Look around you. Look up here.Take time to make time, make time to be there… Great words from The Little River Band. I always wonder what people see when they look at things. What do they see when they look at me? I know, you’re thinking: They see a handsome, talented, well-spoken guy. Even though that’s probably true, I wonder what people see. Surely some people see things that others do not. Even if they happen to be looking at the same thing.
Have you ever been to a museum or an art exhibit? I find it fascinating when people looking at the same artwork describe what they are viewing and see totally different things. Not to go off on a tangent, but why is it called artwork anyway? Art is so much fun to make and people who do it love it. So, how can it be work? Curious?
I shoot a lot of photography. No, I’m not a professional, but I did save a lot of money with Geico Insurance. I shoot photography because I love it. It excites me. It expands my thought process and imagination. I strive to capture the wonderful images I see because I want to enjoy and remember them later, and because I wish to share with others. It’s a passion. Much like people, the camera sometimes see things I don’t see. Oh sure, the camera and I are looking right at the same thing, but sometimes what is recorded is totally different. For example, the image above is not at all what I saw when I released the camera shutter. Interesting! Was the camera telling me something? Was the universe speaking to me? I don’t know.
Lately, after swimming with the my dogs (yes, they swim better than I do), I find myself floating on my back. My ears are under water so I hear nothing. The water takes me where it may. It’s pretty Zen, except when I’m smoking a cigar. That would be a Kinky Friedman Cigar – The finest cigar in Texas. I like to watch the clouds. Sometimes they float around like I do in the water. Sometimes they stand still. I always try to see the cloud for what it is. Last night, I saw a fish, a mans head, and Donald Duck. Walt Disney would have been proud. Maybe my dogs saw something else while cloud watching. I’m pretty sure they saw squirrels and pizza, but that’s sheer speculation on my part.
This is also one of the reasons I wrote a beautifully illustrated children’s picture book. Children should be allowed and even encouraged to use their imaginations. In Monsters In My Yard, a young boy sees things, but lets his imagination run wild. It is a lot of fun and I especially love being invited to read to classrooms of children. Kids are great and I love when they think outside of the box. It’s funny because they often see very different things while looking at the very same thing. Fascinating!
So, what do you see? Are you able to see beyond the obvious? Do you notice things others don’t? Does your imagination take you away? Does it run wild and free? Oh, I hope so. Because there is where excitement resides. Try it. Open you eyes and your mind. Don’t be afraid of being different. Don’t be afraid of standing out. It’s a good thing. Really!
The image above? I’m not going to tell you what it truly was. You tell me.
