Lucky by Bodhi Smith

Sep 04, 2020

"lucky" a brand new impression and blog from me...
 
"with every breath that we take, sometimes we forget how lucky we are to just be alive...everything else is secondary...sometimes we must stop in the middle of everything and just breathe, and be thankful for that breath of life. wrap our heads around the understanding that our health is all that really matters, sometimes we all need to be reminded and truly remember that living is a gift and should be cherished" ― bodhinku, how lucky we are
      
"without the dark, there isn’t light. without the pain, there is no relief. and i remind myself that i’m lucky to be able to feel such great sorrow, and also such great happiness. i can grab on to each moment of joy and live in those moments because i have seen the bright contrast from dark to light and back again" ― jenny lawson, furiously happy 
 
“it’s a profoundly strange feeling, to stumble across someone whose desires are shaped so closely to your own, like reaching toward your reflection in a mirror and finding warm flesh under your fingertips. if you should ever be lucky enough to find that magical, fearful symmetry, i hope you’re brave enough to grab it with both hands and not let go" ― alix e. harrow, the ten thousand doors of january 
 
"life is change, constant change. and unless we are lucky enough to find comedy in it, change is nearly always a drama, if not a tragedy. but after everything, and even when the skies turn scarlet and threatening, i still believe that if we are lucky enough to be alive, we must give thanks for the miracle of every moment of every day, no matter how flawed" ― mark t. sullivan, beneath a scarlet sky      
 
"i was out taking this impression, loving the gray colors of the clouds contrasting beautifully with the aquamarine colors of the gulf below, feeling lucky to be seeing and photographing such a beautiful scene on such a carefree morning...when all of a sudden out of nowhere, with no warning, a blinding flash combined with a thundering sonic k-a-b-o-o-m happened shaking everything...all so fast, in an instant, so scary was the bolt of lightning. it was so close that i could feel its electrical shock coming through the wood beneath my feet...in a moment's notice everything would have changed had it struck the pier instead of harmlessly out to sea...yes, i captured the image with the lightning, and it is so true that i was lucky to do so...but i am super lucky that i'm still alive, that this lightning did not end my life, that i'm still here and can share this image and my thoughts with everyone, i'm truly lucky right now to just be still breathing..." ― bodhinku, lucky
 
this first song i would like you to give listen is a love song, a beautiful duet entitled the same as my impression today...it's the perfect accompaniment to connect music with part of the meaning of my "lucky" impression and blog today: "lucky" by jason mraz and colbie caillat ...(just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the musical selection)....
 
"do you hear me? i'm talking to you. across the water, across the deep blue ocean. under the open sky, oh my, baby i'm trying...boy i hear you in my dreams. i feel your whisper across the sea. i keep you with me in my heart...you make it easier when life gets hard. i'm lucky i'm in love with my best friend. lucky to have been where i have been. lucky to be coming home again...they don't know how long it takes, waiting for a love like this. every time we say goodbye, i wish we had one more kiss. i'll wait for you i promise you, i will...i'm lucky i'm in love with my best friend. lucky to have been where i have been. lucky to be coming home again. lucky we're in love in every way. lucky to have stayed where we have stayed. lucky to be coming home someday. and so i'm sailing through the sea to an island where we'll meet. you'll hear the music fill the air. i'll put a flower in your hair. though the breezes, through the trees. move so pretty, you're all i see as the world keeps spinning round. you hold me right here, right now...i'm lucky i'm in love with my best friend. lucky to have been where i have been. lucky to be coming home again. i'm lucky we're in love in every way. lucky to have stayed where we have stayed. lucky to be coming home someday..." ― jason mraz & colbie caillat, lucky 
 
“i no longer believed in the idea of soul mates, or love at first sight. but i was beginning to believe that a very few times in your life, if you were lucky, you might meet someone who was exactly right for you. not because she was perfect, or because you were, but because your combined flaws were arranged in a way that allowed two separate beings to hinge together" ― lisa kleypas, blue-eyed devil  
 
"we are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. but we can understand the universe. that makes us something very lucky" ― stephen hawking
 
"what did i do to get to be so lucky baby? i'm lucky baby, whenever i see your smiling face, lucky to be the one to be lucky" ― bon jovi, lucky
 
"every now and then, the stars align, boy and girl meet by the great design. could it be that you and me are the lucky ones? everybody told me love was blind, then I saw your face and you blew my mind. finally, you and me are the lucky ones this time. feels like, you know, it feels like falling in love for the first time" ― lana del rey, lucky ones 
 
"i was "lucky" on so many levels on the day that this photograph was taken...but what i consider to be the most fortunate part of everything is probably different from what people might think at first glance" ― bodhinku, not the lucky you think
----------------------
 
MEANING
"some will think that the photo gods gave me a fortunate birthday gift and i was crazy lucky to be "in the right place at the right time"...but the true birthday gift was the realization of what a birthday really means. it's the day we were born and were given the gift of life. on that day, i was given the chance to breathe and live a life, and i'm so thankful for that gift" ― bodhinku, grateful
 
