Focus

Things That Went Right Today:

1) Pirates of the Carribean...great movie
2) Jillian Michaels 30 day shred...ouch...but in a good way
3) Starting work on a book with my son.

My son is a talented photographer. He has the tools and expertise necessary to take an ordinary scene and focus your attention on one single aspect of it, like in the photo above. He's tried to explain to me how to do it. I've heard words like aperture and exposure etc, but I still have no idea how to take anything but a regular picture.  Ryan's practiced eye sees things differently than mine though.  I would have looked down at the view and seen a bunch of kids running around campus. But he saw one thoughtful young girl trying to have a peaceful moment in a sea of chaos. He wanted others to see what he saw, so he honed in on just her. So even though the rest of the people in the picture are still visible and remain present, our focus is only on the girl in the pink...wondering what she is thinking or feeling. The story is about her alone. The rest became background only. A photographer's ability to capture a vision like this comes from study, patience, having the right equipment and most of all from practice.  Trying various techniques over and over until you figure out what works and what doesn't. Until creating great shots becomes almost instinctual.

The focus feature on my life's internal lens is thankfulness. It is the tool I use to take the craziness of life and zoom in on the parts I choose to pay the most attention to. Doing this doesn't make problems go away or mean that you ignore them. They are still there as background and are dealt with as needed. But it helps me draw out the beautiful and wonderful things contained in each day. Fade out the rest somewhat and see with different eyes. Just like photography, this takes patience and practice. At first this lifestyle can feel a little forced or awkward if you are accustomed to the negative ruling your emotions. It requires a conscious effort to retrain our vision until it becomes habitual to allow the happiness and gratitude in. The more you do it, the more natural it will feel. The easier it will be to get back on track if you have a hard day. You'll see the good in things more readily and frequently.  And you'll be more capable of conveying that vision to the people you come in contact with as well.

My challenge to all of us this week, including myself, is to think in your mind's eye of a photo lens and try to capture a new vision of whatever is happening around you. Focus in on the blessings or positive aspects of any situation and see how much better you feel.