"To the dolphin alone, nature has given that which the best philosophers seek: Friendship for no advantage. Though it has no need of help from any man, it is a genial friend to all and has helped mankind."
~ Plutarch
I've been too focused on the negative lately (and there is plenty of negative to focus on). The problem is that in looking at the bad, I have been completely ignoring all the great things I have to be thankful for. It struck me today as I was driving from my new apartment back to work in my boss's car. I mean, here I am, on a work day, moving into my new apartment - not only that, but I have a boss who really cares about me and was willing to let me leave for a couple of hours to do that, PLUS use his SUV so I could move my stuff more easily. I have a new great apartment and wonderful flatmate, but I also have AWESOME friends, who have let me store my stuff in their garage and crash at their house until I was able to move. This past month, I have been completely reliant on the hospitality of all my friends in this area.
As I was thinking on all these things, the lyrics to a song I've occasionally heard Grandma sing came to mind...
You've got to accentuate the positive Eliminate the negative And latch on to the affirmative Don't mess with Mister In-Between You've got to spread joy up to the maximum Bring gloom down to the minimum Have faith or pandemonium's Liable to walk upon the scene
Sometimes I just need to remind myself that despite the trying times that come my way and the adversity that often seems too close for comfort, my cup is not only full, but as the Psalmist puts it, "my cup runneth over." (Psalm 23)
The Jefferson Memorial DEFINITELY gets its fair share of attention this time of year! Gotta love close-ups (well, I do anyway and that is all that counts)! =) For those of you who actually like checking out the cherry blossom pictures, here is a link to about half of the pictures I took Saturday morning. I may add more if the weather warms up and I get outside with my little Nikon this week (it was pretty chilly here over the weekend).
While pink is not exactly my favorite color, I have to admit that DC is prettiest in pink. Cherry blossom season is the only time of year that actually think good thoughts about our nation's capitol. In general, the people here are not particularly nice... always in a hurry to be somewhere (I definitely include myself in that one!), the traffic is INSANE, every topic has political undertones even if you don't realize it (discussions on the weather have been known to turn into debates) and the Potomac is so disgustingly polluted here, it should not be allowed to be called a river (I don't see how the EPA can stand it)! All that aside, at the moment, DC is looking her best, and I have some pictures to prove it. It is impossible to look at these branches of fluffy pinkness and not smile! =) Even the walkway to the FDR memorial could be mistaken for the "pink way of delight" (for the Anne fans among us). I'm not really sure what this little Japanese thing signifies, but it has something to do with the fact that Japan gave us all these trees over a hundred years ago. In any case, it is one of those things all the Japanes tourists crowd around to take pictures or, so since I got there before they all arrived, I figured I might as well get a snapshot of it too.
