There are times when we seek an escape from the day to day pressures and ups and downs that comprise our life.  Those times when we are seeking a moment's reprieve and can just will ourselves to disappear and get lost in something--anything--that will whisk us away from the cares of the world.

The image that I captured on 2/5/14 at the conclusion of a spectacular sunset display is just that.  It was the calm after the brilliance and dazzling array of colors that Mother Nature showcased in all Her Glory.  Those pictures will come later.  But for now, I offer you this single bit of an Escape that I have found along My Journey of Peace.  It is a photo that I have found that I can lose myself in over and over again.  I trust that it will help you in your journey as well.

A few days ago we had a bout of freezing temperatures in our area--which for Charleston, SC was not only very unusual, it also caused extreme problems with traffic, closures and essentially killed a lot of the flowering plant life in the area because of the ice and light coating of snow that covered the ground.  Even our most hardy plants and trees were not immune to the effects of being weighted down with heavy ice and suffering under extreme cold, so much so that our usual evergreen landscapes started looking a great deal more bleak and brown than I'm used to during this time of year.

 So imagine my surprise when during my travels, I spotted bright, flowering plants in full glory. These hadn't been recently planted.  They weren't transplants.  Sure, a few of their leaves were obviously a little wilted and damaged--but their petals were vibrant as if they were saying they had taken the best shot the ice storm had to offer and had weathered it intact.

Their resilience provided me with another way of looking at life's trials and tests--and in the way in which we handle them.  We can either bend and break under the weight of the trials and hardships that may come our way, or we can take whatever life has to throw at us, weather the storm and like the flower--still showcase our resilience, strength and beauty--maybe a little beat up here and there, but still standing defiantly in the end.

"Looking" and "seeing" are dependent in large part upon the perspective that we use when we approach a situation--which then leads us to make decisions on the way we interpret the information that we encounter and subsequently what we do with it.

Perspective determines whether we learn from situations and what we learn.  

It determines our emotions and reactions.

It determines our worldview and the way in which we see ourselves and those around us.

When you begin to see the world not just through your eyes and the "lenses" of your emotions, experiences, wants, desires, thoughts and feelings--but expand your perspective and take on differing vantage points, "lenses" and adopt a broader vision to be able to not just "look" at the images that are in front of you, but to actually "see" them for what they truly are--you can then accept them for more than you thought they could be.

Your perspective does a great deal to change the course of your journey and can be changed with the single, simple act of changing your lenses from time to time in order to be open to envisioning your world as much more than you thought it could be.


(Click image to begin slideshow.)