Today's Picture to Ponder Photos
Sunset in Sedona, Arizona

As I observed the setting sun in scene shown in the top photo, I felt like I could be observing one of our Florida sunsets. The mountains in the distance became indistinguishable as such, especially since the distant trees here in Florida, at sunset, often look like mountains.

The full experience of Sedona's sunset can be felt in the lower photo, where we experience the awe of the setting sun reflecting on the rocks. The majesty of the Sedona Red Rocks is accentuated by the bright end-of-the-day light, reflecting on the rocks, as contrasted with the pink reflections of clouds in the water here in Florida that I've shared with you in the past.

You can see more Sedona sunset photographs on my FlickR pages.

Today's Self-Reflecting Queries
I'm observing, as I write the photo descriptions above, how much of what I'm sharing is about making comparisons.

For some time, I've heard countless people exuberantly talking about Sedona and thanks to an invitation from my good friend Shellie, Zumba Gold Queen (among other roles), I got to experience the Scottsdale/Sedona area of Arizona for almost the first time. When I was 15 years old, I did take the mule train ride down Grand Canyon (more than 50 years - a half a century - ago!)

It was the first time taking a major tourist-type vacation without my beloved Sam, whom most of you know passed away in November. On some level, throughout the journey, I kept silently comparing what I was seeing with what we both had shared in our East Coast travels over the years. I'm continuing to process the trip on many levels.

In the meantime, I have over 1,000 photos to sort through and a Picture to Ponder to deliver. So, taking one step at a time, I'm starting with mid-week and a sunset.

Today, I invite you to look into your life to see:

1. Are there areas in your life where you find yourself endlessly comparing one thing to another, one person to another or to your own expectations?

2. If "yes," to any of the above, can you see where this might be holding you back from possibly fully experiencing the joy and presence of what is?

3. Are there places where, once you become aware of the "chatter", you can shift to being present for yourself?

4. Lastly, once again "reflections" were part of the featured photos; albeit the reflections on rocks being a variation on those we've shown in the past.

Are there places in your life where you are casting reflections of yourself? If so, are they ones of bright light, perhaps even in a smile that lights up another, or are they more passive, such as the ones in the mirror?

Given, I've chosen to be more proactive this week, I think I'll pick up on the former, looking for ways I can cast a bright light. How about you?

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