"lucky" is defined as:
1. achieving success or advantage by chance rather than through one's own actions
2. having, bringing, or resulting from good fortune; blessed
3. chance considered as a force for good outcomes
 
each of these definitions for the meaning of the word "lucky" can be seen in my impression today...so, the meaning of this image is pretty easy to see, for i was "lucky" on so many levels on the day that this photograph was taken...but what i consider to be the most fortunate part of everything is probably different from what people might think at first glance...
 
this summer in florida i was out taking this impression, i walked most of the way out onto the pier in naples. i was loving the gray colors of the clouds contrasting beautifully with the aquamarine colors of the gulf below, feeling lucky to be seeing and photographing such a beautiful scene on such a carefree morning...when all of a sudden out of nowhere, with no warning, a blinding flash combined with a thundering sonic k-a-b-o-o-m happened shaking everything...all so fast, in an instant, so scary was the bolt of lightning. it was so close that i could feel its electrical shock coming through the wood beneath my feet...in a moment's notice everything would have changed had it struck the pier instead of harmlessly out to sea...yes, i captured the image with the lightning, and it is so true that i was lucky to do so...but i'm super lucky that i'm still alive, that this lightning did not end my life, that i'm still here and can share this image and my thoughts with everyone, i'm truly lucky right now to just be still breathing...
 
i actually took this image on the morning of my birthday...some people, especially other photographers, will think that the photo gods gave me a fortunate birthday gift and i was crazy lucky to be "in the right place at the right time"...but the true birthday gift was the realization of what a birthday really means. it's the day we were born and were given the gift of life. on that day, i was given the chance to breathe and live a life, and i'm so thankful for that gift...after the bolt of lightning struck, i was thankful i'm still alive, that is the truest birthday gift...i'm lucky to still be able to take my next breath...the fact i was lucky to have captured the lightning in an impression is nice, but that's secondary to the deeper meaning of what "lucky" means to me on my birthday...lucky that i was born, and lucky that i am still alive and breathing...
 
and i'm further lucky to have my mother and father still alive, my beautiful niece and her children, and all my cousins in ohio...plus so lucky for my family in oklahoma with my auntie and each of my cousins...and so lucky to have all the close friends i have who are like brothers and sisters that i never had, the closest of friends i have here in california, and in las vegas, and in ohio, new york city, and in tampa...i know i need to keep in touch with each of them more regularly, and visit them more often with every chance i get, because, well, we just never know when our luck will run out...
 
and i'm thoroughly lucky, profoundly blessed, to know with clear certainty that the love of my life exists and is out there, and though we have yet to meet, i know she out there somewhere looking for me to love her for the rest of her life...i truly do not want to lose hope of finally meeting her someway, somehow, someday...and on that one day when i finally look into her eyes knowing i've always known her, and ask her for my last first kiss, and hug her and never let her go, and ask her to spend the rest of her life with me, living our fairytale together always and forever...i'll truly be the most lucky man in the world...
 
so, you can see how i feel...you can see how i'm grateful, fortunate, and blessed...truly "lucky" to have what i have, live the way i do, and be alive...
 
and here is another song, a beautiful love ballad from a great singer and song-writer, jon bon jovi...it's a tune to connect music with part of the meaning of my impression and blog today: "lucky" by bon jovi ...(just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the musical selection)....

"she counts the days away and waits for valentines. she says every girl in the past is just a waste of time. you know, whoa, she don't believe in miracles and make-believe. if you were blind, you still could see that she believes in me. feels like i found a pocket full of gold. i'm lucky baby, so lucky baby. lucky to be with you today. lucky to be the one to say: i'm lucky baby... so lucky baby whenever i see your smiling face. lucky to be the one to be lucky. now all of heaven's angels have to wear their wings. she likes cheap sunglasses and diamond rings. you know, she brings sunshine to a cloudy day. when we walk on by, people stop and say: i'm lucky baby, so lucky baby. lucky to be with you today. lucky to be the one to say: i'm lucky baby, i'm lucky baby. i got lucky when you found me, it only took one kiss to see...what did i do to get to be so lucky baby? i'm lucky baby, whenever i see your smiling face, lucky to be the one to be lucky" ― bon jovi, lucky  
----------------------
 
and now here are a few more quotes from bodhinku from past blogs to help add to the deeper meaning of this blog today...
 
"in trying to understand myself, and things that really make me glow with happiness, i created something special here...one fusion joined together from my psyche, dreams, visions, feelings, emotions, thoughts, and illuminations from the inner workings of my combined mind, heart, and soul" ― bodhinku, zen to me   
 
"i was walking down my faintly lit path of the unknown into a new world, comforted by the loving stars overhead, excited and scared at the same time...hopeful, but worried i'd somehow misread the signs, so unsure of myself, but never before so positive of what i wanted so badly...i was an oxymoron wrapped deeply in contradicting feelings of untold amounts of mystery, romance, fear, and amazement...dreaming of her oneday in my arms...all amidst a rapid heartbeat driven by a massive emotional rush of a hopeful romance, blended altogether with tears, smiles and sighs entwined as one" ― bodhinku, an oxymoron under the stars
 
