Admiring snow clad tall trees, piles of white feather like snow on both sides of a winding road with a view of giant snow covered mountain Mount Shasta in the front, I heard everyone in the car saying, “Oh My God. It is so beautiful.”
Quickly my daughter pointed, “Like pictures I see on Christmas Cards.”
The scenery was simply spectacular and I could not stop myself from saying, “It is a small piece of heaven on the earth.”
Slush of ice and chilling cold air welcomed us as we stepped out of the car to capture the beauty on the digital media. Bitter icy air with sub zero temperature punched through layers of warm clothing. Within minutes a few of us were back in the heated car.
While I was busy taking pictures, my daughter asked, “Dad, are you sure it is a small piece of heaven?”
“It is breath taking. Is not it awesome?”
“It is indeed very pretty. But if it is a piece of heaven, then it is a very cold and wet piece”, she continued “I prefer heaven sunny and dry.”
“That would be like Raleigh. That is where we live.”
Learning from my trip, as a beautiful and scenic place on the earth has downside; a very ambitious New Year resolution may have its own shortcomings. Being thankful and content with what we have may be our first New Year resolution while vying for betterment.
What do you think?
35 comments:
Its true, the beauty is breathtaking. Every time i see it, or have an experience of it, the feeling remains the same.
But life out there is tough, and i always end up saying i am glad, am in India, where the climate is moderate and good. I can have the luxury of seeing the beauty as the visitor ...
Thats exactly what I said as well "Heaven on earth" when I visited Lake Tahoe. It was overwhelming; and each time I saw a sight it was "Hey doesnt it look like the scene on picture postcards?"
You may like these 2 posts I had written sometime ago.
http://spice-n-ice.blogspot.com/2008/07/heaven-on-earth.html
http://spice-n-ice.blogspot.com/2009/04/white-blanket-all-around.html
Picture perfect:) well, Happy New Yaer, n may ya life be filled with breathtaking moment slike this :)
Yes that shud be our resolution always...well said.
Ah beautiful pictures but I like your daughter's comments even better. Rather superb. I am with her on that. I love sunshine myself. Even I would prefer heaven sunny and dry. Pat her for saying this. Girl you are very wise.
Lovely pictures and a lovely post. Enjoyed the conversation between you and your daughter.
If we enjoy each frame of life as it passes, without eyeing for something better, life will be a true joy!
Contentment is the key to enjoying life. It is a beautiful experience to feel contented.
For people living in India it is indeed fascinating to be in such a place, maybe not living there at least being able to visit. That is why for our 25th wedding anniversary, my husband planned to go to Sikkim in the beginning of winter, so that I can see some real snow. It was one of the most beautiful trip, and to think we have such beautiful, absolutely enchanting places in our own country: it has to be seen to believe it.
But my son who is Ann Arbor keeps saying that after the initial excitement it becomes pretty boring and also very irritating, and says I will never like it.
But I feel I will always like it, maybe because I have not had the opportunity of living in such places for a long time.
However what you say is correct, one must learn to like everything, and be at peace with everything. Each season is a little piece of heaven on earth.
Personally, we take our holidays during the start of winter, as we like the cold weather more than the hot, and also in that way, we are not caught in delays due to fog, snow etc.
I really like the way a winter outing has inspired a blog out of you, and such a good one to start the New Year.
We all have a different idea of Heaven... A different sketch....
Your daughter is soo cute... What's her name?
As you said it is very important to be content with whatever we have... Unless we don't learn to be satisfied we can never be happy... :)
A good resolution to start the year... :)
beautiful shots
just like greeting cards
@AS,
Thanks for the comment. Some parts of India are very cold and they don't have facilities like the western countries. I don't know how they manage it. I live in Southern part of the USA and it is not very cold here. It only snows here once or twice in a year. I took these pictures in Northern California.
@Insignia,
Thanks for the links. Tahoe is beautiful. May be next time I can post pictures of Tahoe too.
@Jane,
Thanks. Appreciate your wishes.
@Ria,
Thanks.
@Kiran,
Yes. Snow looks good in picture for a few days it is okay but after that it is not so interesting unless one knows skiing and willing to plow drive way every day.
@NRIGirl.
Completely agree. If we can make attempt to enjoy everyday, we will do fine. It is easy to say and hard to implement.
@Rama,
India is a very beautiful country. Sikkim, Assam, Leh, Kashmir, Darjleeng are good tourist spots in Northern part of India while Kerala, TN, AP has excellent tourist spots. Goa has its own charm. Of course USA, Europe and Australia are also beautiful. Snow becomes boring if you are an outdoor person. For people who can stay indoor and enjoy, it is not a big issue. Each season is pretty. I like your idea of traveling earlier in the winter to avoid delays but with school going children it may not be possible for all of us.
