Dear ,

Once again, a not-so-attractive face popped out at me to be featured today's issue of Picture to Ponder. Do you see the large, nose profile and the cone-shaped head covered with a hat?

This one is a little different in that I first saw the face, when looking at the larger photo which you'll see below. This is a portion that I cropped out of the larger image and rotated from horizontal to vertical. From which of the photos below did this one come?

The bottom line of today's photos relates to self-trust, belief and disbelief, and light. I'm including more photos than usual to give you the broad perspective of what I was experiencing when I took the pictures.

Be sure to scroll to the bottom of all the photos here. Some, if not all, of the readers may prefer the next to the last in this series. You might prefer it for the aesthetics or the feel of it.

Today's Photos and Story -
On a recent, approaching-sunset, walk on the boards at Green Cay Wetlands, Boynton Beach, FL I was captivated by the lighting on the boardwalk and the people walking in it.

As I turned the corner and walked a bit further, I glanced over to my left (East) and was amazed at the splashes of orange on the trees. After a moment, I realized that they, too, must be reflections from the setting sun, far off, behind me.

My intent for including all of these photos is expressed in today's Self-Reflecting Queries.

(Moving past the trees on my left, this sunset scene, on my right,
was taken four minutes after the last of the above sequence.)

The final imagery in the sunset-lit tree photos above totally stumped me as I stood in disbelief. The orange color was so dense and intense that it had me going back and forth to check it out.

I stood there wandering if for some reason workmen had painted the limbs and branches for future action. At Green Cay Wetlands, they do often paint, in orange, spots on boards that need replacing. I even attempted reaching across the railing to see if it was paint. Of course I could not reach any parts of the tree to "know" for sure.

(Simply a sample, further along the path, of a board
painted to identify it as one that needs replacing.)

Self-Reflecting Queries -
For today, I invite you to first consider your responses to the photos above.

Was there any judgment on particular photos in the above series that had you stop and want to move on, pass them all off, i.e. withdraw? If so, can you think of other places in your life where you've quickly reacted to assessments you've made and disregarded what else might be there? What other possibilities might there have been?

Note - Special acknowledgment and appreciation from me if you were feeling distaste and came down to the Queries anyway.

Now, I invite you to look into your life to see if there are situations that are so stark, seem so absolute, that you can't even conceive of other possibilities? If so, what would it take for you to be open to other choices?

Lastly, are the areas in your life that are being metaphorically lit by one or more strong lights shining on them? Are you able to be with them and move forward, absorbing from them? Or, might there be an already existing "knowing" or "need to be right" getting in the way?