Photos with Messages…. You Brighten My Day(Lens-Artist Photo Challenge 1-29-23)

Hello Everyone, The Lens-Artist Photo Challenge this week has the theme of “messages” – HERE

I was not sure how I wanted to join in. Then I started to scroll photos and found this first image, “Nope, NOT TODAY.” It has a personal message for me from July 2022 and so that is why I initially took the photo. However, it is also a message that many people use as a mantra. For example, those who have quit a habit – they take it one day at a time and say – “nope, not today” – I think we can also use this mantra to release a heavy vibe (let it go for today) and invite some joy in so we can be present and have appreciation for the simple (and important) things in life.

Some folks might remember the Game of Thrones scene with Arya: What do we tell Death? NOT TODAY!

2) We try to keep lemons in the fridge at all times. They are so good for human health and have all thse unique properties for wellness. So last night, I was digging through the citrus drawer and realized we needed to go through some of the lemons. The diversity in lemons had a message for me. It was about human diversity and how we are all different. 

We humans start off in this world different and then we are also at different life stages and phases. In Donna’s post this week, she mentioned age and embracing the years as they add up!
We sure need to hear that message more – and the old lemon in this image reminded me that it still had potential. Also, I saw Pauline (former model and ex-wife to Ric Ocasek of The Cars) in an interview and I just added her book, Filter, to my TBR list. I guess this book addresses the topic of life stages and embracing aging. 

3) Speaking of books, I will NOT  be reading the book “Spare” and I am disappointed that this displaced couple did not receive better advice before they made such a silly documentary on Netflix. I won’t share any more about that – but did want to share a message I found in a social media chat section – because it is how I felt abut reading the Spare book: 

 

 4) This next image is a sign for a dog that needs a new home.

We were grateful for our “easy going” dogs when we saw this flyer on a message board. This flyer also had me thinking about gratefulness and how “appreciation”  is a crucial part of wellness.
And maybe part of the problem with Harry and M had to do with ONLY seeing what was wrong – perhaps with a spoiled mindset and with cognitive distortions – they only knitpicked the trivial while forgetting how much they had to be grateful for (whine, whine, whine).
I also heard that when past societies collapsed – the people were not grateful and part of the comfort and luxury they were smothered with had robbed them of gratitude and humility. Hmmmmm- is there a bigger message here?

 

5) I was waiting at a long red light and saw this tow truck with a powerful message with a tribute to a loved one. My heart went out for the person who experienced this loss and what a special memorial.

6) Cards with a message …

 

I took this photo of artsy greeting cards because these type of cards always remind me of my High School friend Kim.  I will never forget the first time we saw these type of cards for sale and how we loved the thick textured paper, the art, and the messages.

I have mentioned Kim before. Her love for literature inspired me to like certain fiction. In fact, she loved many of those books mentioned in that social media chat image above (she esp. liked The Sun Also Rises)

 

In this cropped part of the photo of the greeting cards – two cards are highlighted.

“Don’t ever forget how special you are to me”

and 

“You brighten my life.”

Those are two messages I want to close with.

First, do not forget to tell people how much you love them or how special they are. We do not need to overdo it, but are we forgetting to edify? Are we overlooking some of the verbal encouragement that can fill someone’s soul and just lift the mood?

And the bottom card says, “You brighten my life” – well maybe that is a reminder to us all to intentionally bring more joy into the world. I know some folks that “drain the room” with heaviness and it is never too late to think about our essence and what we bring to others.
We do not have to be robotic and we do not have to be something we are not – but maybe some folks need to be a little more mindful of how they dim and drain or how they can brighten and lift?

Thanks  for reading and I appreciate your visit.
so many times, my blog connections really brighten my day!

Interested in joining the Lens-Artists challenge? Click here for more information.

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