Happy sigh…

[via Geeks Are Sexy]

Kids get it. Life is not a dress rehearsal. It is meant to be tasted and enjoyed. It should be crammed full of fun and laughter. Somewhere along the way life starts to wear us down and we begin to forget that. That’s when a little reminder is in order.

Here are a couple  joy-filled photos of some of my awesome nieces and nephews to help us remember.

Now admit it. They made me smile didn’t they?

(Click on images for larger versions.)

There’s this huge dead tree at the end of my block. It towers above the big old dilapidated house it sits next to. Birds love this tree.  I do too.  I  find myself snapping the same general shot of it over and over.  I am fascinated with its  shape and how long after it has ceased living it is still such a powerful presence.

Dead Tree – Alice Wessendorf, 2009

[Click image for larger version]

Night before last I dreamed about maps. Most of the detail is lost now, but the whole dream was about directions and maps and needing to find my way somewhere. Seems like one of those dreams that is kind of easy to interpret, yet I thought about it a lot yesterday.

The trouble with life is there is no background music…

Just sharing some Photoshop play.

I dreamed about roads and paths last night. It made me think about the choices that we make it life. How the places I am going, the places I have been are all a part of the journey. When I woke up I remembered a Chinese proverb I once read:

“There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same”

We all have a path, a road, a trail, a street to follow. It is what we choose to make of the road that matters. As Carlos Castanenda once said, perhaps thinking of the Chinese proverb, “All paths are the same, leading nowhere. Therefore, pick a path with heart!”

It is not always easy, but I am going to try to always pick the path with heart. I will undoubtedly forget and veer off course…a lot…but I hope more often than not I will find myself following the path with heart. Which path will you choose?

Below are a few of the paths, roads, trails, and streets I have encountered in my life so far.

Paths, Roads, Trails, Streets: Everyone Has One to Walk – Alice Wessendorf
(click on images to see larger versions)

City street after the rain.

Alley to nowhere.

Walk into darkness.

Lit path at night.

Path with a canopy of trees.

Highway in motion.

Highway to somewhere.

Tunnel in motion.

Bridge.

Curved streets and blue skies.

Bare cherry trees line park path.

Three lanes in black and white.

Circle of hell in Paris.

Gray day in Germany quiet street.

Road trip Germany.

Rare car in Amsterdam street.

Mount Vernon intersection.

Old couple stroll down park path.

On the street where he lived.

Amsterdam street over canal

Amsterdam lane after the rain.

Nighttime walk over cobblestones.