Looking beyond the surface...

I've had this post percolating in my mind for a few weeks. The thought is this...What do we look at all the time but never actually take the time to see? I'm in a photography class this semester and the other day our lecture addressed this issue in regards to taking pictures. My prof talked about how we go through life looking at things from eye level. How would it change if we looked from down low or up high? Now while she was talking about our physical world I think that statement could be applied to other aspects of life as well.

This weekend my family and Wyatt went to Brady to celebrate my grandmothers birthday. She turned 84 and we decided (actually I think Sara and Jonathan decided) to put ALL 84 candles on her cake! Let's just says that lighting them all was quite the experience and I came away from it with singed hair and a great memory ;)

After lunch and cake all us kids decided to go hiking. Now you must remember that winter in Texas just means that everything is brown and dry. All the nice landscape scenes are rather bland and ugly.... or so I thought. That day in my photography class my prof quoted a poster she has hanging in her office that says "We don't need new landscapes, we need new eyes." That thought really struck me and I thought of it again as we were hiking. As we started the hike and even before as I had driven to the ranch I noticed how bare, brown, dry and rather non attractive everything looked.

Sara looking out

We decided to hike around the rim rock and find a good place to turn down into the canyon to hike to the bottom and then were planning to hike back up another canyon to where the prayer blind sits. As we hiked along we never found a place that was clear enough to hike down easily so we finally just decided to bulldoze through the brush and boulders and make an adventure out of it. The minute we turned down the mountain and got into the brush I noticed how everything was suddenly different. While when looking at the landscape from the top it looked dusty and colorless once you got into it it was full of color and beauty. The orange and red fall leaves carpeted the ground. The trees added texture to color with their differing cloaks of bark. There was mistletoe and algeritia adding green to the mix. The boulders and trees created an intriguing and mysterious trail affect. I don't know it just made me start thinking about how much I would have missed had I not gotten into the landscape. It also made me start wondering how often we do that with people. We see them a certain way and never take the time to look beyond the surface at qualities or attributes that are hidden beneath the surface. This could go the other way as well. We often look at people who are beautiful or talented on the outside and don't notice the shallow or immature character of the inside.

I also thought about people who I've known forever but don't actually really know. Ya know like those people you've worked with for years, or gone to church with or whatever. Have I, as a person, gotten to where I just see the same landscape and never get to know who they really are inside?

Here's another thought...Life is all about perspective, right?! Most pictures or snapshots people take are from eye level but what happens when you decide to get a shot from a new angle. Often pictures can be created that are very captivating or just simply eye catching. I liked both of these pics a lot.

Wyatt

Looking at Porcupines

Again something that can be demonstrated with the physical is often a much deeper truth. What parts of my life do I need to look at from a new angle? How can I choose to veiw my life and who I am that will enable me to see God working in a way I've never seen before? I don't know but its something to ponder...