proudly in the space, white petals beginning to pop.
There are times when some things need to be removed and fall out of our lives before the new can come. We grieve for what we are losing, and the desire that we must release as our eye was on the remaining green, not the blackened trunk. The new is still uncertain, immature, and fragile. Yet it brings with it a renewal of hope, making us more alive with it.

What do you need to remove or let go to experience renewal?
What has the potential to blossom in your life with this change?

Across the way, a tree holds clusters of green blooms at the end of each outstretched branch, like pompoms in the hands of a cheerleader celebrating a victory.  On the nearby pavement are shadows of budding branches, decorating the ground in black and white.  They display yet another dimension of the trees blossoming beauty.  This masterful artwork, created in collaboration with the sun's brilliance, expands the breadth of the awakening trees, and their message that Spring is arriving, even in the last brush of winter's wind.  This reminds that even undeveloped beauty and talent within us, is to be celebrated as we bring it forth; and that it will multiply as we allow others to express their full selves around us.

What newly discovered or developing part of you can you celebrate today?
Who else do you need in your life/work to enhance your impact?

The sky is awash in white.  Below, a tree stands guarding the last remnant of snow. This small strip of white,freckled with dark spots, speaks of challenging times in recent past; Grass all around it, as it holds on. The street, lined and spotted with salt that was needed only a short while ago, reveals the markings of protection, unseen when covered.  Difficult times pass. Yet, we hold on, sometimes.  It may be to honor what we've been through, or we are just reliving what has passed, distracting our gaze from the change of seasons. Hope is bursting forth; a new season is arriving. Can you let go?

What are you holding on to from hard times that you need to let go?
Acknowledge the pain or challenge, it's impact on your life, then let it melt.

The tree top peeking over the roof across the street appears to wave with both hands, as the wind passes briskly through. Above, the clouds drift across the sky as if taking a leisurely walk on a sunny day.  They float by, eclipsing the sun; and then, with little notice, the brilliant white light intensifies to a blinding level. Blazing warmth permeates the grass, the windows, the awaiting trees, then slips away. The game being played by the clouds and sun speak of the impermanence in life and the lightness with which we must embrace it. We cannot hold on to beauty, but enjoy it when it arrives. Permanence is an illusion, but until God commands, the sun and clouds will continue to play.

What can you simply enjoy today?
What have you been trying to hold on to that you might embrace and release?

Shadows across the ground betray the brightness of the day. Treetops bowing swiftly back and forth pay homage to the sun they've missed for days. Complexity fills the sky, as clouds form innumerable shapes, with the thick gray dominating at center, yet hundreds of tiny white puffs lit from behind capture the attention as the headliner.  The day reveals that the darker sides of life are always present, but live only  in contrast to tell the story of Hope.

What hope does thi day hold for you? What possibility is your challenge pointing to?

Bright sunlight shines across the earth below, blocked only by the shapes of the man made houses and structures. The white rim along the horizon softens the rich blues of the sky above. The trees, bare of their leafy clothing, appear especially alive and alert with branches jetting out and reaching toward the sun against the blue background. It reminds that sometimes we are most alive when we are warmed and nurtured by others, despite how we may appear or how sparse our means. Life is in the interaction and not the state of being.

Who makes you feel more alive just being near them? What else brings life in to your day?

Trees appear as sticks standing erect in the deep snow, bare branches raised to the bright blue above.  Stripped of their former fullness, they stand firm and proud.  It reminds that who we are, is who we are. We can be nothing more and nothing less. Whatever state we are in, we need to stand and be that, and the seasons will change around us.

What part of you do you need to accept and stand in?

A bright jet stream crosses the blue sky muddled with white clouds. Brushed, almost whimsically, over the bright white line are puffs of dark gray smoke, that although translucent, mar the view.  They appear in the way, a hindrance to an otherwise beautiful work of art. Yet they, too, are part of the sky. It reminds that life does not bring perfection into focus.  That awaits. For now, the flaws add the depth and contrast that paint their own beauty, while drawing us to desire that which is beyond them.

What opportunity to grow does this day present for you? What flaw has painted beauty into your life?

The robin, a harbinger of spring, sits inside the cold, white lined branches of the tree, while snowy bursts of wind swirl around her. All around, the earth is coated with an untouched yet beautiful invader, overtaking the land, leaving it visually transformed.  A confusing twist brings together dancing flakes and singing birds.  Here is a celebration of now, life as it is, and not would be.

What will you choose to celebrate today, although it still doesn't make sense?

The bright orange ball peeks over the rooftop, spreading a pinkish glow across the azure sky.  As it comes on with blinding brilliance, the activity below appears stark in comparison. With no covering, the blaze of light overtakes the scene.  While warming windows, it illuminates the tiniest flaws in the glass.  But, its presence reduces them to insignificant.
Like this scene, we view our lives through the lens of insecurities and minor inadequacies, but there is a deeper, blazing truth within us of who God made us to be; that when we let it rise, will draw our eye back to the brilliance.

What part of you wants to rise up and be noticed?

The first frost coats the bottom pane of the window, blurring the view of the rising day.  A single light moves across the steel gray sky, an airplane that disappears behind the rooftops.  Across the street a residue of Christmas lights brighten the porch like a small stage awaiting a performance. The manmade lights are a contrast to the natural light, gradually lifting the well hidden scene into view.  A pink cloud breaks through the tracks of darkened gray, turning eyes to its present beauty.  Memories are like the tiny lights at dawn; they offer a performance all their own, as a gift to lighten the darkness, until we capture a glimpse of today's glory and make memories anew.

What is a warm memory that can carry you through a darker time? What memory would you like to make today?