Actually see
Cyclamen brighten a gray January day in the Financial District of San Francisco, 2004.
“The beauty and mystery of this world only emerges through affection, attention, interest and compassion . . . open your eyes wide and actually see this world by attending to its colors, details and irony.” ― Orhan Pamuk
There’s a double blessing in opening our eyes to the world around us. Not only are we enriched by the joy and fascination of what we discover; we are also equipped, through our experiences, with greater resilience to weather our personal cares and sorrows. The world is full of wonders untainted by our individual misfortunes. Knowing this gives us perspective. As we pay attention, we store away mental treasures to enjoy when our immediate circumstances seem drab or discouraging.
Are there places you think of when you want a quick imaginary getaway? Mental snapshots of something lovely or memorable? Hold these gems close when winter closes in, and let them spark anticipation of what the year might bring. Feel free to share some of your favorite images that brighten cold or weary days.
One year ago today
This post was first published seven years ago today. The original post, comments and photo are linked, along with two other related posts, below. These links to related posts, and their thumbnail photos, do not appear in the blog feed; they are only visible when viewing the individual posts by clicking on each one. I have no idea why, nor do I know how they choose the related posts. That’s just the way WordPress does things.
- Posted in: Uncategorized
- Tagged: affection, beauty, cyclamen, interest, joy, mindfulness, observation, paying attention, winter
Defeat Despair 
Good morning, Julia!
I have been sorting through my folders of unsorted, downloaded photos from my phone. It has certainly been an adventure! I have so many sunrise photos that I am not even sure where I took some of them.
Susan, I have the same experience when I look back at my photos, whether the ones on the phone (that I increasingly use) or the actual camera (which still takes much better photos, IMO). I think this realization has caused me to take far fewer photos, but if I ever go back to writing new posts– something I’m considering when the daily ones run out in November and switch to twice weekly– I might start taking photos again, if only to publish here. Right now I think I’d do better to focus (no pun intended) on the ones I’ve already taken. There’s some sort of general life lesson in here somewhere…
Both revisiting older photos and seeking to create new photos are compelling efforts and are sure to bring new revelations. I look forward to exploring with you!