It’s clear that full summer has arrived. And I am finding beauty and grace in a string of
Ordinary Days
and ordinary walks here and there in nearby parks. Last week I hiked at Carver Park Reserve. And earlier this week Jon and I explored a bit at the Elm Creek Reserve Park in Maple Grove, Minnesota. It is a large park filled with wetlands, trees, and green as far as the eye can see. There are lots and lots of bike trails and we saw many bikers on those trails. The park seems to be a popular place to spend time in nature.
As I walked the trails that were surrounded by trees I could occasionally catch the soft sweet scent of basswood tree blossoms. Then I saw this magnificent basswood tree filled with blossoms right beside the path.
If you look closely (especially at the edges of the image) you can see the soft yellow flowers among the green leaves. It may not look like much, but to me it’s surely a piece of heaven on an ordinary summer day.
I knew that if you had the eyes to see, there was beauty everywhere, even when nature was barren or sloppy, and not just when God had tarted things up for the spring.
― Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith
In my photography this summer I have been intentional about photographing the beauty I discover on ordinary walks in places close to home. Though I sometimes envy those who are traveling to far-away places, I find great joy in embracing the places nearby that I can visit often. As I explore these ordinary places I find such grace and beauty.
When I’m making choices about what to photograph I’m constantly asking myself, “How does it feel to be here now? And how can I express this feeling so that others can experience it through my images?” Then later, when I’m at home editing the images that I made, I ask the same questions again and again. It has become my mantra as I work…
How does it feel?
How does it feel? How does it feel? And then I explore ways to increase the feelings that I want to share. Mostly they are about joy, grace, beauty, gratitude. But occasionally I want to express a feeling of poignancy and impermanence. Things keep changing. The circle of life keeps turning. And there is no going back to yesterday, only forward to whatever will happen next.
There is also no getting away from pain and loss in life. But I am learning to see that pain and loss are part of a greater circle of love and gratitude. We only grieve the death of things and people that we love. What I am learning as I experience grief for lost friends, family, and pets is that the love that causes the grief carries on and continues to light up my life. Even in the darkest moments I can find beauty in nature and gratitude for that beauty.
Not a day goes by that I don’t still need to remind myself that my life is not just what’s handed to me, nor is it my list of obligations, my accomplishments or failures, or what my family is up to, but rather it is what I choose, day in and day out, to make of it all. When I am able simply to be with things as they are, able to accept the day’s challenges without judging, reaching, or wishing for something else, I feel as if I am receiving the privilege, coming a step closer to being myself. It’s when I get lost in the day’s details, or so caught up in worries about what might be, that I miss the beauty of what is.
― The Gift of an Ordinary Day: A Mother’s Memoir
We have choices about what we focus on and where we put our energy in life. I continue to choose joy, gratitude, beauty, and awe. When I notice that I’m getting discouraged by current events or by events in my own life, I come back to the present moment, to looking for ordinary grace, to moving forward one breath at a time. That’s all I can do, this breath in this moment, and now this breath, and then the next.
Wishing you joy in ordinary days and moments.
May you walk in beauty.
Note: Photos from Elm Creek Reserve Park
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