Looking out the window this morning when I woke up, I saw huge snowflakes drifting down so beautifully. I didn’t even bother to get dressed. Quickly, I put on my robe, grabbed my camera and began making photographs of the wonder-filled world outside my windows. I’ve learned over my years of making photographs to never hesitate. The world is full of
Fleeting Beauty
that will be gone before you know it. The light on the thin skin of ice on the pond gave the pond surface a beautiful color that I’ve seldom seen — a soft blueish color with maybe a little bit of green. Snow still clung to tree branches. The cloudy sky was like a giant light box creating beautiful illumination to the scene. So I made photos through the house windows in my nightgown and slippers.
Sure enough, the big fluffy snowflakes stopped falling within five minutes. I am so glad that I woke up in time to see them. Just as the changing weather landscape reminds me not to hesitate to enjoy and appreciate every moment, the recent sudden loss of a dear friend continues to remind me to make those small efforts to stay in touch with those I care about, to tell my friends how much they mean to me, and to savor every moment with loved ones.
Relaxing with the present moment, relaxing with hopelessness, relaxing with death, not resisting the fact that things end, that things pass, that things have no lasting substance, that everything is changing all the time—that is the basic message.
― When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times
Savor Each Moment
None of us know how many days we have left or what will happen tomorrow. Though I often find myself worrying about climate or politics or aging or loss, I do better when I stay in the present moment. Worry changes nothing and simply creates stress in my body and mind.
We have a choice. We can spend our whole life suffering because we can’t relax with how things really are, or we can relax and embrace the open-endedness of the human situation, which is fresh, unfixated, unbiased.
― Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change
Becoming a photographer has helped me to stay present and savor the world and my daily life in a way I never imagined. But seeing beauty in the world requires no special skills or equipment. Anyone can slow down, look closely at everything around them, and see beauty writ small and large across the world. A slant of light, particular color, graceful sweep of stem or branch, intricate design — beauty lives hidden in plain sight simply waiting to be seen.
Have a beautiful week friends.
May you walk in beauty.
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