This is one of those shots that got lost in the shuffle. Sometimes, I get focused on one particular capture and pay no attention to the rest. This one fell into that category as I found it right by another one with which I was quite pleased. But, when I came across this one recently, I was stunned with its beauty, the contrast in the sky between the sun and the stormy clouds as well as what seems to be a general sense of calm after the storm. It’s a shot that is quite pleasing to me as it brings me that same sense of calm.

     Yes, I realize that one could look at this and come away with a different reaction. There is so much there – the seeming struggle between dark and light, good and evil, the chaos in the sky, the calmness of the bay, the remnants of a pier and boathouse. Philosophically, any one of those elements could stir up all kinds of thoughts, excuse one to contemplate uncontrollable circumstances. And no, the word ‘excuse’ in the previous sentence was not a mistake – it was a choice.

     See, if nothing else, life and the ‘school of hard knocks’ has taught me that most of what goes on in this big world and my little one is beyond my control. When it comes right down to it, there is not much over which I do have control. I have learned though that I can control my thoughts, my actions and my emotions, with practice of course. So how I respond, how I think, what I allow to affect me are all choices. And the more I think good thoughts, God thoughts, the more often they manifest through my actions and emotions. Rather than look at the scene in this photo and conjure up struggles and loss, I choose to pull out of it the calmness and beauty that I see, that I sense.

     So, these days I try my best to choose the good thoughts, to let God direct my thinking. He is, after all, in control. It took a long time for me to accept that. But, life changed for me when I did - for the good of all!