Living On the Edge

When I walked out onto the catwalk at Kepler Cascades, this is the first thing I noticed. Not to say that the cascades are not impressive, they are, but it was this upside-down skeleton of a tree hanging precariously to the cliff that really caught my eye. To be fair it was not even the only tree image I made here, but it was the first.

Kepler Cascades, Yellowstone National Park, Teton County, Wyoming, USA, May 13, 2017. Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 70-300, f/4.5-5.6 at 70mm, Manual Exposure mode, f/10 for 1/50 second, ISO 200, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.

A little boy once fell out of bed, and when someone asked him how it happened he said, "I suppose I went to sleep too close to where I got in."

We all take chances in life. We have to. Nothing of consequence is achieved without stepping out beyond our perceived borders. However, it is also important to keep our risk taking well out of the extreme range. It is always good to go to sleep well within the bed so we don't risk falling out. John Donne said, "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind: and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."

Others are depending on us, you know!

Hang In There

Henry David Thoreau wrote, "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." I am not sure that is true. I certainly hope it is not in general and even more in particular for those I know and love. We all experience adversity in our lives. It is, in fact, a necessary part of living - muscles do not grow strong without some resistance, nor does anything else. William Shakespeare put it this way, "They say the best men are molded out of faults. And, for the most, become much more the better for being a little bad in the physical sense."

Kepler Cascades, Yellowstone National Park, Teton County, Wyoming, USA, May 13, 2017. Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 70-300, f/4.5-5.6 at 70mm, Manual Exposure mode, f/10 for 1/200 second, ISO 200, processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC.

The tree in the center of this image is a great example! It is growing on a cliff to begin with - if you choose your circumstances poorly, don't be surprised when adversity comes calling! When it was knocked down, it could have simply died. Instead, it continued to reach heavenward toward the light and thus became the subject of this object lesson.

So, when the winds of adversity blow into your life, as surely they will, keep going and striving to be the person you wish to be. Treat others with dignity and respect and exercise those muscles. You will be strengthened rather than beaten down. The choice is yours.