Some Sunday Morning Worship

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surin-elephants_94569_990x742"Dust stirred by heavy elephant footsteps is shot through with light as the sun rises over Surin, Thailand. Communities in Surin traditionally raised, trained, and lived with elephants, which were kept primarily as working animals. Today, however, the elephants, though still an integral part of Surin tradition, are trained primarily to entertain tourists."

(source of photo and text: National Geographic Photo of the Day)

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Some Sunday Worship

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gulls-mercury-island-namibia_85946_990x742"Home to Roost" Photograph by Thomas P. Peschak, National Geographic

Gulls, gannets, and penguins are neighbors on Mercury Island, near the Diamond Coast of Namibia. The country’s first marine protected area aims to reduce human disturbance and increase natural abundance around Mercury and ten other islands along 250 miles of coastline. (source)

Nature. Still the Best Show on Earth.

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"Curious Ones"

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monastery-auto-mountain-india Curious Ones Photograph by Rajiv Kumar, National Geographic Your Shot

"Zanskar is one of the most beautiful and remote regions of Ladakh in India," writes Rajiv Kumar, a member of our Your Shot photo community. "Full of valleys, rivers, lakes, and passes, this region remains disconnected from the rest of the world for almost six months every year, buried under the snow."

During a drive to the Ladakh region in September 2011, Kumar focused on capturing the beauty of Zanskar, home to the village of Rangdum and its monastery. "The monastery sits right at the end of the village, watching over the whole valley like a fort. There are two schools there, one run by the monastery and another run by local authorities, both with very limited resources. I carried a lot of books, stationery, etc., for the kids, and it was a delight to see their happy faces as they received the supplies for their studies."

To remain ever curious and to be excited to learn... Imagine...

(Source: National Geographic Photo of the Day)

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The Golden Moment (it's all we have...)

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A Golden Moment by Md Rafayat Haque Khan "The past is but the beginning of a beginning." ~ H.G. Wells

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*** A National Geographic Photo - "A Golden Moment" by Md Rafayat Haque Khan (source)

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Some Sunday Worship

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Alaskan Otter Couple"One of the funniest moments was when I discovered two otters that looked like a couple," says Your Shot member Roman Golubenko. "They were taking care of each other like a loving couple, and they were turning to me as if to get captured for a family portrait." (source of photo)

This just makes me MELT. DO YOU HEAR ME??? MELT, I SAY!!!

I'm butta... I'm like the squaw on the cova of Land O'Lakes.

NATURE. It's still the Best Show on Earth.

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What to Wear?! What to Wear?!

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kinshasa-maitre Umm... Yeah. That's... That's what I was thinking too...

(Photo from "Pictures We Love - Art in the Face of Adversity: National Geographic. And the woman pictured happens to be a total badass.)

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Awe...

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Cloud of Tadpoles by Eiko Jones(Cloud of Tadpoles by Eiko Jones)

Perfect Catch by Wayne Panepinto (Perfect Catch by Wayne Panepinto)

Night of Lightning at Grand Canyon by Rolf Maeder (Night of Lightning at Grand Canyon by Rolf Maeder)

People at Prayer by Junaid Ahmed (People at Prayer by Junaid Ahmed)

Camping inside Hang Son Doong by Ryan Deboodt (Camping inside Hang Son Doong by Ryan Deboodt)

Weightless by Dimitris Maroulakis (Weightless by Dimitris Maroulakis)

Best Shelter Ever by Arati Rao (Best Shelter Ever by Arati Rao)

Seagull by Junichi Saito (Seagull by Junichi Saito)

The Ice Caves by Andrew Inaba (The Ice Caves by Andrew Inaba)

Meteorite by Noel Kerns (Meteorite by Noel Kerns) If we're paying attention, our "homes" will be glowing with curiosity and admiration, gratitude and awe... And even as we age and wither, may we never lose that glow inside.

"There are more things in heaven and earth... than are dreamt of in your philosophy." ~ William Shakespeare

Yeah. What he said.

*** Photos courtesy of National Geographic ******************************************

Finding Your Light... (and letting others find theirs...)

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"Think for yourself and let others enjoy the privilege of doing so too." ~ Voltaire

(Gasherbrum II, Pakistan Photographer Cory Richards and his climbing team endured hurricane-force winds and subzero temperatures to achieve the first winter ascent of this peak in Pakistan.) *source*

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Smokin'

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Mud Bath, Bulgaria

"In a mud pool at the sea salt mines near Bourgas, Bulgaria locals gather. He applies the mud from the pool and then stands upright until it is dry only to take a dip in the nearby sea. Afterwards he gets a relaxing swim in the 30cm of water in the salt mine (80-90% pure salt)." Photo and caption by Antoni Georgiev (source of National Geographic's Photo of the Month)

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Stumbling Through Deserts

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"If you don't know the kind of person I amand I don't know the kind of person you are a pattern that others made may prevail in the world and following the wrong god home we may miss our star."

~ William Edgar Stafford

Tuareg, Algeria Evening winds stir the robes of a Tuareg striding across Algeria's Tassili-n-Ajjer.

(National Geographic's PHOTO OF THE MONTH by Brent Stirton, from the September 2011 story "Lost Lords of the Sahara.")

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Never Underestimate What a Little Color Can Do...

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Then again, the color wouldn't be so vibrant without the gray.

Young Monk, Laos A young monk is pictured at a small monastery in the town of Luang Prabang. (PHOTO OF THE MONTH by Oded Wagenstein from the 2011 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest - source)

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