To anyone who may be reading, this first post might be a little rough, but I promise I'll try to make them better as this blog grows! This particular subject that I want to talk about has been on my mind for way too long. I think there should be some sort of time limit for certain thoughts of our choice that bounce around up there, acting like one of those annoying flys that seems to never be able to simply go away without some sort of force being involved. However, I wouldn't classify this thought to be quite at that level of annoyance. More than anything, I consider it somewhat intriguing, and potentially worth a significant amount of contemplation by someone other than an immature sixteen-year-old girl. But that's just MY opinion.
This reoccuring thought is that of our world, and the view of the 'simple things' in it, to everyday people. I've lately found myself looking at these classified 'simple things' with an amount of interest that I rarely show to anything. For example, I enjoy watching snow falling. For starters, any readers out there should know that I live in the South, so snow is a huge deal here when it actually falls. I can count the number of times I've witnessed snow falling on one hand. But, I digress, back to my point. It's just pretty right? Well yes, but why do we view it that way? It's a perfectly simple occurance. Snow is just glorified water, or to be more accurate, a form of frozen water. Whoop-dee-do. Plus, it isn't even a color or more attractive to the eye than anything else. So why do some people understand it to be beautiful, pure, and in some cases even magical? Who knows. The human race has been known to be pretty darn weird to say the least. But it does prove the point that universally 'simple' things can in fact be made complex and often more beautiful than something that is initially seen as intricate.
I think photographers understand this concept of 'simple but complex' better than anyone else. The knowledgable ones can make something as basic as a pile of bricks in a field look stunning and worthy of being cataloged in our minds and remembered at later dates when prompted. They can make anything, and I mean ANYTHING, worth looking at for more than just a few seconds. Through studying some of these photographs, I have come to better understand that everything in this world has its own beauty and sophistication. Now I can walk in my own backyard and find a random leaf lying on the porch, swathed with dappled sunlight from and overhanging tree, and see the majesty there. This might seem far-fetched I know, but if we simply take in the process of which these things were made, we can understand that yes, they are in fact elegant and delightful in their own way. Anything that God took the time to craft for the world, must be somehow special.
So, I encourage anyone reading this to go out and test my theory themselves. Take the time to really look at what surrounds us, for it is not by chance that what is here, is here. The simple things in life are in fact turning out to be the most memorable and the most enjoyable to me. A sunrise or sunset, a bird ushering in the dawn with its always joyful voice, the skeleton of a house in a field overcome by Mother nature, the changing of the leaves on the trees from vibrant green to deep hues of gold, crimson, and tangerine. Just nature and stuff right? All these things happen everyday, every year. No. These things are in fact the highest level of sophistication. Humanity as a whole (including myself) just hasn't begun to fully grasp that concept yet. Hopefully though, we will soon enough.
"The ordinary arts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest." - Thomas More
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