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The Face of Nature
Two eyes, a gaping mouth, a full head of braided hair: That’s what I saw when I picked up this shell on a beach last year. The human...
Paul Cotter
Feb 192 min read


Goodbye, Clay
Last week, sadly, I learned that a former colleague died recently at age 68. His name was Clay Andrews and he was one of the founding...
Paul Cotter
Feb 122 min read


France #5: Lagniappe
For this final post about our trip to France, I’d like to treat you to some random bonus photos – a lagniappe, if you will. Lagniappe...
Paul Cotter
Oct 30, 20241 min read


France #2: D-Day Beaches
My wife and I stood on the shore at Omaha Beach, the site of the most brutal fighting during the Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day. As...
Paul Cotter
Oct 9, 20242 min read


Taking Off
Next week, we’re leaving for a long-awaited journey to the Normandy and Brittany regions of France. My anticipation, you could say, is...
Paul Cotter
Aug 28, 20241 min read


Play Time
As I walked through the playground in an Uptown Charlotte park, I was struck by the unbridled joy of the children at play: running,...
Paul Cotter
Aug 13, 20242 min read


Tangled
It’s easy to get wrapped up in things in a way we never intended. When that happens, it can be difficult (and sometimes impossible) to...
Paul Cotter
Aug 6, 20242 min read


The Dead Lizard
As temperatures in Charlotte hit the mid-90s last week, our upstairs air conditioning unit broke down in the middle of the night. A check...
Paul Cotter
Jul 15, 20241 min read


Inseparable
I hadn’t thought about my old childhood friend in a long time. It’s been almost 60 years since we last hung out together. Over the years,...
Paul Cotter
Jun 5, 20242 min read


The Seductive Call of Likes
You may have noticed that I don’t have the “Likes” feature activated on my blog – which means you can’t give my posts a thumbs-up to show...
Paul Cotter
Apr 30, 20242 min read


The Whisper
SHHHHHHHHHH! Let your mind go quiet. Listen. When we do, we can tap into a source of creativity that’s far beyond anything we can...
Paul Cotter
Apr 17, 20242 min read


The Laundry Lesson
Many years ago, I heard some words of wisdom that have always stayed with me. They came from Joe Crowley, co-owner of the Crowley Webb...
Paul Cotter
Mar 27, 20241 min read


Unity and Variety
I've always wondered: why do so many people want others to be exactly like them? They won’t be happy unless everyone else looks like...
Paul Cotter
Mar 20, 20242 min read


Returning to the Source
As I photographed this beach in Southern California, I was mesmerized by the water pouring into the inlet and then withdrawing back into...
Paul Cotter
Mar 6, 20241 min read


The Call of the Shell
Have you ever found yourself pulled like a magnet to certain things in life? Maybe it’s a career path that beckoned, or a destination you...
Paul Cotter
Jan 31, 20241 min read


A Closer Look
What do you see in this picture? A heart? A face? Can you tell what this object is? Is it large like a tree trunk? Is it small like a...
Paul Cotter
Jan 24, 20241 min read


A Holiday Message
With the holidays in full swing and 2023 drawing to a close, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for visiting Paul's Reflections. The...
Paul Cotter
Dec 18, 20231 min read


What We See
An interesting thing happened when I photographed Hickory Nut Falls at Chimney Rock State Park last week. This 404-foot falls, located...
Paul Cotter
Nov 8, 20232 min read


The Beacon
We all have a beacon that we follow — something that guides us on our life journey and helps us reach our chosen destination, just as...
Paul Cotter
Oct 14, 20231 min read


Disappointment into Delight (Part One)
We’ve all had times when things didn’t go our way. You know what I’m talking about: those times when our expectations were as high as the...
Paul Cotter
Oct 2, 20231 min read
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