Week 4: Perspective

How do you view the world? Be honest. Is it through rose-colored glasses, concentrating on the positive, or are you a "glass half empty" kinda person?

Do you use your imagination, that wonderful gift God grants us that allows us to travel, in our mind, to places we've never experienced before yet dream about?

What do you see when you look at the above picture?

~ "more snow, darn it!"
~ paw prints in the newly fallen snow {bunny prints to be exact}
~ "I can't wait for winter to be over."

or...

Did you happen to notice the fairy wings laying in the snow, wings that are just waiting for their fairy to return from where ever she wandered off to? {you see, fairy wings are made of gossamer and silk with a dash of glitter for good measure; wings become soaked and sodden when fae frolic in the snow. Snow Fairies often leave their wings behind so they don't get wet and become a huge mess while they go, well, frolicking... engaging in mini snowball fights and fae-ish things of that nature.}

It's all about perspective. Since I bought my DSLR camera and started concentrating on learning more about photography I've learned something interesting about myself: I see the world through a camera lens. All the time.

Even when I don't have my camera slung over my shoulder or in my hand.

It's like this. The more pictures I take the more I notice beauty in the normal everyday world around me. The difference in perspective is a beautiful thing {except frustrating when I don't have my camera and miss a shot- which is why I'm also getting a new point and shoot to keep on me at all times. One never knows when she might happen upon a UFO, Elvis or Johnny Depp.}

No really. I once met Captain Jack Sparrow, er- I mean Johnny Depp, and didn't have my camera on me. Thank God for the nice folk next to me who e-mailed me their photos. But I digress.

Back to perspective. Often we find ourselves plodding through life, running really, tripping over our own two feet as we zip around unaware- never taking the time to stop and smell the roses. Never being in the Now. We have our faces stuck in our iphones, blackberries... texting and contacting and connecting, yet we let life pass us by while never really connecting with anything truly important. Never noticing the beauty in that single rose, never pausing to take a breath.

Never noticing that person sitting next to us on the train, or standing in line behind us at the store, who could have really used a smile and a simple hello.

Well now I do. Stop and smell the roses that is.

I don't just stop and smell the roses; I immerse myself in them. I take a moment to really inspect the roses. If it's first thing in the morning on a summer day I marvel at the way the dew hovers on the velvet petals like tiny teardrops. If it's afternoon, hot and lively so the insects have slipped from the stupor of the chilly night, then I wait until I spy a bumblebee as it flits from one flower to the next, its fat furry body dusted with pollen.

I notice how pretty the sunrise looks over Kennedy Avenue on my way to work in the morning, shimmering like diamonds on the river and reflecting off the Hammond Welcome Center. And the sunset- don't even get me started on the sunset! Everything looks gorgeous when awash in the golden light of the setting sun- in the photog world it's called "the sweet light." And sweet it is.

I took this photo in late fall 2010 when the evening air was crisp enough to wear a jacket; clean bright air {I was taking PJ for our nightly walk.} It was right before sunset and I couldn't resist the beauty of these hardy roses illuminated by the golden-peach light of the sun.

One day we'll be older, aged. Our eyes might begin to fail us, hearing could too. We'll have no need for cell phones, ipads, instant messaging or e-mail. But in our mind's eye we'll have our memories to reflect upon. Make sure your memories are vivid, untouched by the clutter of technology. Memories that are saturated with color and crystal clear, bathed in the light of the sunset.

My wish for all who read this blog is to take the time to stop and smell the roses. Slowwwww dowwwnnn. After you make Being In The Now a priority- then take the next step, looking at life through the eyes of a child {a future blog post.} Oh, speaking of children...

My son... the light of my life, lit by the same sunset as the roses.

..................................................................................

If all else fails, there's always Captain Jack Sparrow's view on life: "There are times, almost constantly perhaps, when I prefer to look at life through the bottom of a glass... of rum."

Yet even Jack understands the magic of a sunset...