I love my town. It’s home. But I’ve never once photographed it. Not even with an iPhone. Why? There’s nothing interesting here! I don’t see any interesting buildings or streets or people. No monuments, no beautiful flower shops, no pretty fountains, no Paris, and no New York. Sometimes I even catch myself saying I need to go back to New York for some more photos. Then I realized that, in a way, I am just doing what everyone is doing; telling the same story as everyone else. I’ve been looking for other cities in my town, when my town has its own unique story to tell. And by doing this, I’ve been missing out on the beautiful story that resides here. It’s no shock that my favorite city is Paris, living in Paris was life changing: the culture, the people, and the adventures, what’s not to love? But I had to accept that, at the moment, my story is here, and it will be a shame to miss out on it while I’m here just because I’m waiting for some place more magical. The same applies to every aspect of our lives, everything that happens to you is essential for your growth: you either embrace it or overcome it, but you don’t ignore it because it’s a part of your story and one day this story will inspire someone else.
This summer I made it a point to get out of the corner that I put myself in. I opened my eyes and my heart and decided to enjoy every little blessing of life that came my way. I stopped feeling sorry for myself and started trying to make the best out of every moment. I decided to let go and let God have His way. I learned to be patient. A friend asked me why I have been so positive with my outlook lately, and I said, “It helps me pass the time way better than moping ever will.” You can either be positive while you wait for things to get better or negative, either way you will wait, so pick the right pastime! I also realized I didn’t always have to create my own happiness; sometimes I just needed to take my eyes off the negative and on to the bright side. Count your blessings.
The Here and Now Challenge
When you go searching for photographs, you will find just that, a photograph. However when you go out with your eyes and heart open to see, you will not only find beauty, you will fall in love.
So here’s to my town and getting to know and photograph it in a new project I’ve started called The here and now challenge which will be featured on my website. Of course this does not mean goodbye to the posts about France and other countries. I’m doing this as an exercise to help me love the moments I’m blessed with and, most of all, to write my own story. I can’t wait to see what God has in store without my buts and what ifs!
Try this challenge with me! Pick one aspect of your life you feel is ordinary or uninteresting. For the next 30 days get to know it: It can be through writing about it or photographing it. The goal is to find its beauty, and in that, I hope it will help you to appreciate life even more! So what shall it be?