"i lived a lifetime of happiness in one just night...all night long just being, just breathing and just letting go...truly living and experiencing life, so unexpected, just letting moments take my breath away" ― bodhinku, just 
 
"life seems random sometimes, things just happen and it might be hard to understand why...but love is the opposite, when it happens, we understand nothing is random about this life, there is just love" ― bodhinku, love is not random  
  
"there we were, my vision, my dream, my hope...her and i, lost alone in our universe of no noise, no distractions, just the focus of holding each other tight under the stars all through the night, the colors of all those heavenly bodies above faintly washing all over our skin...our hearts tingle, feeling that hungry touch and delightful warming inside and out as our eyes lock into each other, connecting, illuminating our souls with visions so obvious that enlightenment is a mere afterthought" ― bodhinku, our universe  
  
"under the stars i have all the light i need, all night long they illuminate my world. bringing me out of my darkness. i can see all i need to see, as i embrace this fairytale in my arms all through the night. and until it ends, there is no end..." ― bodhinku, all through the night   
 
"buddha is famous for saying, "embrace nothing, nothing is worth holding on to", and even though i am a buddhist, i emphatically disagree with this statement after what happened to me that night...sometimes, the universe sends you a sign in the form of an angel, a soul worth holding on to"― bodhinku, embrace your angel
 
"i have a dream, it is you" ― bodhinku, i have a dream
 
"yesterday is nothing but today's memory... and tomorrow is nothing but today's dream...so live today like nothing else matters" ― bodhinku, live today   
 
"i really need to be illuminated daily by things that are inspiring to me, things than make me smile, giggle, and glow from my deepest depths...illuminating my inner shadows, those hidden dark parts of me, personal secrets that make me who i am, even if i am not proud of them" ― bodhinku, illuminated    
 
"whenever sadness is in front of you, just remember that joy is right there too, just turn around and i am right there behind you, i am always right here behind you, no matter what, with all the love and support you will ever need" ― bodhinku, right behind you
    
"please send me an angel, so i can see life though the stars of heaven's eyes" ― bodhinku, send me an angel
 
"i don't want to sleep, for i fear i might miss the twinkle of the brightest star: the smile of the girl laying here in my arms all through the night" ― bodhinku, the brightest star  
 
"i was born to dream amidst her stars, to awaken and drink the dew from her flowers, then walk barefoot in the sands of her sunshine days" ― bodhinku, barefoot 
 
"i know you, i've always known you...i believe that...known your eyes whenever i looked up to the night sky, and saw the stars twinkle and glow...all those nights of years before we met, spent obsessing with the heavens all through the night, i was already looking at you, photographing you, knowing you" ― bodhinku, i've always known you   
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STORY BEHIND THIS IMPRESSION
"man was i so lucky...i was lucky to get this shot, lucky it was my birthday, but also more importantly, very lucky the lightning did not end my life on the same day it began 53 years ago" ― bodhinku, so lucky  
 
pictured here is the pier in naples florida on an early summer morning...
 
i got a great price on direct flight tickets from san diego to orlando, florida on southwest airlines, so i decided to take a trip to florida in late july to get away from all the craziness due to the covid19 virus in southern california and to visit one of my closest friends and meet his new girlfriend...
 
i rented a camaro ss convertible for 8 days to get around the sunshine state in super sporty style...and my god was that car powerful fast and totally fun to just drive...
 
i visited for a few days with my buddy and his lady in saint petersburg, and then headed south to spend my birthday in the florida keys. i had splurged on my self and got a plush oceanfront suite at the hilton in key west for two days, and rented a wave runner one of the days to explore and scout out the altlantic side of the florida keys for possible future photo locations
 
i left st. pete and headed down towards the florida keys in the wee hours of the morning with the top down on the camaro, with the intent to stop off and catch a sunrise at the old pier pylons in naples, florida along the way...and i was able to capture some wonderful pictures of the pylons at sunrise and some unique shots of pelicans sitting on top of them too...
 
it was my birthday as well, and i have been creating the strange tradition of spending my birthday alone, by choice, so as not to have anyone make a fuss about me on that day...and nature had given me a nice gift of beautiful light and clouds while i shot the old pylons...
 
the light was so beautiful, and some heavier clouds were rolling in to block down the bright floridian sunshine, so i decided to hangout a bit longer in naples and shoot the main fishing pier...i have a few great shots of the pier taken from the beach at different angles, but never anything i was overly enthused about from on top of the pier...
 
the naples pier is a very picturesque one, with three beautiful looking gazebos on it. two (one on each side) at the midway point of the pier, and one at the very end of the pier...i set up my camera and tripod exactly in the middle of the pier looking out to sea to capture all three gazebos in an artistic frame...i loved the blue-green color of the waters of the gulf of mexico beneath the pier and wanted to capture those colors contrasting the building grey clouds overhead...
 
