This remarkable image is courtesy of Kimberly Calderwood … and Lancaster County in Southern Pennsylvania near the Susquehanna River. The former is a dear friend who captured this gorgeous picture. The latter a beautiful part of our state I don’t travel through ever … shame on me.

Shame on me for not taking the time to get out of western PA more often to experience life on a different plane. I’m not going to head down my local expressway during a sunset and witness the escape of a hot air balloon off dusty horse-laden lands. Most likely, a local McDonald’s and pharmacy would confine my vision and I’d be assaulted by unjustified horn-beeping from nearby lanes. There’d be no peace in the wind.

A different world down east from here -Pennsylvania Dutch Country – where tranquil Amish don’t beep and blather their way around those encountering daily life one moment at a time.

Kim hugged peace in the wind through her lense. This very calm breeze lifted that balloon into stillness, stayed the mighty beasts of the field, and held a majestic sun over all its domain. As all wanted to move forward within the orange hue, a setting glow set aspirations aside and paused life … for a moment. Reflected back memories it did. Directed time to the immediate. Any future, as of this moment, did not exist.

This was the now. Kim took me there.

When I saw her picture, a quote often attributed to Shakespeare came to mind: “There are three people in yourself: Who people think you are, who you think you are, and who you really are.”

I have a past, present, and future. None of those time frames mattered at that moment. Also, what others may (or, may not) think of me melted away. I saw my 6-foot frame, initially, standing in that tiny balloon without a brooding bother in my brain. Transfixed by the warmth surrounding my soul, I became enraptured by the peace in the wind I could feel simply by holding a phone held in my hand.

Remarkable how art – yes, this picture is art in raw, beautiful form – moves us into places we don’t expect. Places we NEED to arrive when we are unaware this must be our destination.

See, this Peace in the Wind dropped into my life during a tornado of stress. Did it end the path of torn up relational earth life handed me over the previous days? No. Normal stuff happens. You and I know this. High levels of anxiety happen. Life is, well, life. Can’t avoid situational stress as life ticks forward.

It did remove, distract, and relocate me.

… so nice to unexpectedly arrive at a field in Southern Pennsylvania.

Sit with me a few minutes. Enjoy this moment. Stand with those majestic horses .. talk to them. Take a walk, gently, along a dusty rut where generations of Amish workers have lovingly blazed a trail for you. Glance upward at a motionless balloon to consider where you’d go with an evening off – totally free from any obligations.

Best of all, close your eyes and be thankful for the warm, peaceful breeze you can feel only in your imagination… this time, but not the last time.

Kim’s remarkable image gives us permission to always be aware – always be on the lookout for wonderful snapshots like this. Moments to stop. Stop worrying. Stop being anxious about the troubles of the day. Stop looking ahead at what may – or may not – be guaranteed.

I am still in that balloon. For now, it’s a great view. Like I said, sit with me a while.