Cold Air and Water; A Recipe for Encouragement

Date: February 11, 2015 Comments: 0 - Permalink

Hydraulic force is incredible. Water has the ability to move mountains, dig canyons, and carve stone. But something that is completely invisible to the eye can stop water from doing any of those things without any real effort on its own.

Cold air.

Cold air has great power when it comes into contact with water for an extended period of time; long enough and it can stop water in its tracks. And it does it just by hanging around. It can provide a nice photo opportunity, however.

Admiring this talent of the same air that I needed to survive; I thought about a life lesson captured in the photograph that I just snapped.

There are a number of influences around me almost every day that if utilized appropriately and with the correct response, allow me newfound strength and pivotal points for personal growth.

For instance; individuals who offer criticism about a goal I seek or perhaps the manner in which I am attempting to reach it may actually be giving me new information I can use to make positive changes in reaching those goals. Or maybe they strengthen my drive to push harder to prove them wrong. Either response can be a constructive one.

But; if I allow myself to be exposed to these same individuals for an extended period of time, the criticism becomes like a scourge that begins to destroy the core of my ambitions. Like cold air and water, it affects my journey and my goal reaching progress slows to a crawl or stops altogether.

There is good news, however. Just like water hanging on the rocks that will run again once it is surrounded by warm air, I too can surround myself with positive people who offer encouragement. I can dismiss the cold air of negativity, get back on my way to reaching my goals, and regain my ambition.

I warm back up to my ideas, see the sunlight in my goals, and move forward again.

Getting frozen for a little bit doesn’t have to mean that all progress is stopped forever. It may also just be a season I need to pass through to continue.

In any case; I need to always gravitate to the warmer weather!

All who wander are not lost; but some of us like to get lost by design. It helps us to find ourselves a little at a time. I like adventure and to wander off whenever possible, always with camera in hand. I typically must be stirred by something in the viewfinder in order to snap the waiting picture, and always build a story on what I see. I share them here. Please feel free to share as well.