I came across this photo recently and as often happens, I viewed it from a perspective which was not apparent when I captured the scene. I still like the shot for the contrasts presented by the stormy cloud’s ominous shadows versus the sun’s illumination of the pier, seemingly both enhancing the colors and the details. But, I was immediately struck by another thought as soon as I opened the file and that thought happens to be the title of a Gary Allen song – ‘Every Storm Runs Out of Rain’!
And those were the exact words expressing the exact thought that danced through my head when I saw the photo. I guess that an outsider might say that the photo, in addition to giving me pleasurable thoughts and memories, is now a metaphor spurring my thoughts toward the way of thinking that has taken hold of my life. And that’s a good thing for me as, having a little bit of self-awareness, I realize that my way of thinking can bring lots of joy and happiness into my life as I strive to help and love others, or it can bring a whole heaping bunch of negativity and calamity. I do speak from experience and one thing I’ve come to accept as a fact is that I am who I think I am, I do what I think about.
Expanding on that and the aforementioned storm, if one of life’s quirks, whether it be personal loss, financial set-back, illness, society’s ills or anything with a negative connotation happens, I can choose to focus on it and allow self-pity to take hold. That is a road I’ve been on – but no more. Life happens, that’s a fact, and I cannot change that. Life doesn’t happen to me, though, it just happens. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the type that delights in negative events. I just don’t let them get me down. I choose to have a positive outlook and I realize that nothing is forever. Heck, there is most likely something to learn from these events, though they may not be apparent at the moment they occur.
Adding to that, I’ve come to know that if I focus on something that I shouldn’t, let some negative idea occupy my thoughts, then subconsciously I will bring that idea to fruition through my actions. Conversely, when or if one of those thoughts pops into my head I replace it with a positive one and turn my focus to things that are good, they will manifest in my life in ways that benefit me and others. To put it in a nutshell, I can and do think my way into the best life I can lead.
This way of thinking has come about over sixty plus years. There have been a lot of storms in my life and I’m still here. And, there will be a lot more if God keeps me around. Me thinks I’ll have this photo printed, framed and hung on a wall in my place – reminding me when I see it that nothing lasts forever. The storms that blow through my life do, indeed, run out of rain.