Holding On To A Moment

None of us stand still, which is both a good thing and a bad thing.  We all have those perfect times, whether they’re a moment, a week, a month, or an event that we’d like to freeze forever and never let go.

I know that for some people, high school or college have their perfect moments, when they felt that all was right with the world.  While I did have some good times, I always felt out of place, as if I was trying to force myself to be something or someone I wasn’t.  I was known for being different, and not caring that I was different, and while that was true, of course there was a part of me that yearned to learn the secret that everyone else seemed to know.  Other people got invited to parties, talked to strangers, and laughed over stuff I didn’t find remotely funny.  I just didn’t get it.

For me, my moments of perfection mostly come in snatches of time.  I’m in my yard, birds are singing, and the air has a sweet hint of growing things.  I’m sitting in front of my laptop, and the writing goes well.  I’m in the bathtub, reading a book, and the water is the perfect temperature.  I’m hanging out with friends at a backyard BBQ, and for a little while, I know that I’m okay to be who I am.

I can’t freeze and hold those moments forever, and I probably wouldn’t appreciate them if I could.  What’s your perfect moment?

Photos and Real Life

I love taking pictures.  I annoy most people with how often I want to stop and take pictures.  When I go hiking, I could take my camera along every time.  There’s always something new to see, or something old to see in a different way.  I love taking pictures of people, but also the sky, a cactus, a flower, or just an interesting rock.

Facebook has allowed me to become a voyeur.  I steal my friends’ photos.  If they have a great wildlife picture, a great landscape, or just a cool picture of themselves or their child, I download it and keep it for my own.

My office has pictures and quotes hung everywhere.  On the walls, on the doors.  I’d have some on the floor if I didn’t have pets.  I don’t know what it is about pictures that moves me so.  Maybe it’s the same thing as writing a story.  In that moment, in that instant, I’m seeing something in a way that no one has ever seen before.

Photos never quite capture the reality.  When I look at a picture, there always seems to be something missing, which makes picture taking bittersweet.  On one hand, being able to capture the moment is so very important to me, even if I only capture a shadow of what I saw.  It’s a shame, though, because I’d like to be able to share that one perfect moment with others.  We can never capture perfection though, and maybe we never should.  Perhaps it’s the quest for perfection that makes us all continue to challenge ourselves, to learn, and grow.