Photo: Dark Storm Clouds on the Horizon

Picture: A ray of bright sunlight through dark storm clouds, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.

Here in the US, we’ve had a very rough week with our financial markets going into a seemingly dark abyss, and the scent of crisis and fear is spreading across the land. Listening to the news, it was very easy to picture a wall of dark gray storm clouds looming on the horizon.

Yet I always remember this photo, even though it is over ten years old. This picture reminds me to keep and use my perspective. The image was taken at one of the greatest scenic locations in the U.S.. I was with a horde of other photographers with tripod legs literally interlocked. We were all facing the other direction, looking out toward the Grand Tetons at the Snake River Overlook. I turned around to see this scene unfolding behind me. But in order to photograph it, I had to crawl under my tripod legs, since we were all so tightly lined up. No one else bothered to turn around or make the effort photograph this scene. They were all fixated on what was immediately in front of them. And there they waited, and waited, and waited for something good or better to happen. By not being in tune to what was really important, they missed an opportunity to celebrate the good that was happening around them.

This week, as many people worry about jobs and homes and money, I look at my wife and kids, and thank the universe that we’re all healthy and together. I think that amidst all the worry and concern, a little bit of early Thanksgiving perspective will remind us that, like the rays of light through these clouds, there is always hope of better weather ahead.

… and as Dan Rather was known to say while closing the evening news, “Courage”. (Aack! – Did I really just quote Dan Rather? Yes, I’m slapping myself.)