Most of us live our lives hoping that “something wonderful” would happen to us but if they don't come, we can always turn to the smaller stuff.
Photo by blueskyandhardrock
Whether we want admit it to ourselves or not, most of us live our lives hoping that “something wonderful” will happen to us. You know what I’m talking about – that one defining, extraordinary moment or event that makes up for all the bad stuff we’ve endured in our lives.
The thing is, that wonderful something that we dream would happen to us one day rarely ever comes. Or at least, it doesn’t necessarily come for all of us and if it does, it usually happens to somebody else. And even if that “something wonderful” does happen to us, it’s not actually forever.
I am not saying this to burst anyone’s bubble or put a damper on things. I’m just saying this because it’s true. Not all of us can have that shining Kelly-Clarkson-singing-A-Moment-Like-This moment. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. That’s just reality. That’s just life.
I’ve had something wonderful happen to me before. I was ready to give everything up just to keep it. But it was one of those something wonderfuls that did not last; it was heartbreaking for me to watch it slowly slip out of my grasp but nothing I did changed what was already inevitable.
Photo by blueskyandhardrock
So these days, I keep my expectations to my minimum, which I think helps a lot. I hope for the best and expect the worst; this way, when the best does happen, it feels amazing and when the worst comes, it doesn’t feel as bad.
Photo by blueskyandhardrock
These days, I happily dwell on the small stuff; you know, stuff like seeing both ends of a double rainbow while driving through heavy traffic or having a hummingbird hover behind you for one full minute, checking to see if you’re made of pollen. Or, even taking a chance on a rare, completely unheard of film on eBay and then finding out that it’s one of the best decisions you’ve ever made!
Photo by blueskyandhardrock
Photo by blueskyandhardrock
Photo by blueskyandhardrock
I call these the mini wonderfuls. They’re nothing life altering, nothing defining; but they’ll definitely make your day just a little brighter. And the best thing about them is, you won’t have to work as hard to make them happen. They’ll come to you.
You just have look closer.
Photo by blueskyandhardrock
Inspired by that rare, and as it turns out gorgeous, Agfachrome 50L film from eBay that I took a chance on. All shots in this article were shot with it. All shots were taken in Los Angeles.
All photographs by Michelle Rae. She lives, breathes, and haunts in the City of Angeles.
11 comments
kneehigh85
Rule #32 Enjoy the little things. I always do this!
blueskyandhardrock
@kneehigh85 amen! if you can't appreciate the small things, you'll be thoroughly disappointed your entire life. :D
vicuna
greatly written (as usual) and as you can imagine, I only can agree with you!
think that too many people conceive "happiness" as "something" you can grab and hold (or at least pretend to) but in fact it's only a "state of mind", how you perceive and see things. And as it's not something definitive, you must always be sensitive enough to feel these "mini wonderfuls" (love that expression, it's perfect!) to have this state of happiness.... And it's also true that we aren't (and can't, in my opinion) be permanently happy: sadness and other "unhappy" situations are in our life too, and necessary to appreciate happiness...
I think that we lomographers, have this state of mind to look always for "mini wonderfuls" and capture them on film. Sometimes the result is fantastic, above all our expectations, sometimes it's disappointing... and that's real analogue life! :)
blueskyandhardrock
@vicuna well said my friend. I completely agree with what you said. it's definitely pointless to live your life looking or waiting for that which cannot exist in permanence; if you do, then you'll completely miss life itself and you'll forget to actually live. and you are totally right about how sad and disappointing parts are necessary because without them, we won't appreciate the good ones.
Thanks for your thoughts my dear friend (and my master ;))
walasiteodito
inspiring shots :)
ohlordy
great words and images as always, love your work!
emilios
nice!
blueskyandhardrock
@walasiteodito @ohlordy @emilios thank you guys!!!
neanderthalis
Well done! Sometimes I spend so much time waiting for something big, I do not realize those truly special moments till after the fact. It is nice to be reminded to stay in the present and enjoy what I have.
blueskyandhardrock
@neanderthalis i think most of us do, it's human habit
dida
your words make your photos look even more beautiful <3