In photography, we always aim to photograph the extraordinary. In fact, we would go places just to capture something special. Something of importance. Something rarely seen and eye catching.

Several weeks ago, we went to Raleigh to pick up our daughter who’s in Governor’s School. While waiting, these flowers in a big flower pot caught my attention. Not because it was eye catching. I took my camera out to focus on it and angled it in such a way that I was in awe of how it looked. Had I photographed the whole flower pot, it wouldn’t have looked as enticing. In fact, you probably wouldn’t even take a second look as there’s just nothing special about it.

But then, if you look at a different angle and focus at a particular spot, the outcome is totally different. You start to see something special about it. Such is life. Everything depends on how we look at it, what angle we concentrate on and where we put our focus.

I am going to ask you now, the first time you looked at the flower, what was the first thing you noticed? Where was your focus at? Did you notice the dark spots or the web like strings on top? Or was it the vibrant colors? Maybe you didn’t pay that much attention to the details? Perhaps, you didn’t see anything worth admiring at all.

Can you imagine how many times in our life a moment passes us by? How many times an opportunity to inspire someone, to just love, to be kind, to be forgiving, to be grateful, to enjoy the moment and just feel our existence elude us just because we are looking at a different angle and focusing at the wrong spot?

I’ve done it many times. And I’m pretty sure, there will be times that I am going to do it again. But, I am learning and doing my best to find the best angle and find the right focus. I’ve learned that we may waste so much time looking at the wrong angle, but it’s never too late to find the right focus.

And even if we do – life, setbacks, disappointments, uncertainties and some people will always have a way of making us miss that focus. But, we can always re-focus and find the best angle….you know, kind of like taking selfies?

xoxo,