I photographed this picture a while ago in the UK near Woodstock; It's called Blenheim Palace - the seat of my good friends the Dukes of Marlborough. We go way back together and are such great mates!
Anyway, it happens to be the birthplace of Winston Churchill (google him if you have to) 150 years ago and a place that holds great history which is not surprising since it was built long ago between 1702 to 1722. I was there because it's simply an amazing place to visit and for the history of it, the grounds and other aspects - I enjoyed it immensely.
But getting back to the image, a brooding image I think, or so it feels - somewhat dark and menacing. I like it a lot although it's not a great photograph. The sky feels threatening and it, framed against the near-silhouette of the palace, makes me think of impending doom and a storm to come.
But looks can be deceiving as later in the day, after a refreshing shower of rain downpour of hammering rain, the skies opened up and the brooding, menacing feel, lifted completely. See below.
I guess we can take a little lesson from the brooding sky in the first image when considered against the other three.
They say it never rains above the clouds and I suppose it's true...but it rains below them just like how our lives are sometimes plagued with problems, bad aspects, sadness, failure, loss and all those other things we don't really enjoy...but there's usually blue skies to be found or created, it just comes down to perspective, attitude and action.
We can brood and allow that attitude to hold us in place...or we can take action and allow the positive attitude that comes with it improve our situation and move us forward.
Have you ever had something bad happen that left you feeling unhappy and when you took some action to improve your situation that's exactly what happened, your situation improved? Feel free to comment about it if you like.
Design and create your ideal life, tomorrow isn't promised - galenkp
[Original and AI free]
Image(s) in this post are my own - Blenheim Palace, UK
That first photo is could give one a feeling of impending doom. I kind of like it though, it doesn't necessarily give me that doom & gloom feel. Very nice shot by the way.
Sure, just recently, I had abdominal surgery. So that piled onto my chronic challenges and I was not a happier camper. However, instead of just accepting that I had to stay static for two weeks, I set a goal to be up and about doing normal stuff in a week. Through some extra physical output, a little teeth grinding, and a couple brews now and then, I did it. I am was cruising around the house with pain in a week. Still no heavy lifting, but I wasn't doing much of that these days to begin with.
I find that doing difficult things often bring the greatest resukts as with your recovery recently - not easy, solid returns.
Sitting around feeling sorry for oneself (I don't mean you here) isn't going to get a person very far and certainly not as far as ownership and action (which begins with attitude) will.
Abdominal things suck as the core basically sets the tone for the rest of the body. All the best with the recovery, you'll be PT'ing again in no time!
I totally agree. Oh, and I have been that schmuck sitting around feeling sorry. It does nothing but spiral downward. Ownership and action started pulling me out of the hole.
Not sure about PT'ing again, definitely won't be doing any flutter kicks anytime soon.
Lol, flutter kicks. Man's mortal enemy.
You know, the funny thing is that we do so much, give so much, achieve so much and then we get knocked down and something clicks and we question our ability to do anything.
That's when it's good to have a little prompt, someone to say, more flutter kicks brah! (Figuratively speaking, or literally.)
flutter kicks, aye aye!
The pictures are all lovely, even the first one lol. I love how the weather affects moods and actions. They say here in Florida if you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes and it will change. We have so much sunshine that I cherish every cloudy day, even such a brooding one as shown in the first shot.
Humans have had a close relationship with the weather since the beginning of time I guess. Back in the early days people needed to read it, feel it, see it, as doing so meant knowing when to move from area to area, when to take shelter, when things would grow or die off... survival depended on it. I think we still have the natural ability to do so but it's hidden by the fact we don't really rely on that skill so much.
Maybe that's why mood is so effected by weather, a remnant of when understanding it meant life or death?
Anyway, I have no clue, just a knucklehead thinking out loud.
Florida huh? I don't know why I didn't know that. I'd like to go there someday...you buggers better turn on the good weather when I do though! 😊
Many skills and much knowledge are lost to us, buried beneath the surface of our modern day 'domestication'. Many young folk can't even read a map these days...what on Earth will happen if we lose GPS capabilities? lol
Good weather's always on tap, just wait 10 minutes or so
People think they are smarter, more knowledgeable, but knowing how to do a google search won't help a person if that tool isn't available to use. I'm all about self reliance and work towards being more and more that way in many ways.
