One of my favorite things about hiking is the invitation to focus on individual elements of the environment around me. It’s easier, at least to me, to see the big picture: the sunset horizon, the canopy of trees overhead. I might lose myself in thought as I walk, barely noticing the rocks and roots my feet are stepping over. When I slow down and look-really look-around, I see small delights everywhere.
The forest is dense with life here in the South. From ivy climbing up trees to a flock of wild turkeys, there’s almost too much to see. I stopped and took the time to really look at this branch, with new leaves, after a cloudburst that drenched everything in its path.
On a windswept beach in South Carolina, someone had placed this weathered and broken shell in the crack of a driftwood log. The two were a perfect fit: old and broken in different ways, combining to form a small artwork a beach variation on the Japanese art of wabi-sabi.
The flowers are blooming everywhere, it seems, and at times, the mass of them overwhelm me. How do I capture the riotous blooms of Spring in the South? I moved in closer and saw the delicate lines and petals of each individual blossom.
The more time I spend among forest and trees, by salt water and sand, the less I want to be in a city. I’m finding my new place in this world and it’s less urban than ever: I grew up in LA and I’ve lived in Manhattan, Boston, and Seattle. Maybe it’s time to stay out of the big hotspots and spend time in the smaller, calmer places.
I don’t know where this path will lead, but, honestly, I’ve never known five steps ahead in my life. For now, I’ll keep slowing down and taking a closer look at wherever I am, trying to look around more than I look forward to the next thing.
Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going to fast – you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.
Eddie Cantor
Interesting that different lives, in different geographic areas, who have never met, are on very similar paths.
I look around and see everyone rushing and racing through life while I take one slow step at a time. I realize this comes not only from a place of need but also of privilege. Having said that, most people I know, given the choice, would not give up much of the material “stuff “ that I have traded for time. I imagine it is the same for you.
Like you, I do a lot of (macro) photography — I live next to the Botanical gardens in Montreal and walk there almost daily — looking at everything around me with wonderful eyes and a camera in hand.
I also paint and print and spent as much time in my little camper van as I can! These are all forms of meditation for me. Life is so short and so meaningful — slowing down is the only way I have to really “see” it.
Cheers and meaningful travels (I didn’t say happy because I know they are not always.)
Donna Drury
(a kindred spirit)
The flowering shrub is Mountain Laurel. I love it, but tried to get it to grow in OK once without much luck. (To be fair, an armadillo kept digging it up!) It must not grow well here. I’ve never seen it in the wild & I’ve never seen it since at a nursery. So beautiful, though!!