Slow down to see the simple things

August 21, 2006

I need to mow the lawn. I would love to go for a long bike ride. The car has a weird noise. Should I pay this bill now or later? My daughter has swimming lessons this week. These are the small issues that litter my mind every day. I could add the big ones such as: Where I am going in life? Am I a good father/husband/citizen? Why do I exist? Do I exist?

Well, you get the point.

Spending time in Scotland, away from my "regular life," allowed me to look at the simple things around me. What a luxury! While there, I photographed this fence. I found the interplay of the wire's undulating wave and the horizon's straight line to be musical. At that moment, it was a perfect arrangement that humans and nature had conspired to produce. Am I an accomplice for noticing? And more important, would I have noticed if I had had a bill to pay, a bike ride to take, or a lawn to mow?

I like to think that all of us have the potential to go away and bring something beautiful back. The more talented among us don't even have to travel!