This is what a passionate lover of photography, Katerina from AND YET GOD STILL LOVES ME had to say in her comment on a comment on my comment. She has a blog to share some of her amazing experiences and another site with a photo album. Please feel free to check up and hope you will strike a life long friendship.
Kat said... What a blessing that post was. And what a wonderful blessing when God opens our eyes to what is around us and allows us to see very clearly the beauty that He created.
As I see many of the posts on here, I see that many bloggers enjoy taking pictures. From someone who rarely took the time to see what was really going on around me, when I picked up my first digital camera last year, the whole world opened up for me. It allowed me to see the world from different eyes than my own. Now when I stop to see things, I am the one looking around me, and seeing with my own eyes all the beauty that is around us.
From a photographers point of view, there is a picture in everything if you look close enough. I love creating beauty in a photo where one would might only see something dark and boring. My imagination opens up and I can see how Gods hands work each and every day in the world around me. If we stop and take the time to see the world through Gods eyes, you will find that there is so much more to see. God Bless you Rain for opening up your heart to see the beauty around you. It sounds like it saved your life.
August 4, 2009 10:54 PM
Please click on the photos for a beautiful large view. I must admit that I am no where near Kat.
-->Here is another mind provoking comment by Danielle. As you can see she has used inspiring quotes from various authoritative sources to embellish andreinforce her thoughts. I am sure you would like to visit Danielle at Danielle’s realm and be enriched with her messages of inspiration.
Danielle&Hannah said...“Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyse you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are.” –Bernice Reagon
"While we may not be able to control all that happens to us, we can control what happens inside us." --Benjamin Franklin
To everything there is a season and a reason under heaven [Ecclesiastes]. God understands why and we may not always. That’s what makes Him God and us human. God is the author while we are the illustrators. This life is the only story we will make, so we must make it count.
Fear is the thief of dreams. Sometimes life and situations may make us fearful – we are fragile – but that fragility should demonstrate how blessed we are and how much hope there is. Strength is most often discovered when one looks outside themselves. There is a whole world out there.
Life is what we make it and yes it requires much effort, sometimes generations.
'The stronger the breeze, the stronger the trees'
Joseph, I agree that the “idle mind is the devil’s workshop’ because you can’t stop the bird from flying over your head, but you CAN stop it from nesting in your hair…
Our thoughts and choices produce the very fruit of our life. We need to fill our hearts and minds with the things which help us bear the fruit we would like. Being fertilised by faith and Gods pure love ~ not forgetting to fertilise others with love also.
Proverb. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he…
Like “Brian Miller” said – the eyes are the windows to the soul – are our windows clear enough to find the hope and beauty that IS out there… "While we may not be able to control all that happens to us, we can control what happens inside us." --Benjamin Franklin
-->Here is another fantastic comment by Sheila (Bluebirdy) from LIFE---4 HOURS AT A TIME. She is an incredible lady with a fantastic will power, determination and perseverance to succeed inspite of her severe handicaps and physical ailments. She has to her credit over 250 magazine articles published. I am sure you would like to visit this magnificent lady and become life long friends. My best wishes.
For people who are in more physical and/or mental pain than they can bear, yes, life can be torture. For the rest of us, happiness is a learned behavior. For a chosen few, happiness is in their brain and body chemistry and comes quite naturally. These days are so very stressful, so we have to learn how to make life more enjoyable, learn that our trials are only meant to be lessons in this school called life, and that we will become wiser through each one of them.
When I look at what an incredibly beautiful world of nature the Lord gave us to live in, in order to soothe our thoughts and help us reflect upon Him, I don't think He meant for this world to be torture...only a place of learning...and even happiness is a process of learning. In the US constitution, it says the right of life, liberty, and the PURSUIT of happiness. It is a pursuit. It is not an instant gift. It is a right given to you just because you want something, because it will make you happy. We have the right to "pursue" or "learn the steps to" happiness.
I think this world CAN be torture also for those who have not connected with their spiritual side and found deep beliefs in eternal life and a reason for all of the trials we go through. Torture to me would be spiritual separation from my creator...and so many in this world live like that. It is possible to find little joys in life, which can lift the spirit, and often are the only joys we have. Your pictures, Joseph, help us find those little joys when we are too busy to stop and look. This was a great philosphical/spiritual post!
