As I get older, I realize more than ever that life is short and fragile. I have watched both of our parents die, uncles, aunts, and so many dear friends ... no one is exempt. We will all face death at some point. Morbid, but a fact of life.
This butterfly looks like it has survived a small war. She is scarred, but she carries on. The reality: Life is like this.
Over the years, we take on the scars that come with living life. Sometimes they are physical, sometimes they are emotional. The real test is how we respond to those challenges.
Lesson 1: While dealing with prostate cancer last fall, it did not take long for me to learn that the people around me, and their attitudes, as well as the attitude I bring to the table made the biggest difference. There were people that I just avoided. These were people I cared about, but that I just let go. Their attitude was it’s own form of cancer.
Learning 2: When the going gets tough, it’s best to focus on what you can change, and let the rest go. Move on, stay positive, and surround yourself with positive people. Be happy in the present. Our human nature is to get rapped up in what we don’t have, or how we compare to other people.
I love this one:
“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.” - Seneca
Remember the lesson of this butterfly. Carry on!
~ Rick
Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. They are stunning and you can purchase them for a wall at home. Click the link or the ‘prints and such’ tab.
©2018 Rick Cartwright