i decided i would need two exposure to capture the scene in the my own style, the way i saw it in my mind's eye...one exposure to soften the clouds but still keep some detail in them...and one ultra long exposure of the pier and ocean water below, to smooth out the water the way i like, plus help saturate all the blues and earthy tones naturally in-camera, and additionally help naturally remove people passing into and through my composition
 
i was excited and loving the way my images were looking on the back of my camera, super stoked to finally get some great compositions from the top of this beautiful pier...i took all the seven minute-plus ultra-long exposures first, then started to focus on getting the clouds in the way i envisioned them, taking a series of 4 second long exposures of the clouds...
 
i did not expect, plan, or foresee what happened next...
 
all hell broke loose in an instant when it happened...a blinding flash of light coupled with an instantaneous thundering boom shook the pier and sent electricity through the wood. the bolt of lightning did not strike the pier itself, but man was it damn close. i quickly and firmly held down my camera on my tripod to keep it from being bumped into as numerous scared people were screaming and running right by me off the pier, panicking that another bolt would soon follow. but none did, only one more strike much later, way out to sea miles away... 
 
i just stood there, frightened, excited, and in shock of what just happened. i just took it all in, and breathed in some long breaths...one thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three, one thousand four, exhale...i felt so fortunate and blessed that i was not struck by the lightning...
 
but then my next thought was: did i capture the strike on my camera? i was apprehensive to look through my pictures for fear that i missed it...but as i looked, i stopped breathing for a couple moments because there it was captured by my camera on my memory card...a total wow! amazing, beautiful, and powerful...
 
still, it was nothing but pure luck to get the lightning strike in the image, and even more lucky to have an exposure of the sky that was conducive to capturing lightning, though i did not intend it, or ever even think of the possibility that lighting was going to even happen on this morning, let alone in the middle of the frame i was shooting...and let alone on my birthday of all days...man was i so lucky...i was lucky to get this shot, lucky it was my birthday, but also more importantly, very lucky the lightning did not end my life on the same day it began 53 years ago... 
 
i am truly a lucky guy...
 
"after the bolt of lightning struck, i was thankful i'm still alive, that is the truest birthday gift...i'm lucky to still be able to take my next breath" ― bodhinku, truest birthday gift 
  
"the fact i was lucky to have captured the lightning in an impression is nice, but that's secondary to the deeper meaning of what "lucky" means to me on my birthday...lucky that i was born, and lucky that i am still alive and breathing" ― bodhinku, nothing    

the original 
"you are
in every
single
moment i
ever want
to be in" ― bodhinku, every single moment     
 
"but listen to me. for one moment quit being sad. hear blessings dropping their blossoms
around you" ― jalaluddin rumi, hush don't say anything to god   
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MORE QUOTES ABOUT "NOTHING" FOR EXTRA MEANING
and here is another song about being lucky...some might feel it is about sex, but i get a different meaning, a meaning about capturing impressions of the beautiful stars all night long: "get lucky" by daft punk ...(just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the musical selection)....

"like the legend of the phoenix, all ends with beginnings. what keeps the planet spinning, the force from the beginning...we've come too far to give up who we are. so let's raise the bar and our cups to the stars...she's up all night 'til the sun, i'm up all night to get some, she's up all night for good fun, i'm up all night to get lucky...we're up all night 'til the sun, we're up all night to get some, we're up all night for good fun, we're up all night to get lucky, we're up all night to get lucky...the present has no ribbon, your gift keeps on giving. what is this i'm feeling? if you wanna leave i'm with it. we've come too far to give up who we are, so let's raise the bar and our cups to the stars...she's up all night 'til the sun, i'm up all night to get some, she's up all night for good fun, i'm up all night to get lucky...we're up all night 'til the sun, we're up all night to get some, we're up all night for good fun, we're up all night to get lucky, we're up all night to get lucky...we've come too far to give up who we are, so let's raise the bar and our cups to the stars. she's up all night 'til the sun, i'm up all night to get some, she's up all night for good fun, i'm up all night to get lucky...we're up all night 'til the sun, we're up all night to get some, we're up all night for good fun, we're up all night to get lucky, we're up all night to get lucky..." ― daft punk, get lucky    
 
"be grateful. because you are alive, everything is possible" ― gautama siddhartha buddha, sayings of buddha 
 
"everything is a gift. the degree to which we are awake to this truth is a measure of our gratefullness, and gratefullness is a measure of our aliveness" ― lao tzu, tao te ching
 
"every day, think as you wake up, today i am fortunate to be alive, i have a precious human life, i am not going to waste it. i am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. i am going to have kind thoughts towards others, i am not going to get angry or think badly about others. i am going to benefit others as much as i can" ― dalai lama xiv, the art of happiness  
  
"i am the luckiest man alive, for i know one thing, and that is that i know nothing" ― plato, the republic   
 
"those who love much, do much and accomplish much, and whatever is done with love is done well.... love is the best and noblest thing in the human heart, especially when it is tested by life as gold is tested by fire. happy is he who has loved much, and although he may have wavered and doubted, he has kept that divine spark alive and returned to what was in the beginning and ever shall be...if only one keeps loving faithfully what is truly worth loving and does not squander one's love on trivial and insignificant and meaningless things then one will gradually obtain more light and grow stronger" ― vincent van gogh  
 
