Tuesday
Feb232010
This Moment
February 23, 2010 * * * * * Posted by: guest blogger 
It just happened to me.
I had been procrastinating on the topic for today's post and, although I had something in mind, I dropped it to begin writing about something entirely different. I had two paragraphs completed and it didn't feel right. So I got up, padded over to my living room window and this is what I saw. It's foggy today -- I love the fog -- but the sun, just now when I stepped in front of my window, was diligently burning through the fog. I grabbed my camera and shot what caught my attention. It's nothing special, has no meaning to anyone, but that ordinary scene called me to capture the moment. Believe it or not, what I had originally planned to write about was seeing the beauty in the ordinary moments -- like this one.
My confession is that you don't have my undivided attention -- I just took another break from my computer because I could see the sun hitting the wall beside me and I wanted to see how things had changed beyond my living room window. Absolutely everything that is visible is entirely coated with a thick layer of hoar frost and the sun has made its way through the ice fog and there is such a glow to everything. Even the line of trees across the hayfield are becoming visible, white as they are.
I'm so fascinated with the ordinary. Even this photo may not be as brilliant or intriguing to others eyes and sensibilities. I didn't even bother to enhance it with post processing. Perhaps the flamboyant Amaryllis that is showing off on my kitchen table may be a more appealing subject to some. Though I love flashy flowers and vast awe-inspiring landscapes, I find such delight and interest in simple ordinary things. I could have chosen to share one of the photos I took when I looked outside the second time. There is contrast, brilliance, and more sparkle. But no, instead I'm sharing what caught my attention the first time. Life's sweet ordinary.
Show me your sweet ordinary by leaving a link and I'll come and admire it with you.
Reader Comments (17)
morning diane, well..from my hot, humid and rather overcast day (long rains are going to arrive early i think) your image is a 'breath of fresh air'...literally. i love the crispy silhouettes of the flowers in the foreground. It's a very beautiful "ordinary" :)
Ordinary moments are the best, aren't they? I love your photo (and words, too) - simple, honest, beautiful.
Your words are very well-taken, Diane, because they are a reminder that this moment is all that we have...and more often than not it IS ordinary! If we were more satified with the ordinary, maybe we would be happier and more stress-free?
Love how you've captured the simplicity...the magic..the perfection of this moment. And then shown us how 'this' moment is everchanging. Love both your words and your image!!!
Thank you for reminding us how beautiful the ordinary is. I am going to try to remember that more as I keep looking for that "one" shot. Here's one that I think is ordinary for the average city dweller but not so average for someone who lives in the suburbs like me.
http://lifesignatures.org/wordpress/2010/02/february-18-urban-chic/
After recently moving to our new home I have been drawn to the spectacular sunrise and sunset views more visible in this home. I run to my husband's office window nearly every morning and snap off a shot. Often times the neighbor's house or car is in the photo as is the ragged tree line cluttered with construction debris. Most of the images I probably wouldn't share with anyone else because the view is not a grand vista or beautiful landscape...BUT these little snaps are my way of noticing and recording the ordinary (but beautiful) views outside my window.
Oh...and don't you just LOVE hoar frost!!!!! :) The only time I've been fortunate enough to be totally surrounded by the frozen fog and hoar frost was when I was in Illinois visiting my dad a couple of years ago. I grabbed my camera, threw on a coat over my pjs, and quickly became lost in the winter wonderland!
Thanks for sharing today. Like you, I love "Life's sweet ordinary."
the light is fabulous in the photo but i can still feel the frost, imagine the sharp slap of cold that awaits your first step outside. the ordinary things are often delights in disguise.
My photo today is ordinary, I just needed a little snow to enhance my post. Thank you for reminding me that it is indeed something special!
http://www.soeursdujour.com
I love you picture, far from ordinairy to mee.
here is my everyday-ordinairy shot http://pobsb.my-expressions.com/archives/9414_1315114605/323874
I like your idea of "life's sweet ordinary." Photography is a new passion for me, and what I'm finding is that looking through the lens turns so much of ordinary life into things of beauty.
Another thing I've discovered through blogging is that one person's ordinary every day scene would be spectacular for someone else. The mountains around me sometimes seem ordinary because we see them every day. But they truly are magnificent.
http://www.ayearofhappy.com/2010/01/home-to-me.html
One person's ordinary is another person's spectacular. How many times do we miss those wonderful, ordinary miracles because we are drawn by the things that are loud and showy? Farmergal
Diane. I love the idea behind this post. Ordinary made to be meaningful. We need to step back from our busy lives and live in the everyday settings that are presented to us at every corner. I have chosen an image in my link that I feel relates to your post.
Have a great day!
I don't think the picture is ordinary at all! Such beautiful hoar frost - a gift from mother nature. Photography has allowed me to find and see the beautiful in the ordinary. Sharing that is the greatest gift.
Something ordinary from my collection - just an ordinary table top.
http://shirleybehindthelens.blogspot.com/2010/02/sooc-saturday-mosaic-tiles.html
Diane, my first reaction was that the photograph was beautiful, and its pleasing to know it hasn't been retouched in any way. I am a Northern person, and I love how snow changes the landscape,and especially how hoar frost decorates with icy lace.
I'm all for moments! And appreciate that you offered to share this one. I heard an expression the other...'the spacious present' which describes this sort of thing perfectly. You may know it - apparently it's from the Seth Material.
I love life's sweet ordinary too :-) One of my favourite ordinary things is the sky at night in the summer. When I'm at the cottage, I go down to the dock every night before bed and look up at the stars in the sky. The longer I look, the more I can see the layers upon layers of stars. An ordinary night sky becomes this awesome twinkling indigo blue canvas.
Isn't it funny how we can set out to do something we planned to do, but then get inspired to do something completely different... it really is a matter of what just feels right at that moment.
Kelly
That's a charming essay and photo. I really like observing the creative process...how you can have one thing in mind but the final product often takes an entirely different twist.
I can see why you would stop and take a photo of the snow outside your window – it is a winner. When I joined Buddhism when I lived in San Francisco (now I only follow the philosophy I don’t attend meetings) it taught me to live “in the moment.” I have 3 little bottles of different colors by my window and I sometimes will stay a long time looking at the sun reflecting through them. Or I’ll watch a spider make a web between some leaves. I can just stay like that for a while watching how a dead leaf is swaying in the wind and enjoy it. So many people are always busy, or feel they have to be. There is so much joy in just being, feeling, watching, seeing – this moment.