Focus:  noun-1. a central point, as of attraction, attention, or activity

                verb-8.  to concentrate: to focus one’s thoughts

I was looking through some pictures this morning and the thought came to me that  some of the things I was looking at seemed nicer, prettier, more colorful, etc. in a picture than how I remembered them in real life.  Why is this?  They seem to just jump out at me, saying “Hey, look at me, I’m exquisite!  Look at my shape, my colors, I stand out in a crowd”.  And yes, it was all true, I was noticing their shape, their colors were beautiful, they did stand out. I would love to think it was my “mad skills” at photography,  more likely my beloved Nikon!  But, No!  It’s more than that. I think that zooming in on something, taking it out of all of its surrounding, to focus on just the beauty it holds on its own, magnifies what was there all along.  It isn’t that it became more extraordinary in the photo, but by capturing its beauty and viewing it later, out of its element, we can see its “stand alone”  delightfulness.   Appreciating each asset it holds.

         Life is like this.  We can tend to get so caught up in the big picture of every day life and where we’re going, what we’re doing , that we miss the beauty of the here and now. We look at the whole garden and its beauty altogether, or we see the weeds and miss the overall charm.  But regardless, we rarely take notice of the individual uniqueness of each flower.  Each moment.  Each person in our lives.  What they add, what they give, how they add to our bigger picture, our garden.

          I pray for the ability to remember to savor each moment, each relationship and not gulp my way through life missing the small but most precious gifts of life.

           If  beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder, let us not forget to “behold”!