Sage Advice

I met a total stranger this week who was trying to take a photograph. It doesn't sound very interesting on the face of it I'll admit, but it was. We took the time on an overcast winter's day to talk about it, the light, the movement in the image, the composition which makes for a good picture, the setting required for the light, the contrast and why shadows on a sunny day cause such problems! I was told quite candidly
"So many people just look, but they don't see"
Which got me to thinking how right this was as an observation on life as a whole. We don't notice subtle nuances because we are in too much of a hurry, we don't appreciate what is in front of us because it has become commonplace or we just don't bother to observe the textures, colours and movement because we take it all for granted.
Ask yourself, when did you last look closely at a birds feathers and the way the light hits its plumage, even apparently dull birds like starlings have an iridescent quality like oil on water which is staggeringly beautiful and produce a myriad of colours if you truly look and yet they appear a muddy brown if one only glances. Have you noticed how an animal's coat is made of mixtures of different coloured hairs, even a white coat is full of greys and yellows or even the odd black hair if you look! Have you observed the way the world is reflected upside down in a raindrop suspended on a branch before it drops to the floor? Have you noticed how many colours are visible in the pebbles on a stream bed or how many different shapes and types of lichen grow on a tree? Have you watched a sunset reflected in the glass of a tall building? Have you made a note of the cracks in the pavement beneath your feet and the shapes they create, or perhaps the paint peeling on a railing revealing its past life and previous colours? No? The highlights in a loved ones eye, the colours in their hair, the texture of their skin? Perhaps you should! If you start to truly look around you the commonplace becomes extraordinary, it's just like viewing a new world through a child's eyes or experiencing what you thought you knew like an explorer visiting a wilderness for the first time! Try for yourself! I guarantee it will amaze you.
So a chance meeting with a fascinating stranger who enthused about a hobby and the world at large opened my eyes again. I've passed it on. It's up to you what you choose to do with it!