Category: dragonfly

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I have already stormed through Brene Brown’s latest read. And when I say stormed I read like Gen Sherman marched through the South.

I need to lay down my torches and read it again. I so want to be the man in the arena, and even more so desire to be the man who rises strong to finish the battle.

My first read makes me feel that I may lay too long and languish with my face in the sand seemingly that I am not rising at all. But I find that we rise strong at different speeds. I am just not one that quickly arises with sword in hand ready to lay siege to the castle

I find that even with tattered and torn wings, I must just hold strongly awhile until my heart, mind, soul and body find ways to do battle that will end with me truly rising strongly.

And even knowing all of that, there are some battles that I cannot win.

So hold tightly today and prepare your body to rise strongly!  monos en theos ††† jas L

Shades of Gray from Grayson Co, TX #904 – Holding on in the wind!

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We have been waiting (somewhat patiently) for Hagerman Wildlife Refuge to reopen. They were hit pretty hard with the Lake Texoma flooding from a couple of months back. The amount of damage was still evident and the folks have been working hard to get things back to normal, but it is a long haul.

We spent the afternoon there, whiling away the day with the company of many butterflies, waterfowl and other flying and crawling creatures. The butterfly garden was a real treat and we basked in the beauty that only He can put together, What fun.

These two dragonflies were part of a gaggle of twenty or so all hanging on to the barest of little stalks. These two were taken from the same angle as I was on the ground and it was impossible to hold focus on the both of them. They were about a foot or so apart. So I made two separate photos with both in focus and then stacked them together in photoshop. What fun !

monos en theos…….jas L

Shades of Gray from Grayson Co, TX #897 – Aqua-eyed Dragonfly

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It has been kind of slim pickin’s around the grounds. Between the heat, a stomach bug and a few rounds with the black dog, I have not found much at which to aim my Nikon. I did have this young (I say young because of it’s size and the dare me attitude of a teenager) dragonfly to sit and pose for a few frames. Beats working for a living. ††† monos en theos…jas L

Shades of Gray from Grayson Co, TX #880 – You got to find your path!

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I am having fun working in my Kelly Rae Roberts e-course on mixed media and collages. I still have not really dove into the mixed media part of the class. Some of it is fear and some of it is just the comfort of working in a familiar tool: Photoshop. Plus it gives me a venue to see some of my old images in a new way. Or hell, maybe it is just being lazy. Anyhow, my latest effort was done just for fun. Plus I got to discover and read a little of J Cole. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Cole  Not someone I had ever known and works in a genre that I would not normally put my ear to. Warning, not all his lyrics are this calm and nice.

monos en theos ††† james work

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“The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection.” Thomas Paine

Same subject as yesterdays post, different perspective. In order to become my true self, I have to learn to reflect beauty. Beauty is as much as what is inside as the image you reflect.

It gets so tiring trying to wrap the same gift in different packaging. Trying so hard to present your best side. One will have a hard time if it is only the outside of the gift we worry about. You have to remember that at the end of the party all of that pretty packaging get dumped in the trash . Only the unwrapped gift remains.

monos en theos…†…jim

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“A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity.”    Dalai Lama

As I continue to seek and find the signature of all things, I keep stumbling onto transparency. I very much like to open all of the window coverings in our home. I so enjoy not only being able to see out, but to also expose what is inside.

I grew up in a home in which we almost never allowed the light in. Not just through the windows but also figuratively. There was so much that needed to be hidden, not shared, God forbid that ordinary people might be able to peak inside at all that went wrong on inside our home.

It has been a struggle for me to maintain my transparency. After all these years, I am still trying to let all the pain out. There is such freedom in allowing the light in and your pain out.

All of this from the simple gift of a dragonfly. I may never again look at them in the same way.

Open up the windows…monos en theos…†…jim