Jet Mariano

Tag: #MarkedInTime

  • MIT8 – “If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It”

    Sleeping Beauty Castle at Night — Reflections of Patience and Light

    Sleeping Beauty Castle, Disneyland — long exposure, reflection pond perfectly still under holiday lights.
    © Jet Mariano bottom right

    Excerpt
    Dreams are born in imagination, but they come to life through patience. This photo reminds me that what seems impossible is often just waiting for stillness — the moment when faith, timing, and light all come together.

    Intro
    At Disneyland, I stood before Sleeping Beauty’s Castle surrounded by soft laughter, bright music, and winter lights. I had dreamed of this shot for years — the castle glowing like ice, perfectly mirrored in the reflection pond.

    The challenge wasn’t the camera. It was patience. I waited for the crowd to thin and for the water to still. When the noise finally faded, I clicked the shutter. Thirty seconds of silence turned imagination into reality.

    Notes from the Scene
    📍 Disneyland, Anaheim, California
    Tripod. Manual mode. I pointed my camera using the LCD screen toward the brightest light on the castle to achieve perfect focus. Once the image looked sharp, I turned my Nikon 14-24mm 2.8G lens from AF to M and my camera to full manual. This prevents the lens from “hunting” in the dark — a trick learned through countless nights of trial.

    After years of practice, I trusted the settings: 30-second shutter, f/11, ISO 2400. The result was this reflection — not luck, but learning.

    Perspective
    Walt Disney once said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.”
    That line carries truth beyond photography. In every art, in every calling, we are dreamers learning to wait for our moment of light.

    The dreamer in us sees what could be. The doer in us practices until it becomes real. And sometimes, all we need is faith that stillness will come.

    Practice
    If you want to capture your dream, prepare your heart and your craft before the light arrives. Keep learning, keep refining, and when the world quiets — act.

    Final Reflection
    Dreams don’t come to the impatient. They come to those who wait, who watch, who trust their settings.
    The castle may belong to Disneyland, but the reflection — that belongs to every dreamer who believes.

    Pocket I’m Keeping
    Dreams start in the heart, but patience brings them into focus. ✨

    Photo Caption (BTS)
    📸 Sleeping Beauty Castle, Disneyland — long exposure, reflection pond perfectly still under holiday lights.
    © Jet Mariano bottom right

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • MIT8 “Bad breaks need not ruin a good person.”

    Elder Neal A. Maxwell’s reminder that adversity isn’t defeat — it’s divine positioning for growth.

    Idaho Falls Temple before sunrise with the Snake River flowing in front, captured at long exposure — symbolizing calm endurance, hidden opportunity, and divine light emerging from darkness.

    Excerpt
    Elder Neal A. Maxwell’s 11th guideline for righteous living reminds us that being surrounded doesn’t mean being defeated — it can mean we’re exactly where God can shape our strength.

    Intro
    Sometimes the hardest part of life isn’t the trial itself but feeling isolated in the middle of it. Whether at home, at work, or even within the walls of the Church, we all face moments when we feel surrounded by pressures, criticism, or misunderstanding. My sensitive nature often magnifies those moments, and for a while, I let them weigh me down. But Guideline #11 from Elder Neal A. Maxwell’s Guidelines for Righteous Living taught me to see those moments differently.

    This week’s message — “Don’t be discouraged if you are surrounded” — became my antidote to discouragement. It reminded me that spiritual resilience is not found in escaping trials, but in seeing their divine purpose from the inside out.

    Notes from Elder Neal A. Maxwell

    • “Don’t be discouraged if in the course of your lifetime the Church seems to be surrounded and outnumbered.”
    • Elder Maxwell shared the example of General Chesty Puller, one of the most courageous officers in U.S. Marine Corps history. When his troops were surrounded, he famously said: “At last we have the enemy just where we want him. We’re surrounded, and now we can fire in every direction.”
    • Elder Maxwell then pointed to the inner battles we face: “Remember that bad breaks need not ruin a good man or a good woman.”
    • He used the example of Joseph in Egypt, saying that if any man besides Job had bad breaks, it was Joseph — yet Joseph rose above them and became significant because he refused to let those breaks become an excuse for failure.
    • Elder Maxwell concluded, “So often, my young brothers and sisters, in life opportunity comes disguised as tragedy. It doesn’t drop its disguise right away. It’s sometime before you begin to see that it’s opportunity behind that mask.”

