Fight or Flight

I go on a walk every morning. Many of these walks have been spent with me looking down at my phone trying to catch up on work emails or browsing social media. I never seem to expect much out of them, except burning a few extra calories throughout my day. But this day changed it all for me. It was late March, beautiful weather with the Sun welcoming spring after the February rains. I took my camera out, excited to have finally gotten the lens I spent months raising the funds for. My lens allowed me to zoom a little further than my eyes could; I was ready to discover a new world I had overlooked all along. The first few minutes were a little disheartening as I thought to myself "what am I even supposed to capture in such a plain neighborhood? Photographers travel to extreme lengths to capture remarkable photos and all I have is a few trees, some streetlights, and birds that I hear but can't even reach." I finally caught a squirrel on sight, it almost seemed as it was posing for me with a nut in its mouth. I pointed my camera as fast as I could and took the shot! To my surprise, the squirrel did not even flinch. Not sure if it was his way of trying to camouflage and avoid my presence or if he really enjoyed the attention? Excited about the photo I captured of his cute little face, I continued my walk opening my eyes more to what was around. I stumbled across this water fountain; it was empty. As I was looking around to capture something a bit more exciting, I noticed birds gravitating towards it. There were birds chirping at each other, taking turns to bathe, arguing, loving, and all sorts of endless interactions. I took many photos of the scene, so excited to be able to observe them closely. My favorite was this photo above. It really captured the hustle and bustle of a bird's world, one that we blindly walk by every day. I hope it shows us that there is so much inspiration even within our daily routine. I hope it inspires others to put their phone down, look up, and take a deep breath. I hope it allows us to acknowledge that even the little things in life can make the biggest difference. I do wish I could travel more and go to extremes to capture epic scenes. And I do hope to inspire those who want to do the same, or even go out and explore for their own. But there is so much the world has to offer within our everyday lives, and I realize that it is ok to start with the smaller things. Sometimes jumping to greater lengths makes you forget the beauty that lies within the start of the process. I know I am going off topic and this is only a photo of two birds bathing, but it’s a photo that helped me realize that there is so much more to life than just fame and success. Sometimes the beauty lies in our failures. Sometimes it lies in the slow and steady start filled with mistakes or repetitive days of trial and error. It is these days that we should cherish as our experienced self in the future will be composed of them. Every little thing we do now will reflect on who we are in the future. There are no shortcuts to success, as success should develop through days of gratitude, accomplishments, failures, excitement and so much more. And why would anyone try to avoid the beauty that comes with the process. So, I’ll leave you to that. I hope this photo reminds you of the endless possibilities and encourages you to be the creative you are.