"in the quiet of the evening dark, i look out into the world and pause. i can feel you out there walking on this earth right now. i feel lucky. i can hear you whispering my name to the stars, your voice moving through the trees; your echo in the twilight calling to me. i can feel your hands tangled with mine in the ether and your laughter on the breeze. i can feel your body against mine and the way my heart skips a beat when you look at me with those eyes. in the darkness, i cannot see your face, but i know you’re out there as close to me as my wild heartbeat pounding in my chest....when i say i want to be naked with you, i mean stripped down, vulnerable, raw, wide open bare to the core. the kind that can’t be undressed in seconds and hidden back away when the passion is waning. it lingers and lasts unable to close again shattering all walls and barriers into dust...like this love, it is ever unfolding, petal by petal, layer by layer; in a sweet sensual dance of mind, body, heart and soul....so when i say i want to be naked with you, i mean i want to feel into the unknown depths of you and know the swirling shadows and light that dwell there. i want to be alive with you. i want to see all of you. i want to be naked with your whole being." ― c. ara campbell (with additions by bodhinku)
 
"there is more to living than conquering mountains, than expending all your efforts on achieving your goals without taking breath or time to savour the view. slow down. you are allowed to set up camp once in a while, to set yourself aside some time to renew your heart, to lie your head back in the soft grass and marvel at the stars" ― beau taplin, the soft grass
 
"every blessing ignored becomes a curse" ― paulo coelho, the alchemist    
 
"why do we have to listen to our hearts?” the boy asked, when they had made camp that day. “because, wherever your heart is, that is where you’ll find your treasure.” “but my heart is agitated,” the boy said. “it has its dreams, it gets emotional, and it’s become passionate over a girl of the desert. it asks things of me, and it keeps me from sleeping many nights, when i’m thinking about her.” “well, that’s good. your heart is alive. keep listening to what it has to say" ― paulo coelho, the alchemist   
 
"just being alive is such a gift, but nobody ever told you to be thankful to existence. On the contrary, everyone was grumpy, complaining. naturally, if everything surrounding your life from the very beginning goes on pointing out to you that you are not what you should be, goes on giving you great ideals that you have to follow and you have to become, your isness is never praised" ― osho, the responsibility of being oneself
 
"an alive and loving person simply loves. love is a natural function. so the second thing to remember is, don’t ask for perfection; otherwise you will not find any love flowing in you. on the contrary, you will become unloving. people who demand perfection are very unloving people, neurotic. even if they can find a lover they demand perfection, and the love is destroyed because of that demand. once a man loves a woman or a woman loves a man, demands immediately enter. the woman starts demanding that the man should be perfect, just because he loves her. as if he has committed a sin! now he has to be perfect, now he has to drop all his limitations—suddenly, just because of this woman? now he cannot be human? either he has to become superhuman or he has to become phony, false, a cheat. naturally, to become superhuman is very difficult, so people become cheats. they start pretending and acting and playing games. in the name of love people are just playing games. so the second thing to remember is never to demand perfection. you have no right to demand anything from anybody. if somebody loves you, be thankful, but don’t demand anything—because the other has no obligation to love you. if somebody loves, it is a miracle. be thrilled by the miracle." ― osho, love, freedom, aloneness

"i will take the sun in my mouth
and leap into the ripe air
alive
with closed eyes
to dash against darkness" ― e. e. cummings, 100 selected poems
 
"you should be kissed everyday, every hour, every minute"  ― nicholas sparks, the lucky one
  
"let's look on the bright side: we're having an adventure, and most people live and die without being as lucky as we are" ― william goldman, the princess bride  
 
"the sky was clear, and he could see millions of stars. then something happened inside of him that transformed his life forever. he looked at his hands, he felt his body, and he heard his own voice say. "i am made of light, i am made of stars." he looked at the stars again, and he realized that it's not the stars that create the light, but rather the light that creates the stars. "everything is made of light," he said, "and the space in-between isn't empty." and he knew that everything that exists is one living being, and that light is the messenger of life, because it is alive and contains all information" ― don miguel ruiz, the four agreements  
 
"if one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform a million realities" ― maya angelou 
 
"i'm glad to be alive
in a world where
her gently awakening eyes
nourish the morning sun" ― sanober khan, turquoise silence
 
"we are all equal in the fact that we are all different. we are all the same in the fact that we will never be the same. we are united by the reality that all colours and all cultures are distinct & individual. we are harmonious in the reality that we are all held to this earth by the same gravity. we don't share blood, but we share the air that keeps us alive." ― c. joybell c. 
   
"i never met another man i'd rather be. and even if that's a delusion, it's a lucky one" ― charles bukowski
 
“one, remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. two, never give up work. work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it. three, if you are lucky enough to find love, remember it is there and don't throw it away" ― stephen hawking  
 
here is another song, very fun and upbeat tune with a latin salsa mix...something to lighten the mood and to help connect music to the meaning of my impression today: "my lucky day" by doredos ...just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the song...
 
