Stop and Notice Me!

    Something about this view captured in the photograph above made me stop in my tracks. It's what the French call "je ne sais quoi," or a special quality that cannot be described easily. It is strange when a place, a moment, a phrase, or sound inspires a human to recognize its quality and capture it. This picture may not be awe inspiring, but the view pulled me out of my trance and asked me to take another look. It was like my "Spidey Sense" tingling at a spectacle that will not be the same again. The sun would not shine down at this angle, the fence will sag a little deeper, the leaves will move with the wind and a car might be parked along the curb. This was a unique and beautiful sight that I felt the need to capture. 

    

    The path looks like the setting of a story. It is beckoning and full of character. The trees create a perfect canopy all the way down. Green is such a calming color. It encourages you to breathe in the fresh air being cleaned with every exhale. This view was so evocative that my mood was elevated by a couple of notches. It was so quiet and serene I could hear the wind whistling it soft melody into the branches of the trees. The birds were chattering with the language of spring and the bees were humming busily in the jasmine hedges. I promise, I'm not trying to write poetry; but the scene was so poetic, I felt the need to pull out my phone and capture a good picture of the moment. 

    

    I'm no photographer, but I understand now the importance of capturing the right angle, lighting, and focus. The first one didn't capture the spirit in the right pose. It took a little adjusting and moving to obtain a satisfactory photo. This is the best I could with another artist's medium. As soon as I got back to the office, I had to write about it because writing is my camera, my paintbrush, and my clay.    

    A little way down, I came across this statue holding up a mailbox. It is a sight people don't see too often outside of an academic setting, where children are obligated to read. It is sad to me that reading is becoming a lost art because it has shaped our understanding of the world around us. Storytelling is not lost, because we have film and theatre, but books are soul journeys where the reader's mind is transported into the innermost intimate parts of a writer. A film is a director's interpretation of a writer's work, but a book is the direct thoughts Shakespeare, Dante, and Homer put to paper from their own hand. The only thing between you and their mind is as thin as paper if you'd only turn the page. 

    

    I better stop now because this is turning into a lecture and that's not my intent. I encourage you though, reader, to take a moment to engage with nature. Recognize the beauty all around you in a short walk and see what it does for your mood.