From Pits to Pinnacles

Whether it is the phrase "this is the pits" or Erma Bombeck's classic book, "If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits?" chances are you can identify with being in the pits of life. Another frequent reference is "life just a bowl of cherries" which is sarcastic for when things are not going well. Being a fan of cherries, I always felt bad for this poor fruit being dragged down into negative thinking.

It is true that life is not always everything we wish it to be, but perhaps we can challenge ourselves to focus on the pinnacles of life instead of the pits. No matter where we are in our journey each day, we can always choose to look up to the high points in life and focus on those instead. When we are feeling low, we tend to hang our head down physically and that position will prevent us from ever looking up to things that can draw us out of the pits. However, if you literally look up to focus on the pinnacle there is something that happens to you physically - you take deeper breaths, you'll notice the precious little things around you and perhaps you'll lose sight of the pits.

The day I took this picture, we were leaving Vancouver, BC for a short cruise. I was so excited and yet we were faced with a delay leaving port, which left me with two choices - focus on the pits of disappointment or find a pinnacle. The pit would have had me waiting for hours in the port building, bored and surrounded by lots of other frustrated folks. The pinnacle took us on a local tour through a new city, some great photos, a fun marketplace and lots of new memories.

Don't miss out on the pinnacles, do what you have to in order to climb out of the pits.