Water Fountain Cherub

In light of yesterday's events in Libya, here are two thoughts for the day by two of the world's greatest thinkers:

• "Compassion is the wish to offer unbiased service to all beings, whether they are friendly or hostile to you." -- Dalai Lama
• "I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

So often in struggle for justice, we comprise our humanity. No matter how deserving, the just should not rejoice in the death of another. While we may celebrate the change, freedoms or opportunities created by another person's passing, we should not be joyful. To embrace such joy under those circumstances compromises what makes us compassionate and just, leading us to be more like our enemies than we would care to admit.

Cheshire Cat Grin

This statue made me laugh. My reaction might be due to the Cheshire cat-like grin the lion is sporting, or maybe its goatee. Whatever the reason for my amusement, wouldn't it be nice to great each morning with this grin? I'm going to work on that tomorrow.

Frog Prince

So, the homeowners of our rental house in Temecula loved statuary. As you walked the grounds, random statues littered the garden areas. A theme wasn't apparent; statues ranged from cherubs to child gardeners to this frog prince seated on a glass ball.

While they didn't create a connected look for the landscaping around the house, the intriguing collection of statues did create many photo opportunities as I explored the yard.

Capturing the Blue Sky

While at a wedding in Temecula, California over the weekend, I stayed at this gorgeous house near the area's famous wineries. In between the wedding festivities, I snuck out at sunrise with my camera and explored the grounds.

It was a bright, sunny morning, which made it challenging to capture the blue sky and the photo subject without shadows. So here's my trick to balance the colorful sky with a well-lit photo subject -- focus your camera on the blue sky before taking the photograph of the photo subject.

On most digital cameras with auto focus turned on, you can push down the shutter button halfway to set the focus. Using this feature, you would focus the camera on the blue sky and then once you have focused on the blue sky, without lifting the button, you would shift the lens to your photo subject and take the picture. This trick usually works in most occasions, but you may need to play around with the focus to get it right.

Family Links

Alex Haley, the author of Roots, said once about family:

In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future.

Sometimes, we get so wrapped up about genetics being our connection to our past and future. While our DNA may offer sign posts or warning signs to our life, I believe that its our environment that can create the most lasting impact. Our family is a large part of that environment.

Today, I will watch two of my dearest friends marry each other. I love people watching at weddings, because by observing those attending the wedding, you can get an inside look into how the couple became who they are. This extended family present -- which includes relatives as well as friends -- represent the people who have had the greatest influence on the couple to be married. As such, invited guests should be honored to be included in this special circle in the couple's lives.

Origins of Smart Grandchildren

When reading through quotations about family, I came across this anonymous proverb that made me laugh out loud:

One of life's greatest mysteries is how the boy who wasn't good enough to marry your daughter can be the father of the smartest grandchild in the world.

I have a feeling when I get to this stage in my life, my parents might be contemplating this dilemma as well.

Family Matters

I'm thinking a lot about family today, both the one we're born a part of and the one we form ourselves. In honor of family, the next few posts will feature thoughts by great thinkers about what it means to be a family.

Today's quotation was said by my favorite author, Dr. Seuss:

Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.

That's one of the best parts about being a part of a family whether by biology or design. Our family wishes us to be happy and we are happiest when we are ourselves. Anyone who asks us to change or doesn't support our authentic self was never really family to begin with. Dr. Seuss' litmus test for family is a good one.