A dying tree taken near Watson Lake outside of Prescott Arizona.

Life is Short

A dying tree taken near Watson Lake outside of Prescott Arizona.

Click the pic for a bigger view

Today’s post is written with a great deal of reflection.  While we were camping over the weekend my wife received word that one of my daughter’s pre-school Montessori teachers had lost her battle with cancer.  She was one of those rare teachers whose teaching went far beyond that of academics. She taught the children about peace through a study on the world’s peacemakers.  She also taught the children yoga and meditation as a way to manage their own feelings and behaviors.  It is rare to find such a teacher and we were lucky to have her teach our daughter.

While I was going through my images of our trip I came across the one you see above.   The symbolism of that image matched perfectly to the feelings that went through my head over the weekend.  Here in nature, this tree was not dealt the best hand as far as growing.  Sandwiched in between some granite rock, it somehow managed to grow and thrive.  And now as it begins to wane, the tree is leaving behind a lasting impression not to be forgotten.

My daughter’s teacher was not dealt a fair hand in life (like so many), but she preserved the best she could and touched our lives in ways that will never be forgotten. May you rest in peace Valerie.

Life is short.

Until next time…

 

Camera: Canon 5DM2 with a Tamron 17-35mm

Processing: 5 shot HDR using Lightroom 3, CS4, Photomatix Pro 4, Phototools 2.6

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20 Comments

  1. Teachers like that are rare. Hopefully all of us have been able to find at least one.

    In a lighter note! Really nice image today. Love’n on that blue!

  2. Thank you for the post Chris. We are so very lucky to have had Valerie be a part of Kaeden and our life. I feel sorry for Cole that he will not be able to know her as well. 🙁

  3. Indeed, we were lucky to have her in our lives. Thanks for the moving words and image.

  4. Absolutely beautiful! Valerie would love the way you have honored her memory with nature.

  5. Great story to go with the image. This teacher sounds like she made the best of the time she had by sharing such powerful lessons with others.

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