Fresh Eyes
"The real voyage of discovery consists
not in seeking new landscapes,
but in having new eyes"
~ Marcel Proust, French novelist
I love hiking. I love hiking with my camera even more! The reason for this, is that when I slow down and get outside with no agenda other than to appreciate my surroundings, I can't take but a few steps without being struck by the beauty of something around me. As my husband and close friends will attest, I must stop to take a picture every few minutes! I find such loveliness in the details and intricacies of nature, revealed when you take the time to lean in for closer inspection and investigation.
I realize that this has less to do with my actual surroundings and more to do with how I see my surroundings when I am in a certain frame of mind. We're so busy in our day-to-day lives - we're always moving from one thing to the next, always on our way somewhere or ticking something off our to-do lists. The sad thing about all this rushing around and goal-oriented activity is that we can easily lose our sense of wonder and awe about what is all around us. I'm talking about the way young children look at things, with a sense of imagination, appreciation, discovery and curiosity. That is what I feel when I am out hiking - like I am seeing everything around me differently. It isn't that I haven't seen the same things before somewhere, it's as if I have been given a new set of eyes and I am noticing these same things in a whole new way, from a fresh perspective.
We don't have to journey far off to exotic locations to see with fresh eyes - we simply have to take a moment to close our eyes, set an intention to REALLY notice, and open them again with that intention in mind. I challenge you to try it wherever you may find yourself today!
