Finding Peace

Blue Serenity

“Complete peace equally reigns between two mental waves.” –Swami Sivananda

This photo was taken in La Jolla, California a few months back during blue hour.  I believe this was taken right after I narrowly missed being swept out to sea by a gigantic wave. haha  Since the moment I decided on this composition, before I even snapped the shot, I loved this scene.  It gives me a sense of calm.

Call me a peace-loving hippie (because I am), but I spend a fair amount of my time on introspection.  What is worth dumping my energy into, what will yield results that will increase the quality of my life, are my actions ones I can live with long term, etc….  My goal for every day is to resist the negativity around me.  Aggravations and annoyances happen, and there isn’t much I can do to control that.  I can only control how I react.

Often, during trying moments, I will remind myself of the logic of the situation.  I tell myself, “It can always be worse.”  During my saddest and angriest moments, I remind myself to be grateful for the good things in my life.  I have food, shelter, and family that loves me, friends that support me, and a great set of basic rights protected by my government.  I’m not desperate, I’m not property, and for the most part, I’m safe.  In the grand scheme of things, whatever is bothering me is probably relatively insignificant.

I suspect at this point, if you read the blog, you know music and musicians are a big part of my life.  This month, one of the musicians in our circle passed away.  He was a young guy, always happy and full of positive energy.  He made a huge impact on the people in his life, both through his music and his attitude.  The tragedy shocked our community.  It is never easy to lose someone who had so much life to live still, but in particular, it was hard to lose a shining light in the sea of humanity.

Events like this are a huge reminder to appreciate the things we have and to live our lives to the fullest every day.  We are but a sum of our experiences, and every day we face choices that will lead us down the path of anger, or the path of quiet peace.  I can’t say that every time I take the high road, but I’m trying. haha  At the end of my days, I don’t want to carry the weight of regret.

We only get one shot at life.  It’s a wild, unpredictable journey and it’s up to every one of us to seize opportunity, to feed our passions, to encourage happiness and to find love.  I’m rooting for all of us. 😉

XO
Shann