Blooming Spring Tuesday - Missoula, Montana

On any Tuesday after a holiday Monday, I must repeatedly remind my self, "Self, today is Tuesday, not Monday..." 
And oh, what a glorious Tuesday it's turned out to be! 
Off I go into the lingering sunshine!

Authentically Becoming - Missoula, Montana

Inspiring thoughts on authenticity gleaned from a 3-hour Avengers action movie with the fam (with no potty break, thank you very much!) - I didn't expect this bonus takeaway, but here 'tis (I wonder if  The Velveteen Rabbit was among Thor's bedtime stories?) :

“Everyone fails at who they’re supposed to be, Thor. 

The measure of a person, of a hero, is how well they succeed at being who they are.”

- Frigga, Thor’s mum, in Avengers: Endgame (2019) 

In the Neighborhood - Back of Front Street, Missoula, Montana

"Everyone's genius is right next to their dysfunction." 

- Graham Duncan

On Personal Growth - Missoula, Montana

Perhaps this wee spring bud is thinking deep thoughts along these lines (because you know plants are deep thinkers...which is one reason why we should talk to them...): 

"The best way to prove yourself is to improve yourself."

- Adam Grant, within last few mins of this WorkLife TED podcast "HowTo Love Critcism"

Spring Ice Break Up - Flathead Lake, Polson, Montana

On dealing rightly with those who depend on us:
" ...you do not understand - trust is like a broken mirror, you may still see yourself, but you can never dismiss the crack."

-From Depth of Winter, A Longmire Mystery, by Craig Johnson, page 69

Gratefully Present - Missoula, Montana

“If you must look back, do so

forgivingly. 

If you must look forward, do so 

prayerfully.

However, the wisest thing you can do is 

be present in the present... gratefully.”

- Maya Angelou (1928-2014)

Still Life - Frozen Finley Point Sunset, Flathead Lake, Polson, Montana

"...There had been no stillness in himself either, with Hamish rampant in his mind. He was never truly alone.

But here it was palpable - the quiet -
He stood there, looking up at the empty blue sky, his head tilted back, his arms out from his sides, his fists unwittingly clenched. And drank in the stillness....

Stillness.
It seemed to spread through him, it seemed to wrap him about, it seemed to fill him full."

- From Legacy of the Dead,  An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery by Charles Todd, page 40

Spring Change - Mission Mountains, St. Ignatius, Montana

“Change is like heaven — everybody wants to go there but no one wants to die. “

- Joel Peterson, Chairman, Jet Blue Airways, in article found here