Saturday, February 23, 2013

Look Lovingly Upon the Present



Cactus Shadows

Taken in the cactus room at the Albuquerque Bio Park (last week's trip). Oh, I have more! I really had a great time and perhaps took more images on my cell phone than I did on my 'real' camera-such as this image which is from my cell phone (and I did say that last week, but the "I really had fun" part bears repeating! And, if you are curious, I didn't leave well enough alone (I took it in a sepia mode in my cell phone), I then imported it to picmonkey to do some further editing. Most of what you can do in picmonkey for photo editing is free, although I did spring for the upgrade fee which amounts to several dollars a month. Pretty easy to do editing in it (even though I do posses and use the big guns of Photoshop and the Creative Suite).

Look Without Condemnation:

"Look lovingly upon the present,
for it holds the only things that are forever true.
All healing lies within it.

When you have learned to look on everyone
with no reference at all to the past,
either his or yours as you perceive it,
you will be able to learn from what you see now.

To be born again is to let the past go,
and look without condemnation upon the present.

The present is before time was, 
and will be when time is no more.
In it are all things that are eternal,
and they are one.

Fear is not of the present,
but only of the past and future,
which do not exist.
Why wait for Heaven?
It is here today."

          ~A Course In Miracles (from the Tao of Now)

I like that thought-especially the part about, "look lovingly upon the present'. Now, that's something we should all do and discover the happiness that lies within that.


Every week, a group of us from around the world post our shadow shots over at Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Entertain your muse and be amused by stopping by to see what others have posted! You can view all of my 2012 Shadow Shot Sunday images on my Flickr account.


Click here to view them.

15 comments:

robin. said...

"...all healing lies within it." great words today. SOOOOO glad you enjoy your weekend last. gotta spend time doing what makes you happy!!
..."it is here today."

namaste.
xx.

Sylvia K said...

A Course in Miracles is one of my frequent companions and has been for a lot of years. And, yes, we all need to spend time doing what makes us happy, life is too short not to!! Have a great weekend, Paula!

Nonnie said...

oh, how I look lovingly on this shadow image! Now I must look up A Course in Miracles, intriguing title.
blessed weekend wished for you

Chubby Chieque said...

Lovely thoughts... make me more stronger.

I guess, your shot is a cactus plant? Just guessing?

Hugs sweetie friend,
/CC girl

Ralph said...

Nice cactus in shadow - the teal floor is a bit more stylish and inviting than the gray desert floor...Our preconceived notions hold us back. as we live in the past and not recognize the hear and now. I like this line:

When you have learned to look on everyone
with no reference at all to the past,
either his or yours as you perceive it,
you will be able to learn from what you see now


We are blinded by the past...nice find!

Kathe W. said...

lovely image- I can see so many shapes becoming more than cactus!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful post about 'living in the now ' and photography is fantastic with gorgeous colors and shadows for SSS2 ^_

MyMaracas said...

The poem really hits home for me just now. Lovely entry!

Anonymous said...

Great post again!
Today the SUN makes me happy! :)
Have a good week ahead!

Magical Mystical Teacher said...

Whether indoors or outdoors, cacti make lovely shadows!

Chubskulit Rose said...

Beautiful capture Paula!

My Shadowy Post
It's always a pleasure to read your comment.
Have a blessed Sunday!

Vane M. said...

Realmente gostei disso...me encanta a forma peculiar dos cactos. Um abraço!

Vane M. said...

Realmente gostei disso...me encanta a forma peculiar dos cactos. Um abraço!

Vane M. said...

Realmente gostei disso...me encanta a forma peculiar dos cactos. Um abraço!

A Cuban In London said...

Great photo. I was reading the other day in Intelligent Life that the new handsets are giving digital cameras a run for their money when it comes to snapping away with good quality. Your image is testament to that. I confess that I resisted the temptation to take photos on my new smartphone until I went to Borough Market recently. The battery on my digital camera ran out and I had to use my phone instead. The result was not that different.

Many thanks for the post. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Greetings from London.

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