In recent years, Marlene and I have been walking a great many paths like the one in the picture. Marlene is usually looking and listening for birds while I am constantly scanning for any thing visually interesting to capture with my camera. My constantly turning head waits for something to catch my eye. When nothing presents itself I look a little further ahead. When that fails, I look further down the trail. If there is a bend in the trail, I feel a little resentment. I cannot photograph what I cannot see. The bends in the trail get in the way.
In our daily lives, we often resent the twists and turns in life that keep us from seeing the future. We cannot prepare for the things that lay “just around the bend.” We struggle with the uncertainty that presents itself with a bend in the trail. We may cope with our anxiety over the future by rushing ahead, hurrying to get there. We may start making up all kinds of things that “might” be around the bend make choices based solely on our fears or hopes. Worst of all, we may become so weary of the feelings of anxiety or dread that we give up and turn around or sit down in the path and bury our head in the leaves. Living with the twists and turns of our daily lives can be very hard. But it can also fill our lives with something wonderful.
After walking hundreds of these trails, I have started to figure something out. (I never claimed to be a fast learner!) “Just around the bend” is a wonderful place as long as it does not distract us from being present to the part of the trail that we are on. My photography mentor used to say that a great photographer can find an interesting picture even if he is standing alone in the middle of a desert surrounded by nothing but sand. The image is not in the world, but in the heart of the photographer. When I spent my time worrying about “Just beyond the bend” I miss the images that literally are at my feet.
The place around the bend I can be a trigger for anticipation and perhaps a little fear. It can stir our souls and wake us up to the wonder and mystery of the unknown. But it cannot compare to “seeing” the world around us and being filled with the wonder and awe of being in that unique place and time. By focusing our attention on the shadows beyond the bend, we may miss the dance of light on the ground before us. We may miss the tiny points of blue sky coming through the trees. We may miss the symphony of color that is being played out before your very eyes. Enjoy the present. Whatever lays “just around the bend” will be there when we get to it!
Bob