I had a later shift yesterday so a leisurely morning to sip coffee and take my time to take care of me. Instead of the rushed shower, hair thrown up and perhaps a touch of mascara as I rush out the door, I took the time to use my favourite moisturizers, straighten my hair and play with makeup. As happens with many, if not all of us when I looked in the mirror, without even realizing it, I started picking out my "flaws", subtly noticing at first the little wrinkles that I moisturize daily with special creams - god knows if they're actually doing anything, the bump on my nose that will never go away, and then sifting through my hair mildly amused and curious about how many silver strands now exist.
I stopped and chuckled at myself and how silly we are as humans. Being so critical of oneself only creates unnecessary stress and can really start someone's day on a bad note. I remember those days as a teenage girl being even more critical!! A pimple or a number on a scale or a piece of hair that would not sit where I thought it should could literally ruin my day! That meme that has been circulating on social media recently rings true - remembering times the younger you thought you were fat and the current you wishes you were that fat!
And yet I look through my lens taking photos of so many views that I find breathtakingly beautiful that are not considered "perfect". The raven with scratches carved onto its beak, the tree stump left after a lightning strike, the witches broom phenomenon in spruce trees, the moose with asymmetrical antlers, the red-brown trees with snow covering them, my daughter's messy bun hair, the rose that Andrew bought me that couldn't survive the sub-zero temperatures from the parking lot to our apartment on Valentine's Day, my grandson's food covered face.
Photography teaches you a lot about perspective. It is a wonderful trick to practice and perhaps even master. If you are not liking what you see, sometimes it's simply a matter of changing how you view it. Find a different angle and you just might find that what you focus on is even more beautiful than you could ever have imagined!!
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