Even the very grayest of days can offer up something that you don’t expect, through a visual encounter that causes you to gaze upward.  If you’re staring at the ground or absorbed in the screen of your ‘smartphone’, however, you’ll miss the opportunity.  The visual rewards of our world are only available to those who look for them!

What appears out of the gray may be barely visible at first, but you’ll notice it due to the visual contrast with the environment that frames it.  It’s strikingly different and you wonder how it connects to this place.  When the image captures your eye, you’re compelled to gaze more intently at it; as you focus, even more of its form is revealed.  What is that element you can barely see, ghosted into the background?

It is in such moments that vision reveals more than first meets the eye.  If you are fortunate, you’ll be rewarded with a feeling that lifts you out of the gray and into a brighter place.  At the very least, your thoughts will escape their earthbound fixation and embrace loftier themes.

On bright and sunny days, we wear sunglasses to cut the glare.  On deep gray days, however, we must open our eyes wide and seek out a point of light;  I snapped the misty photo that accompanies this post in such a moment.  It captures the Air Force Memorial from the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery; as this image emerged out of the gray, it lifted my own spirits.  May it also capture your eye and inspire your imagination for the lofty possibilities of your life.

Tempus Maximize!