This 365 day challenge is, well... it's challenging! At first, I thought it would be fun to take a picture every day but after a few days, it started to get harder. I started to think that maybe people aren't really all that interested in seeing a picture of my life every day and its a little self-aggrandizing to think that they are. But then I remembered, that if they don't want to see it, they don't have to and for the most part I am trying to put pictures of beautiful things that make me happy. So how can that hurt anyone?
What I am realizing is that this a great challenge to help with creativity and with seeing the beauty in the world. When I was in Belize, where it is gorgeous and picturesque every day it isn't too hard; turn around and there is a photo opportunity. But today (and yesterday) I flew from Baltimore to Ethiopia. And when you are on a 13.5 hour flight and spend four hours in the airport on top of that, there aren't that many opportunities to take a picture. So it starts to make those creative muscles work, trying to think of something that you can take a picture of that isn't a selfie or a picture of food (both of which I am guilty of). Some days it is a bit of a loss, like today. I took a picture but it was just from my hotel room at sunset because I had slept for most of the day, completely ruining any chance I had of not having jet lag, and wasn't feeling up to wandering around the neighborhood trying to circumspectly take a photo of someone's food stand or something. But other days, instead of seeing something beautiful and thinking "oh, that's nice, I wish other people could see that" and going along on my way, I stop and I take a picture and I share it. Or, instead of focusing on all the ugly things there are in the world, I have to force myself to see the beauty in things. Or to focus on the things that make me happy so that I can capture those and share them.
Maybe it is self-aggrandizing and maybe no one in the whole huge internet universe really cares about another sunset I saw. But the fact that I made myself get out of bed so I could capture the gorgeous colors in the Addis sunset and appreciate the fact that there is beauty everywhere, even if I am too grouchy and jet lagged to want to see it,
made the challenge worth it today.
What I am realizing is that this a great challenge to help with creativity and with seeing the beauty in the world. When I was in Belize, where it is gorgeous and picturesque every day it isn't too hard; turn around and there is a photo opportunity. But today (and yesterday) I flew from Baltimore to Ethiopia. And when you are on a 13.5 hour flight and spend four hours in the airport on top of that, there aren't that many opportunities to take a picture. So it starts to make those creative muscles work, trying to think of something that you can take a picture of that isn't a selfie or a picture of food (both of which I am guilty of). Some days it is a bit of a loss, like today. I took a picture but it was just from my hotel room at sunset because I had slept for most of the day, completely ruining any chance I had of not having jet lag, and wasn't feeling up to wandering around the neighborhood trying to circumspectly take a photo of someone's food stand or something. But other days, instead of seeing something beautiful and thinking "oh, that's nice, I wish other people could see that" and going along on my way, I stop and I take a picture and I share it. Or, instead of focusing on all the ugly things there are in the world, I have to force myself to see the beauty in things. Or to focus on the things that make me happy so that I can capture those and share them.
Maybe it is self-aggrandizing and maybe no one in the whole huge internet universe really cares about another sunset I saw. But the fact that I made myself get out of bed so I could capture the gorgeous colors in the Addis sunset and appreciate the fact that there is beauty everywhere, even if I am too grouchy and jet lagged to want to see it,
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