"you got secrets to unfold. you got stories never told. you’re holding information standing right in front of me, a hidden rhapsody. i walk into temptation. something tells me we can make some music. the rhythm is drivin’ me wild and something tells me we ain’t gonna lose it. keep pushin’ way into the night...number one, keep rollin’, say you’re real, i’m hopin’ do you feel the way i do? bring it on, it’s magic. are you real, fantastic. say you feel the way i do...number two, keep turnin’ feel the heat, we’re burnin’. i’ll do anything for you. we can be forever...number one, together we can make a dream come true. well i guess it’s up to you. do you feel the way i do? when bodytalk is magic. so is this my lucky day. will you stay or walk away? right now you’re stoppin’ traffic. something tells me we can make some music, the rhythm is drivin’ me wild. and something tells me we ain’t gonna loose it. keep pushin’ way into the night number one, keep rollin’, say you’re real, i’m hopin’ do you feel the way i do? bring it on, it’s magic. are you real, fantastic. say you feel the way i do...number two, keep turnin’ feel the heat, we’re burnin’. i’ll do anything for you. we can be forever...number one, together we can make a dream come true"  ― doredos, my lucky day 

"let's get out of this town, baby we're on fire. everyone around here wants to be going down, down. if you stick with me, i can take you higher, and higher. it feels like all of our friends are lost, nobody's found, found, found. i got so scared, i thought no one could save me. you came along scooped me up like a baby. every now and then, the stars align, boy and girl meet by the great design. could it be that you and me are the lucky ones? everybody told me love was blind, then i saw your face and you blew my mind. finally, you and me are the lucky ones this time...boy get into my car, got a bad desire. you know that we'll never leave if we don't get out now, now, now. you're a careless con and you're a crazy liar, but baby, nobody can compare to the way you get down, down, down. i tried so hard to act nice like a lady. you taught me that it was good to be crazy. every now and then, the stars align, boy and girl meet by the great design. could it be that you and me are the lucky ones? everybody told me love was blind, then I saw your face and you blew my mind. finally, you and me are the lucky ones this time. feels like, feels like, you know, it feels like falling in love for the first time. feels like, you know, it feels like falling in love...every now and then, the stars align, boy and girl meet by the great design. could it be that you and me are the lucky ones? everybody told me love was blind, then i saw your face and you blew my mind. finally, you and me are the lucky ones this time" ― lana del rey, lucky ones 
 
"at the end of the day, let there be no excuses, no explanations, no regrets" ― steve maraboli, unapologetically you 
 
"it's worth making time to find the things that really stir your soul. that’s what makes you really feel alive. you have to say ‘no’ to all the other things, and do it with all your heart" ― roy t. bennett, the light in the heart
 
"the only dream worth having is to dream that you will live while you are alive, and die only when you are dead. to love, to be loved. to never forget your own insignificance. to never get used to the unspeakable violence and vulgar disparity of the life around you. to seek joy in the saddest places. to pursue beauty to its lair. to never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. to respect strength, never power. above all, to watch. to try and understand. to never look away. and never, never to forget what is truly important" ― arundhati roy  
 
"throw roses into the abyss and say: 'here is my thanks to the monster who didn't succeed in swallowing me alive" ― friedrich nietzsche, twilight of the idols 
 
"if you care about something you have to protect it...if you’re lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it" ― john irving, a prayer for owen meany  
 
"every day is a new day. it is better to be lucky. but i would rather be exact. then when luck comes, you are ready" ― ernest hemingway, the old man and the sea   
 
"i like living. i have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow; but through it all, i still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing" ― agatha christie  
 
"how lucky am i to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard" ― a.a. milne, winnie the pooh 
 
"you ought to be thankful a whole heaping lot, for the places and people you're lucky you're not!"― dr. seuss, did i ever tell you how lucky you are?   
 
“this is not a crisis, i told myself. you are alive" ― veronica roth, carve the mark 
 
"you're lucky if you get time to sneeze in this goddam phenomenal world" ― j.d. salinger, franny and zooey
  
"as a child matures, he sees death and pain everywhere about him, and begins to lose faith in the ultimate goodness of man. but, if he’s reasonably strong, and lucky, he can emerge from this twilight of the soul into a rebirth of life’s elan. both because of and in spite of his awareness of the meaninglessness of life, he can forge a fresh sense of purpose and affirmation. he may not recapture the same pure sense of wonder he was born with, but he can shape something far more enduring and sustaining. the most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent; but if we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of death...however mutable man may be able to make the...our existence as a species can have genuine meaning and fulfillment. however vast the darkness, we must supply our own light" ― stanley kubrick  
 
"however small the chance might be of striking lucky, the chance was there" ― roald dahl, charlie and the chocolate factory  
 
"just tell yourself, you're really quite lucky" ― dr. seuss, the lorax     
 
“i believe luck is preparation meeting opportunity. if you hadn’t been prepared when the opportunity came along, you wouldn’t have been lucky" ― oprah winfrey 
 
"i watch that sun go down, i keep hanging on, waiting for the wind to change. i watch the sun go down, and i keep hanging on, i know it's coming up again...i watch the sun go down, and i keep hanging on, waiting for my luck day" ― chris isaac, waiting for my lucky day    
 
