“Keep good company, read good books, love good things and cultivate soul and body as faithfully as you can.”
- Louisa May Alcott
There is a calmness that is slowly starting to awaken within me as I back away from the overwhelming need to keep busy. This is not an easy task, and there are times throughout the day that I sit idle and stew. But I keep at it, doing my best to fill my life with good company, letting go of outside influences and listening to my own voice.
“Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.”
– George Eastman
If someone were to ask me how I decide what to take photos of I would tell them I leave it up to the light - for I am a chaser of light. It is what draws me in as it illuminates what is begging to be studied, captured, and appreciated.
As I sat and watched these birds at our back yard feeder, the afternoon sun provided the best backlighting. I am holding on to these beautiful sunlit days as I know the rain is on its way.
“Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better.”
— Albert Einstein
I can’t decide what I love more, the moodiness of a much needed rainy day, or the shadows and light of a day full of autumn crispness, sunshine and blue sky. Both are beautiful and worth noticing. Lately I have been out with my camera most days, trying to capture it all.
" A spell of that extraordinarily beautiful autumn weather that always takes us by surprise, when the low sunshine is warmer than in spring; when the air is pure and thin, everything sparkles enough to sting the eyes; when you breathe deep and feel refreshed, drinking in the fragrant autumn air; when the nights are warm, and on dark, warm nights like these golden stars startle or delight us by scattering themselves endlessly down the sky."
{War & Peace}
Yesterday’s walk was beautiful, making me wonder why I don’t do this walk more often, as it is so close to our home. These mid-October days are my favorite.
“In the middle of the night, things well up from the past that are not always cause for rejoicing--the unsolved, the painful encounters, the mistakes, the reasons for shame or woe. But all, good or bad, give me food for thought, food to grow on.”
― May Sarton, At Seventy: A Journal
Sunshine and morning dew are the perfect answer to a restless night and I get out early with my camera. Percy comes to play and the night time woes seem to vanish. We search for spider webs and eat the last of the summer popsicles on the deck after lunch.
“But memories are time beings, too, like cherry blossoms or ginkgo leaves; for a while they are beautiful, and then they fade and die.”
Ruth Ozeki, A Tale for the Time Being
I spend most of the day with Percy. We sit on the floor of the library and read until I hear his stomach growl. After lunch we play made up games with his toys. Three times he crawls up into my lap for unsolicited cuddles. He moves in close, snuggling his head into my neck and I vow to burn this day into my memory.
"It’s dark because you are trying too hard. Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly. Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply. Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them. So throw away your baggage and go forward. There are quicksands all about you, sucking at your feet, trying to suck you down into fear and self-pity and despair. That’s why you must walk so lightly. Lightly my darling..."
— Aldous Huxley (Island).
I find good advice in the quote above and see where it might be time to maybe lighten things up a bit. Enjoy more of life without wading through the questions every action and reaction may bring about. Lightly I tell myself over and over, hoping it just might sink in.