The answer to that question is absolutely yes, and I've been there many times. Recently I had a stressful situation, problems came up and I said this is terrible! I saw a black outlook but then I started to think about the situation and the solution was something I didn't expect and doubly good! I even earned more than I thought I would!
I changed my perspective and it was great.
Often a small change of perspective can have huge benefits.
And he really brought them, he made my life easier!
That is a quite brooding photo. I have a feeling a lot of locations in the UK lends itself well to that sort of thing. I've never been there though. I need to change that one day. I was watching The Gentlemen the other day and I was looking to see where they shot the outside shots of his estate. It's interesting to know those places really exist!
It's an interesting place, so much history and no matter where you go in the UK you'll find it. I hope you make it there.
I think about that once in a while when it is a gray day, that the sun is still shining as bright as always above the clouds. It's not gone, I just can't see it.
I can't name a specific incident, but I do tell myself once in a long while that I need an attitude adjustment and I set out to do it. It hasn't been so long ago that I thought about, how would I go about staying even, no matter what happened, no matter what I heard, that I could acknowledge it exists, not let it affect my feelings, but stay evenly content. If there was something I needed to do about whatever it was, I would set to doing it and if not, I need to let it pass on by me.
I'm not sure that is totally possible, but it would be nice.
Seeing that oneself needs an adjustment is the first step and from there the path is pretty obvious however so many don't take the time to even see it, or admit it, and therefore change never occurs.
Hi Galen, I like the pictures, the first one too. It looks like the entrance image of a horror movie. As you say after the storm the sun always comes out. The story in those pictures is also very interesting.
About the question, I am a very introverted person, and that has sometimes caused me problems, such as losing job opportunities. At other times speaking little is confused with arrogance. Over time I have learned to change and become more flexible. It was one of the challenges of my last two years, to be visible in the professional associations where I have to be. I am taking steps forward....
Introversion can often be misconstrued as you've found out, and while we need to be and remain our own selves at times a person may have to adapt a little to a situation just like you have done and are doing. It's a shift rather than a change I think, and at the core one remains the same. I hope this makes sense.
It makes sense. Happy Sunday afternoon.
I think some of the common "tricks" I use on myself, when I encounter challenges or difficulties in life, would be to remind myself, that I should focus on what I can control, and I shouldn't not be stressing over what I cannot control. This perspective really helps because most of the time, I realise us humans tend to worry a lot about things that we have no control of.
That's a good thing, control the controllable things, and if you have the knack of doing it, which some do not, then you're on the right track.
I have come to believe happiness is a choice. We can’t control what happens to us but we can choose how we react to it. When stewing over problems and mistakes, I let that take a few cycles so I can come to terms with the situation and try not to repeat the mistake or pattern. Then I try and not take myself too seriously, choose a good attitude, laugh and let it go.
Forcing on our problems and not the solution is a cause for unhappiness. Choosing happiness in a moment of snapping out of autopilot with our brain dormant is a superpower!
A choice indeed. We can choose to improve or change our own attitudes and in doing so are more able to find better ways forward, or just accept ourselves which so many do not actually do.
Thanks for your comment, there's not much more to add to it so I'll not try.
These photos really show the power of perspective. What might seem daunting, scary, or difficult, can turn out to be beautiful and majestic. Similar to life, we just need to face these things head on to unveil the truth. I remember when I had dislocated my shoulder. Doing a lot of things was difficult, but putting effort in my therapy helped the recovery and I was able to improve eventually.
Facing things and not avoiding them is the best way to move them forward or at least see them for what they really are and that way they can be discounted as unimportant if that's what they are...and that helps a person move forward.
After the rain, the freshness of the atmosphere is at its peak so that after the rain there is a desire to go outside or eat something fast. Your photographs are very beautiful. @galenkp
Thanks, it's a good place to visit; a lot of photo opportunities.
Thank you for sharing this captivating reflection, Galen! 📸🏰 Blenheim Palace's brooding ambiance in the first image indeed hints at impending storms, yet the subsequent transformation after the rain is a powerful reminder. Life, like the weather, can shift unexpectedly. Taking action and maintaining a positive attitude often lead to brighter skies. Have you ever experienced a sudden change in perspective that improved your situation? 🌦️🌟🚀
I have had many experiences and each of them have compounded meaning each has built upon each other to improve my life and myself personally including things that could at first be perceived as negative.