"he had white horses and ladies by the score all dressed in satin and waiting by the door. ooh, what a lucky man he was. ooh, what a lucky man he was...white lace and feathers, they made up his bed. a gold covered mattress on which he was laid. ooh, what a lucky man he was. ooh, what a lucky man he was. he went to fight wars for his country and his king. of his honor and his glory the people would sing. ooh, what a lucky man he was. ooh, what a lucky man he was...a bullet had found him. his blood ran as he cried. no money could save him, so he laid down and he died. ooh, what a lucky man he was. ooh, what a lucky man he was" ― emerson lake and palmer, lucky man     
 
"you'll do what you think you want to do, or what you think you ought to do. if you're very lucky, luckier than anybody i know, the two will coincide" ― wallace stegner, angle of repose 
 
"lucky implies i didn’t do anything. lucky implies something was given to me. lucky implies that i was handed something i did not earn, that i did not work hard for. my friend, may you never be lucky. i am not lucky. you know what i am? i am smart, i am talented, i take advantage of the opportunities that come my way and i work really, really hard. don’t call me lucky. call me a badass" ― shonda rhimes, year of yes 
 
“you don’t get lucky without preparation, and there’s no sense in being prepared if you’re not open to the possibility of a glorious accident" ― twyla tharp, the creative habit
 
"i now realize that success wasn’t grades or scholarships or achievements, but the people i was lucky enough to have in my life"― elle kennedy, the goal  
 
"you won’t know how lucky you are to be able to spend your life with the other half of your soul, until you have spent half your life without them" ― anna todd, after ever happy  
 
“when you're born, a light is switched on, a light which shines up through your life. as you get older, the light still reaches you, sparkling as it comes up through your memories. and if you're lucky as you travel forward through time, you'll bring the whole of yourself along with you, gathering your essence and leaving nothing behind, nothing to obscure the light" ― michael marshall smith, only forward  
 
“it’s a profoundly strange feeling, to stumble across someone whose desires are shaped so closely to your own, like reaching toward your reflection in a mirror and finding warm flesh under your fingertips. if you should ever be lucky enough to find that magical, fearful symmetry, i hope you’re brave enough to grab it with both hands and not let go" ― alix e. harrow, the ten thousand doors of january  
 
“falling's the part that takes your breath away. it's the part when you can't believe the person standing in front of you both exists and happened to wander into your path. it's supposed to make you feel lucky to be alive, exactly when and where you are" ― emily henry, beach read
 
“i've felt basically lucky ever since, almost every day of my life. that's something else love should make you feel. it should make you feel fortunate. it will be made clear to you in a stray gesture, the line of a throat. there may or may not be any music playing. but there will be a certain velocity of the spirit, a sensation of dropping through clear space unimpeded, and you think: this is the one. i found you" ― suzanne finnamore, the zygote chronicles 
   
“my parents danced together, her head on his chest. both had their eyes closed. they seemed so perfectly content. if you can find someone like that, someone who you can hold and close your eyes to the world with, then you're lucky. even if it only lasts for a minute or a day. the image of them gently swaying to the music is how i picture love in my mind" ― patrick rothfuss, the name of the wind  
 
"if you are lucky, one day you'll get the chance to have your life defined by how much you loved and were loved by someone else" ― lain s. thomas, i wrote this for you and only you  
 
"perhaps that’s how any love begins, impulses and cloudy images that allow us to break across our solitude, and then, if we’re lucky, are finally transformed into something firmer" ― barack obama, dreams from my father
 
"life is change, constant change. and unless we are lucky enough to find comedy in it, change is nearly always a drama, if not a tragedy. but after everything, and even when the skies turn scarlet and threatening, i still believe that if we are lucky enough to be alive, we must give thanks for the miracle of every moment of every day, no matter how flawed" ― mark t. sullivan, beneath a scarlet sky 
 
"some moment happens in your life that you say yes right up to the roots of your hair, that makes it worth having been born just to have it happen. laughing with somebody till the tears run down your cheeks. waking up to the first snow. being in bed with somebody you love...whether you thank god for such a moment or thank your lucky stars, it is a moment that is trying to open up your whole life. if you turn your back on such a moment and hurry along to business as usual, it may lose you the ball game. if you throw your arms around such a moment and hug it like crazy, it may save your soul" ― frederick buechner 
 
“look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now" ― lin-manuel miranda, hamilton: the revolution  
 
“many people live and die without ever confronting themselves in the darkness. pray that one day, you will spin around at the water’s edge, lean over, and be able to count yourself among the lucky" ― carmen maria machado, her body and other parties  

"without the dark, there isn’t light. without the pain, there is no relief. and i remind myself that i’m lucky to be able to feel such great sorrow, and also such great happiness. i can grab on to each moment of joy and live in those moments because i have seen the bright contrast from dark to light and back again" ― jenny lawson, furiously happy  
 
"no one could tell you: you just had to go through it on your own. if you were lucky, you came out on the other side and understood. if you didn't, you kept getting thrust back, retracing those steps, until you finally got it right" ― sarah dessen, the truth about forever  
 
