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Happy Easter!

For many people in the world, today is a day to celebrate the resurrection of the Messiah. To all of us, no matter our beliefs, it is a day to reflect on what Easter really means. It is the rebirth of man, so to speak. Fallen from grace, God sent His son to the world and in the greatest act of sacrificial love, gave His life so that we all may live. The true importance of Easter is that we are reminded that the most important thing that we can give to each other is Love. Love made the the sacrifice possible. We think of death as the end of all things. And yet, the message of the resurrection is that forgiveness, generosity, a willingness to help one another without expectation of reciprocity, can make all of us better. Renew us. In acts of kindness, in acts of forgiveness, we are reborn. The yoke of hatred is a heavy one. Human bondage, human suffering, the torment of sin cannot be forgotten. We hope to learn from the mistakes. And yet, what good is learning if we are not able to do the even more important thing. To forgive. Today, we celebrate the resurrection, the manifestation of the love that the Creator has for all of us. He came to the world not to conquer, but to forgive. To love us all. And in so doing, restore us in our place as true children of God.

We are on this earth for a very short time. Do we spend that time spewing hatred, thinking selfishly only of our own importance to the world? Or do we spend our time on this earth helping one another, caring for one another. We will make mistakes. Some big, and some small. All of us will. It is the act of forgiveness that sets us free. Lighten the yoke. Bear no ill will towards others. Forgiveness. A virtue sometimes difficult to achieve. And yet, if we forgive others, if we forgive ourselves, we may find that a life lived in generosity, forgiveness and sacrifice is a life lived in love.

We of different cultures, different races, different faiths all live in one fragile planet. Do we really want to spend our days blaming each other for all the ills that we see? For all the ills of the world? Or do we proclaim, like the blind man did, that I was blind, but now I see? See, in each other, the likeness of God, the Creator who made us all. And if we are of one body, then why should we seek to harm each other? The body is whole when it assists all its members. When love, universal, is shared among all. It starts with forgiveness. And the understanding that each part of the body, though different, has a role to play. Nothing is unimportant. No one is unimportant. The sacrifice commemorated on Good Friday was not for the select. Not for the few. The love outpoured was for us all.

Happy Easter! And since it is a celebration of rebirth, here are some pictures.

Leap for joy! For today, we are all reborn.

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Where You Stand Matters

Being in the right place, at the right time, with the right subject, with the wind blowing in your face. Three out of four is okay, but sometimes you need all four things to get the shot you want. Still, good practice on taking pictures of an eagle diving for its meal.

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The Watcher

The wood duck is not normally in this tree stump at Huntley Meadows. Then again, it must be interested in what the geese were doing.

Curiosity is a wondrous thing. And not limited to humans.

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Vinyl Memories

I was at church last night and I saw a young couple in front of my wife and I. Has it been that long since the lithe figures in front of me was something readily seen by looking at a mirror? Nostalgia, a remembrance of half forgotten days that seem more whole than the stored fragments show them to be. And then I looked upon the dusty turntable and put some vinyl on the plate. The arm fell with a click, a few pops were heard, not unlike the noises emanating from the early morning stretch. And the music played. And tune after tune rose from the twin boxes in front of me. The sounds that were always in my mind was playing between my ears and then a smile. A person that grows and learns is never old. One need not be defined by wrinkles and added girth. As long as a sense of wonder remains, time’s arrow always moves forward. No matter the age, adventure beckons. Sense it, hold it, go for it. And live.

The wonders never ceased.

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The Beauty of the Ignored

We look at the world and often times only seek out the beautiful. We are the poorer for it. When we only value that which pleases the senses, we miss out on so much of what the world has to offer.

We look at the empty trees reflected on the water and think nothing of it. The wind whispers to us to look again.

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The Thaw

After several days of cold weather, of on and off snow showers, the morning brought a chill that soon gave way to the warmer days of late February. The ice, little as there was, was melting into water. And Huntley Meadows was wet. Which will suits the gulls and the mergansers just fine.

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Congratulations, Perseverance Team!

After years of planning, the United States has another rover on the surface of the Red Planet. Well done, NASA and the Perseverance team! Thank you for all the hard work that you and countless number of support people have done to make this possible. Truly a milestone in the exploration of our solar system. With luck, the copter will work better than planned. I was so pleased to see the countdown today and look at the control room. A multiracial, multiethnic, multi gender group of individuals came together and achieved something greater than any of them could have done by themselves. People of all ages. Amazing. I remember how few women were graduating from engineering/science school when I was an undergrad. Look at them now. America at its best – where opportunity is open to everyone, where excellence is achieved through hard work and study. The words of John F. Kennedy still ring true – we do this not because it is easy, but because it is hard. Well done!