@Tan,
Thanks ! Thanks ! I hope I can stick with this resolution.
@SM,
Thanks. I took these picture. :)))
That's to be evaluated on a case by case basis. Some things, we need to be grateful for and some, there's nothing wrong with wishing(or working) for more.
Gorgeous pictures. Your daughter is right. It looks straight out of a card.
A, Nice narration of your trip and loved both photos , we hardly get to see any piece of heaven here. And I don't think nobody would like to have sunny and dry climate like we are having here.It's too sunny and dry.
I like when you bring your daughter in picture. nice to see the whole family here through your posts.tc
Wow... which is this place?? It really like the one u c in post cards!!
Like ur post I would also prefer a moderate climate rather than the snowy heaven...
Lovely post and I must say what a cute daughter u have!!
Nature is pretty breath taking that leaves you gaping in awe at God's wonderful creations.:)
BTW wishing you a very Happy new year!
accept people the way they are..just as the way we want them to accept [tolerate us]
half the problems are sorted..:P
wow.. so beautiful ! definitely heaven on earth
No, ... you did not offend me at all. Plus I am not a big fan of any of those diets. I found it interesting that authors write books based on no scientific explanations.
Thank you for such a wise ending to a beautiful post - those photographs do indeed look heavenly.
It is so good to be back, my apologies for not being a very good blogger buddy over the last few weeks. My best wishes for a happy and healthy new year to you nd yours.
boss u have been motivating so many bloggers..v r lucky to have u among us..cheers n wishes always
Beautiful post and a good resolution. But difficult to keep I suppose.
Why are the pictures grey..It would have been more beautiful with a splash of color...lol..see the perfectionist in me..I always push myself more and more and set limits always high above my grasp..When will I learn? I dont know...
I am not a big fan of snow!We have mountains of snow here the scenery is classic out of the world but snow means lots of accidents falling in the ditch...
pictures are jus like breathtakingly beautiful ..but who will clean these mountains outside? driveways and decks..I am a sunshine person..jus wanna be with sun all the time..
Snow is good if jus once a season!I am frm Michigan so my story is different!
Excellent post.Loved reading it?
very appropriate resolution!!
I have nevr lived in very cold climates, so I long for them, though my children tell me that its not all so hunky dory, quite boring too.
But your pictures again tell me that it would be lovely to live there.
//oh my god, its beautiful// me 2 have th same feeling...:))
Thakkudu
Good resolution. I am yet to experience snow. I am hoping I do in the near future. :)
I don't think I can survive cold climate. And snow? No way!! But liked reading your post and the photos.
I am so sorry I missed this post ... I thought when i saw it I posted a comment .. My BAD ..
the pictures are beautiful and we had similar scenes here toooo....
and ur resolutions good , I have not made any cause i break them all the time so better not to make any
Bikram's
Absolutely!! Contentment is ACTUALLY difficult. We can always try. But like dreams we fly so.. well.. the pictures are nice, but snow is NOT heaven for me.. I go with your daughter. :)
Amazing picture.
I used to visit Raleigh every year until last year.Now my son has moved out from there.
I love your take on life and it's everyday events... so simple and yet so thoughtful!! Also, you seem to have a great relationship with your daughter... how old is she?
I love snow, white to me says - "pure..., Perfection..., Serenity!!" and how can anyone miss the most wonderful chance to snuggle up with your loved one in front of a fire... with a hot chocolate with marshmallows... may be watch a good movie... or just talk endless!!
Have a great year... and celebrate every season with your family!!
Nicely expressed ... Loved reading it :)
Happy new year to you and your family!
Cheers,
It's exceptionally beautiful... and maybe heaven on earth isn't perfection... maybe there are a lot of different heavens, each one an expression of one kind of perfection. I'm sticking with my New Years' Resolution for now!
Btw, glad to see NRIGirl recognized below... and sorry for not being around for a bit. New Years Resolution + schoolwork. : (
Great resolution.
I am happy to say that even I am sort-of enjoying the weather.Today we have a snow-fall.
Ofc,not as great as shown in the pics.
Amazingly beautiful!!!! So great to be able to catch up on your blog once again. Hopefully I will resume being a regular reader now that the new year has come :)
Spectacular pics.
Also loved your write up on the IPad. Loved how your daughter has slowly 'taken over' :) ha ha!!
@A hey how did I miss this? nice picture..the view is beautiful..so both of us had a "heart whelming snowy vacation":)
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