    Perspective
    The message of Guideline #11 reaches every season of discipleship — when we feel alone, misunderstood, or “outnumbered.” General Puller’s courage turns fear into opportunity: being surrounded doesn’t mean defeat, it means there’s purpose in every direction. Joseph in Egypt faced betrayal, false accusation, and imprisonment, yet he didn’t curse the darkness. He used those setbacks as steps toward his divine calling.

    The pattern is clear — those who trust God in their confinement will see that their obstacles were not barriers but building blocks toward greatness.

    Practice (today, not someday)
    When discouragement closes in, I remind myself that perspective changes everything. Instead of asking, “Why is this happening to me?” I now ask, “What is this preparing me for?”
    At work, at home, or in private struggles, I can practice this truth by responding with faith instead of frustration. Every “bad break” becomes a training ground for humility, empathy, and endurance.

    Final Reflection
    Elder Maxwell’s teaching reminds me that God does not waste adversity. What looks like being surrounded is often God positioning us for strength we could not have gained otherwise. The disguise of tragedy eventually falls away, and behind it stands opportunity — glowing quietly like light breaking through the fog.

    When I feel cornered, I remember: this is not the end of the story. This is the place where faith fires in every direction.

    Pocket I’m Keeping
    Discouragement is temporary; divine positioning is eternal. What surrounds me cannot destroy me if I stand still and trust His plan.

    What I Hear Now

    “So often, my young brothers and sisters, in life opportunity comes disguised as tragedy. It doesn’t drop its disguise right away. It’s sometime before you begin to see that it’s opportunity behind that mask.”
    — Elder Neal A. Maxwell

    📸 Photo Caption (BTS)

    Behind the Shot: I arrived before dawn at the Snake River, tripod and remote in hand, waiting for the first light to touch the Idaho Falls Temple. The air was still, the river smooth under a long exposure, and the temple lights glowed softly across the water. Surrounded by darkness, I felt peace. The scene became my quiet reminder that even before the sun rises, His light is already here.

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • The Mountain Climber’s Path — Elder Neal A. Maxwell on Obedience and Discovery

    Bountiful Utah Temple at sunset captured from a hillside using a 500 mm lens, symbolizing patience, obedience, and spiritual ascent.

    Excerpt
    Elder Neal A. Maxwell’s 10th guideline reminds me that obedience is not the end of exploration — it’s the very beginning of it.

    Intro
    After a long week of deadlines and noise, I felt impressed to step away and climb the hill above Bountiful with my camera. As I waited for the sunset, I thought about Elder Neal A. Maxwell’s Guidelines for Righteous Living, especially Guideline #10: “Obeying is one of the best ways of exploring.” The higher I climbed, the clearer it became that obedience isn’t about restriction—it’s about finding higher ground and seeing life from God’s perspective.

    Notes from Elder Neal A. Maxwell

    • No one would attempt to scale Mount Everest or the Tetons in jeans and a t-shirt without an expert guide.
    • We cannot climb the straight and narrow path without the guidance of the Holy Ghost and the protection of the whole armor of God.
    • If we are obedient, we will “discover, explore, and learn many great and wonderful things.”

    Perspective
    Elder Maxwell’s Mountain Climber Analogy illustrates discipleship as a spiritual ascent.

    ElementDescriptionSpiritual Parallel
    The ClimberOne who begins the ascentThe Individual / The Spiritual Explorer
    The ChallengeThe difficult climbThe Straight and Narrow Path
    The Expert Guide & GearRequires a guide and full gearThe Holy Ghost and the Whole Armor of God
    The RewardDiscovery and joy through obedienceGaining Truth, Knowledge, and Joy in God’s Kingdom

    Just as no one would attempt Everest without proper gear, the spiritual explorer must be clothed with faith, humility, and divine protection. The commandments are not chains but climbing ropes — tools that keep us safe on the ascent.

    Practice (today, not someday)
    When I feel overwhelmed, I remind myself that obedience is not restriction; it’s direction. By following divine guidance daily, I move upward, step by step, through the fog of mortal challenges.

    Final Reflection
    The mountain analogy reframes life’s climb: every commandment is an anchor point, every trial a ridge to strengthen the soul. The summit isn’t reached by speed, but by steady, faithful obedience — one prayer, one act of trust at a time.

    Pocket I’m Keeping
    Obedience opens the path to discovery — the more I submit, the higher I climb.

    What I Hear Now

    “If you will be obedient, you will discover, you will explore, and learn many great and wo

    📸 Caption (BTS)

    Behind the Shot: I climbed above Bountiful with my 500 mm lens, waiting for the exact moment when the last light would touch the temple and the clouds would gather over Antelope Island. From this height, the horizon seemed infinite — a reminder that obedience, like climbing, always leads to a higher view.

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

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