Sitting outside yesterday evening after work while Peanut splashed around with her water table, I glanced down at the water pooled up in one of the cracked areas of our patio. It filled in around sweet gum balls, browned leaves and hints that fall *might* be on its way.

Looking down at that debris-filled puddle, I was reminded that life is always about perspective. You can focus on the mess, the decay. You can focus on the negative or the sad.

Or…. you can change your perspective.

You can focus on the reflection of the green leaves of the trees above in the evening light. You can focus on the reflection of baby blue skies peeking through the trees.  You can focus on the new, the vibrant, the positive.

You can choose where you place your focus, and the only thing that’s changed is the perspective you’re using to take life in.

And if the subtlety of that shift in focus is too much of a challenge at this point – if it’s too hard to simply look for the silver lining when the dark gray is too prominent, to see the reflection in the dirty puddle, you still have an option.

You can always just look up.

Here’s to remembering to take charge of our perspective this week, y’all.