WHAT LIES WITHIN

This morning I tried to convince the children to sleep in since it was Sunday and there was no school. My attempt was futile as they were wide awake. I don't blame them as they had five hours more sleep than I had.

“But I like school”, declared Cinnamon. I asked her why. “I don’t know”, she replied.

“I don’t”, proclaimed Sage about his dislike of school. I then asked him why and he replied, “I don’t like learning.”

I laughed but he was clearly not pleased with my response. "It's not funny," he sulked. I then asked him what he liked. I already knew the answer but wanted to give him a chance to voice his response. “Building”.

My boy also seems to take quite an interest in photographing the world around him. As we went on our afternoon photo hike, Sage asked me what I was photographing and then proceeded to replicate the shot with the indestructible kid camera purchased years ago. I'm still a bit hesitant to put a real point-and-shoot camera in their hands - a fear that was confirmed when Sage tripped later during our walk whilst holding the camera, two sticks, and a rock.

There were many objects of interest to photograph - as long as one took the time to appreciate the little things. The native grasses lining the walkway of a new townhome recently completed in the neighborhood were beautiful against the late afternoon light.

The wispy grass jutting out of a nearby rock swayed with the wind as we attempted to capture its loneliness.

The abandoned glass Coca-Cola bottle placed on top of a rock fence - most likely by one of the construction workers - stood out against the natural surroundings.

When you learn to appreciate the little things, your heart will lead your eyes to see much more than you believe is in front of you.

Even a seemingly boring rock wall can yield interesting results - especially when stripping colour to reveal intricacies. I told Cinnamon the wall would look interesting in black and white. She asked how one goes about changing the colour of things. I told her "on the computer".

The absence of colour in photographs has always been a fascination of mine. Pure emotions are more readily seen when the distraction of colour is removed.

When you have a colour as bold as red, your eyes are immediately drawn to the red object instead of the emotions that should be at the forefront. Colour, as many things in life, tends to divert attention from what truly lies within.