Category: Beyond the Olympic Peninsula

Today’s first of the month theme is “Spirit,” which I take as akin to our sense of soul. So why are you looking at a photo of a place?

As with churches and cathedrals that we imbue with a sense of spirit, we can find spirit in other places as well. We can attune our minds and hearts to a place, to recognize its spirit. The spirit of a place can touch us just as our souls are touched in a religious meeting place.

The photo above is a place of spirit for me. As its beauty filled me with wonder the first time I saw it, I was equally touched by its spirit, filled with peace as it calmed my heart and spoke to my soul. Heart Lake, here, is aptly named. Its spirit lives in my heart.

Click here to see interpretations of today’s theme from other City Daily Photo participants.

The phrase “better angels” came to mind recently. It was a term used by Abraham Lincoln in his first inaugural address. Speaking of the U.S. Civil War pitting the country against itself, he said, in part: “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.” He ended saying that we surely would again be touched “by the better angels of our nature.”

I’d like to think that today, in broader terms, we need not turn friends into enemies, nor lose our humanity in pursuit of political goals. We can learn much from history, not to mention critical thinking.

Calling all better angels.

For any number of reasons I haven’t been out taking pictures lately. This is one I took on our trip to the Skagit Valley earlier this year.