Life DID feel like torture to me until 3 weeks ago. Pain, fatigue, fear, depression, worry about husband's life in war zone, physical inability to care for myself, no help, trying to care for my mother, all of it was too much. It seemed as if Satan was attacking from all sides, either trying to make me crazy or kill me or make me break up my marriage before hubby got permission to come, but Satan did not succeed, and the day the letter came, the constant fears being drilled into my head every minute, the worry about his life, the self consciousness about being a sick wife, it left instantly! Most of the pain also left, because stress is real poison for lupus patients. It's as if Satan gave up, and from one hour to the next, the world seemed different. I hope this is not just a few good days, I hope it continues to improve, but I am thanking the Lord every time I think of it as a healing. Even if not 100%, it is incredible change in my life.
Life can seem very wonderful when you have your physical/mental health. If those are compromised, it takes much more effort to enjoy life, but it is possible, until the physical or mental pain gets to about level 8-10 on a scale of 1 to 10. Then not much is controllable because you are lost in overwhelming agony.
BLESS YOU!
Sheila
Many, many thanks to my fantastic friends for taking the time and trouble to write lovely, wonderful, practical and useful comments on my previous post. I appreciate it very much.
I thought I will reproduce one real life inspiring story from Rain MacSweeney. You will see for yourself how she lifted herself from the depths of despair and despondency, how she extricated herself from the quagmire of misery, suffering, loneliness and a state of hopelessness and unhappiness to a heights of joy, peace,delight and happiness. I am sure you will enjoy it and appreciate the immense practical wisdom contained in it.
Please visit her blog—A Walk in the Woods --- and check it out for yourself. I am sure it will be the beginning of a wonderful friendship. I hope you won’t forget to say HELLO to her on my behalf
Hello Joseph! I'm very interested in this post, your words and what the other people had to say. This subject has been on my mind lately because I often used to compare my life with that of living under house arrest here in Quebec. Yes, I made the choice to move here, but I didn't think it through. I used to be bored very often, and boredom leads to lethargy, which leads to laziness, which leads to idleness...and I believe that, in my case, being idle leads to self-destruction. I had no money for gas for the car, so I was really stuck inside. For many months, I sat by the window crying because I had no inclination to do anything; I felt very alone as an English woman living here with no English services, the nearest English library was an hour drive away, the nearest English theatre, 2 hours away. I was deep in debt and couldn't buy books or rent movies. My only outlet was the internet for a long time.
But then something happened, I made a decision one day (unconscious I believe because I don't remember saying it out loud), that until I could afford to move, I had to make the best of it. So, I took a walk on the mountain. Then I took another one the next day, and so on...you've seen my photos! When I made the choice to seize the day and take pleasure in nature, as simple as she is, my life changed and my happiness exploded. I stopped dwelling on the past, and can truly say that 99% of the time, I live in the moment, for today, but look forward to what's next, it's very exciting!
As far as faith goes, I am still on the fence. I was brought up Catholic - very strictly and with many hypocritical nuances. I do feel as though there is something more to just this life on earth, but my faith lies in knowing that I will always have an even better day than yesterday.
Also, I think that the world can be torturous for those poor people who suffer mental illness without having the resources for help, or who are in fact beyond medical help. I think it's important to realize that. A healthy mind can make a choice, an unhealthy one cannot make the right choice.
I think that this world is torture to those who have been beaten down by people and life...and have not yet had the epiphanies that people like me have had.
-->I wasn't always this happy, I lived in a torturous world for 40 years. But now, being reborn, open eyes, veils lifting daily...I do believe that life is just the opposite.
July 31, 2009 12:14 AM
It is another story of struggle about how RAIN got her name:
"Hi Joseph! You can believe that every word I utter is the truth! :) It's no secret that when I left my past behind me, that I legally changed my first and last names. I chose Rain as my first name because I wanted to represent my love for water and the weather. It also signified a "cleansing" as rain washes away the old and creates growth for the new! I felt I needed a completely fresh start in order to get past the past, so to speak! I actually had some arguments from the Quebec government here, they refused Rain as a first name because they said it was QUOTE "Too Holywood"...silly huh?...so I wrote a 10 page letter as to why it would be beneficial to my happiness, and after 2 years of bureaucracy, they accepted it in 2006! That was my decision and I've never looked back! Thanks for asking!"
Hi, my name is Joseph Thomas Pulikotil. I hope you will find my blog interesting, informative and thought provoking.Please feel free to post your comments, opinions, appreciation,improvements, suggestions or whatever you feel. I will surely visit your blog and we will be good friends.
