We had been driving around town looking for garish yard decorations to photograph. I don’t know why. I think I wanted to poke fun at them, because sometimes I’m just ornery. We saw these birdhouses, and I shrieked, “Stop the car!”
My first thought when I saw this yard was, “Whooo Doggies! I bet they have some bird poo to clean up!” Yes, I laughed at the decorations. Then, I looked a little harder. Beauty is, after all, in the eye of the beholder. Someone spent a lot of love with this—-creation.
I don’t know about y’all, but sometimes it’s hard for me to look at the world and see beauty. I get cynical; I get frustrated; I get caught up in my own petty concerns. Marcia, at Tumbled Words, had the idea to practice seeing the good in things by looking at pictures and not seeing the negative, but seeing Only The Good. Nancy J. Bond took that idea and ran with it. She created a website just for this exercise, called Only The Good. You can find other people practicing this at Soliloquy, Inside Mo’s Mind, Life in Westcliffe, Lives Less Ordinary, and Miscellaneous Matters.
You might think it’s silly at first, and you might find it difficult. I did. But, the more I practice it, the easier it is. I can assure you that if you try this regularly it will spill over into everyday life.
The more I look at this picture, the more it grows on me. While I have no desire to fill my yard with this kind of decoration (much to the relief of my husband and my neighbors), I can see a lot of good here. But, I want you to tell me the good that you see. Look at the picture, and tell me Only The Good.
A few weeks ago, I decided to try Unconscious Mutterings from Luna Nina. Supposedly using free association helps you gain a better sense of self. I’m skeptical, but I’m game to keep trying it. Here goes:
- Scrabble dictionary
- NyQuil flu
- Roadtrip Stuckeys
- Idiot Nincompoop
- Bandages Ace
- Series sequence
- Summer heat
- Prompt late
- September transition
- Chicken Cacciatore
Hmmm. Nope. I still don’t have any sense. Do these word prompts mean anything to you?
I go to Roanoke, Texas today to crochet at the library for Share A Square. Yes, I know I haven’t updated in a few days. I’m trying to reorganize my postings for it, and I’m hitting a mental snag. I have new pictures, and more news. Let me catch my breath and I’ll get it posted.
I hope y’all behold a lot of beauty today. Just for today, look for only the good!
Technorati Tags: photograph, birdhouses, Only The Good, Unconscious Mutterings, Share A Square
I really like this photo, Shelly. Despite the fact that the tree is dead, it seems to represent life; the different shapes and sizes of the bird houses showing that life comes in all different forms, each just as valid, and each just as worthy of care and attention. Really inspiring photo!
I’m glad you liked it, Amy. I hadn’t consciously thought about the dead tree representing “life,” I just thought it was an interesting way to use it. ~skt
Just imagine if it were a bunch of birds. Or if all the houses had at least one bird perched outside.
I don’t know if the folks who created this really intended it for birds or just for decoration. I hope birds do live in some of them. They have an interesting variety of houses for choices!~skt
I really like the picture too. I think it looks like a regular neighborhood… for birds. You have your church, and big houses and little houses… and all the little birdies get to grow up together on the same
blockbranch. I have a couple pictures someone like this in my house.It is a fun little “neighborhood,” the more you look at it. I like the one at the very top of the picture. The one with the view!~skt
I see a lovely bird village in there Shelly. And it’s warm and cozy.
nice picture.
It is a good little bird village. And, all of the houses look desirable!~skt
There’s so much good! Where do I begin? Well for starters, the stump has served a new purpose. The property owners are certainly recyclers and resourceful. They have purposefully packed that area with many sizes and shaped birdhouses welcoming all. I wonder if they feed them too.
Oh, and I can see your reflection taking the picture in the window!
Thanks for the link love.
Good job, Rosemarie. You saw a lot of good, but I expected no less. I’m betting they feed them. It just looks like a home that would feed the birds~skt
I love the brown A frame. I want to make it bigger and live in it on a river.
They have turned their tree into a community, kind of like you have done with SAS. SAS has turned us into more of a community than we might have been.
They started with an idea, got one member and ran with it… a lot of comfort for the bird members in those little houses… kind of like the self comfort we get knitting and crocheting and the comfort the kids get knowing the SAS community is thinking about them with lots of love….
Oh, Marcia, that A frame was one that appealed to ME, too. But, I like the location up high. I want a view. ~skt
Each house is different and unique, like a little birdie neighborhood
How’d I do?
You did great! You saw the good, and that’s what I wanted you to do…but it’s not really a “test.” If it were a test, all you would have to do is just try seeing good, and you’ve passed.~skt
I see a tree that still has purpose after its death. I see a place for birds to nest. I see the window in which the owner of the house can sit and watch all the beautiful birds. It is beautiful.
You are good at seeing “the good!” I already knew that, though~skt
The tree is fine, with the bird houses — it just needs more space. Too close to the house. Hope you had a good time at the library.
Wait, Susie…turn it around. Think, “the tree is fine, and they did the best they could in the small yard space”
~skt
I am not one for a lot of yard decoration, but I do like this tree. Can I say better than the bottle tree?
But really, the church birdhouse is cool!
The church birdhouse IS cool. None of this is cooler than a bottle tree! But, I do like the birdhouses the more I look at them~skt
[...] Shelly, I would tag you, but I know you’re busy with Share a Square, and I know the answer to that one anyway. It’s got to be bacon. [...]
Hello! I also can get caught up being negative at times and its something I’m trying to do less and less. My husband and I started our blog and decided to only write positive things so we named it “my family loves it”! It keeps me in line and focused on the good stuff instead of the crumby things I could rant about.
The birdhouse picture reminds me of something my late grandmother would have done.
It’s hard to stay focused on the good sometimes, that’s why I do this exercise! More to remind myself than you
. Thanks for stopping by to visit!~skt