“we can't all be happy, we can't all be rich, we can't all be lucky...and it would be so much less fun if we were...there must be the dark background to show up the bright colours" ― jean rhys, good morning, midnight  
 
"we're all just songs in the end. if we are lucky"― george r.r. martin, storm of swords  

“if you are you breathing, are you lucky enough to be breathing"― hettie jones
  
"you are lucky to be one of those people who wishes to build sand castles with words, who is willing to create a place where your imagination can wander. we build this place with the sand of memories; these castles are our memories and inventiveness made tangible. so part of us believes that when the tide starts coming in, we won't really have lost anything, because actually only a symbol of it was there in the sand. another part of us thinks we'll figure out a way to divert the ocean. this is what separates artists from ordinary people: the belief, deep in our hearts, that if we build our castles well enough, somehow the ocean won't wash them away. i think this is a wonderful kind of person to be" ― anne lamott, bird by bird
 
"you are not wrong for loving what you do. you are lucky. life doesn't hand everyone a passion in their profession" ― rebecca serle, in five years  
 
"remember, if you never do anything differently, you’ll reduce your chances of enjoying lucky accidents" ― rory sutherland, the thing which has no name
  
"when you don't create things, you become defined by your tastes rather than ability. your tastes only narrow & exclude people. so create" ― why the lucky stiff    
 
"we've come too far to give up who we are. so let's raise the bar and our cups to the stars. we're up all night 'til the sun, we're up all night to get some, we're up all night for good fun, we're up all night to get lucky" ― daft punk, get lucky  
    
"every now and then, the stars align. boy and girl meet by the great design...could it be that you and me are the lucky ones?" ― lana del rey, lucky ones  
  
"who could be so lucky? who comes to a lake for water and sees the reflection of the stars" ― jalaluddin rumi, the soul of rumi
 
"i was dead, then alive. weeping, then laughing...the power of love came into me, and i became fierce like a lion, then tender like the evening star" ― jalaluddin rumi, poems of ecstasy and longing
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ABOUT THE IMPRESSION
"you can see how i am grateful, fortunate, and blessed...truly "lucky" to have what i have, live the way i do, and be alive " ― bodhinku, fortunate   
 
to achieve the perfect lighting i desired as well as the different effects i wanted for distinct parts in this scene, this composition is comprised of a two separate exposures taken in the same frame at different shutter speeds (the sky was only four seconds, the water was seven minutes), both captured in the early morning on 07-27-2020...the two separate exposures were then merged using the blending of different layers in adobe photoshop cc to crete this impression in the way i envisioned it as you see here...
 
it was pure luck to get the lightning strike in the image, and even more lucky to have an exposure of the sky that was conducive to capturing lightning, though i did not intend it, or ever even think of the possibility that lighting was going to even happen on this morning, let alone in the frame i was shooting...
 
in my photography, i always use filters to create longer exposure effects and to balance the light in my composition in-camera...i often use as many as four filters at time, and i always use at least one filter...for this exposure, to get the effects and balance i was looking for, i used quite a few different progrey filters in the capture of both exposures in this composition...  
 
and for the clouds/lightning exposure of this this impression, i used two progreyusa filters...i chose to use a 2.1nd progrey genesis 2 filter to slow down the morning light 7 stops and permit the exposure time of 4 seconds, combined with a 0.9gnd progrey aurora filter to balance down the sky an extra three stops and make the clouds darker and more ominous, along with the progrey g-120z magnetic holder to hold both the progrey filters and secure them to my nikon d810 mounted with a nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 lens (shot at 14mm in a landscape orientation)...
 
for the pier and water exposure of this composition, i used three progreyusa filters...i chose to use the 3.0nd progrey antarctica filter and a 2.1nd progrey genesis 2 filter to slow down the morning light 17 stops and permit the ultra long exposure time of 7min & 24sec to create the smoothing effects of the gulf waters plus naturally saturate extra the aquamarine colors and the earthy wood colors in-camera, combined with a 0.9gnd progrey aurora filter to balance down the sky an extra three stops and make merging the cloud exposure easier, along with the progrey g-120z magnetic holder to hold the three progrey filters and secure them to my nikon d810 mounted with a nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 lens (shot at 14mm in a landscape orientation)...
 
i wish to openly thank my sponsors who have always supported me through both the good and bad times...for truly this long exposure impression would not be possible without the use of my trusty dolica tripods in combination with the progreyusa filters which i use with every photo i take...
 
"if nothing else...if i open my eyes, if i cry, if i think, if i sigh, if i giggle, if i dance, if i love, if i breathe, then i have lived a full days worth of life...nothing is wasted, nothing" ― bodhinku, if nothing else 
 
"contemplate without thinking. stop the world. slow down everything. shut off the noise. relax. seize this moment. reconnect. feel and sense what surrounds you. listen to all the colors of light that envelope you. see the melody and harmony that floats about unnoticed. taste the solitude of all this wonderment. smell the beautiful silence. now discover your peaceful serenity. then, reach out and touch your faith with all your senses. this is my world. awaken!" ― bodhinku, my world
 
above all else as always, i hope this message and impression find you well.
 
namaste,
bodhi
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