In 2014, I was going through a difficult caregiving experience. I was waking up every morning – asking “Why me?”
I was frustrated, angry and sad. I was even feeling a bit hopeless. One morning, I woke up and decided that this had to change, or I would not survive. So, I made the choice to start each morning being grateful and finding a bit of God’s beauty.
I live in Florida on a beautiful lake. Since that day, every morning, I wake up early and go for a walk which is great for my brain, my body and my overall health.
I walk out to the dock and say a little prayer asking God to please lead me today to be the best I can be.
I then take a photo of the sunrise or a bird or a flower or whatever catches my eye. Immediately my heart is filled with gratitude.
The funny thing is every morning I wake up and look for something beautiful and I always find it is less than 15minutes!
As I am walking back home, I post it on my Facebook page and say “Good Morning Seminole.” I also email and text it to some family members and friends.
Just about every single day someone tells me how much they enjoy my photos. No more crabby mornings for me.
I hope you enjoy my photos and perhaps consider taking some yourself. We live in a truly beautiful world…. We just need to stop and see it!
May every day inspire you!
In joy,
Linda
Featured on WTSP 10 News
It was exciting to be interviewed by Bobby Lewis as part of the “Bobby Lewis on the Road” segment of channel 10 news.
‘Good Morning Seminole’ Facebook Posts Highlight Community Beauty
Author: Bobby Lewis
Linda Burhans takes and posts one breathtaking photo per morning for her neighbors.
SEMINOLE, Fla. — Linda Burhans rises before the sun each morning. She doesn’t want to be late to nature’s beautiful daily restart. “If you could start off your day like this, why wouldn’t you?” she asked rhetorically. “And everybody can.”
Four years ago, she started taking her cell phone with her on walks along the shore of Lake Seminole. She began snapping photos of things that caught her eye.
Then, she started posting them to Facebook.
“It might just be a bird or like, you see the beautiful sun or a little tiny flower,” she said. “Sometimes the sky is yellow and sometimes it’s gray, but it’s always beautiful.”
Each post had a different photo but featured the same three words: “Good morning Seminole.”
“It was gorgeous and I’m going to think about this all day when I’m working,” said Elisa Broad on Thursday morning while looking at a photo of the sun peeking between the branches of a palm tree. “I look forward to it and a lot of times I tell her, ‘Thank you very much for sharing. Today’s photo was really was pretty.’”
Burhans took that photo less than an hour before Broad ‘liked’ it on Facebook. Dozens of photos on Burhan’s social media account greet friends and strangers alike each morning.
It’s her way of uplifting those around her.
“It always is a good morning. Whether you want it to be or not. Whether you realize it, it’s always a good morning,” she said.
Burhans says “85 percent” of the photos she posts are taken in her backyard. She is a public speaker and author specializing in empowering caregivers. She hosts a weekly radio talk show “Connecting Caregivers Radio.”