Friday, April 3, 2009

Sunny Delights and Garden Brights!

Isn't it amazing how after storms move through and the sun comes out, everything feels clear and so much brighter? Luckily, all the storms brought us right here were rain and an incredible lightning show. Today, the sun is out, the sky is blue, Daniel is feeling better, and my heart is overflowing in gratitude to my wonderful support system of relatives and friends, some of whom sent me happy thoughts and e-mails, one had a cup of tea with me in the afternoon and another took me to dinner. I felt so cared for! How lucky am I?!?

In the spirit of bright week hosted by Concrete and Honey and in celebration of sunny days, I want to share some pictures of nature in our garden and neighborhood.






I observed a strange phenomenon yesterday as I was worried about Daniel in the huge storms that were moving through Mississippi. You have to understand that growing up in Germany, I am a severe weather wimp! So, when there is a tornado watch, I get very nervous. Daniel on the other hand, having grown up in Ohio, doesn't give it a second thought until the sirens go off. That's when he goes outside to check the clouds while I am almost passed out in our little tornado closet listening to the weather radio...

So, yesterday, I was following the storms in Mississippi on the internet (probably not smart give how anxious I already was) and when Daniel called after they had passed through, I sighed a sigh of relief. I asked him how he made it through the storms. His response: "What storms?" He'd been in a windowless room attending a presentation and had heard only distant thunder. I thought it was amazing how he was right there and yet the storms were hardly a reality for him, and I was many miles away and experienced them in my thoughts as very real. It made me realize that it was all in my head and had I consciously distracted myself and cultivated different thoughts, I could have avoided a whole day of worry. I'm going to try that next time...

3 comments:

  1. Good insight. Our brains can only handle one thought at a time. I noticed this week when I was at work, that I was so busy in the moment, I had no time to think about, or worry about, anything else. Focus is key! :]

    You are smart to want to make the effort to distract yourself from worry. So many people are sloppy in their thinking -- which also explains why so many folks are complainers and generally just not that joyful. Also, a lot of what we all worry about never comes to pass! Talk about wasted energy.

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  2. Hi Silke! I like your blog-- very pretty! Gorgeous flowers and beautiful sunshine. Oh, and I'm originally from Mississippi-- your hubby is perfectly safe there :) Cheers!

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  3. On the subject of letting our thoughts run away with us...one of my favorite quotes (by John Milton I think?) is:

    "The mind is it's own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven."

    It's so hard to remember that "in the moment" though! I think I'm an expert at letting all the bad what-if's creep in.

    Glad to hear your various storms have passed. :)

    xo ~ Karen

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