Beauty is Anywhere

Maybe I’m just an optimist. Maybe I just see what I like to see. The rose-colored glasses and all that. But I see beauty in places where others don’t. Maybe I just take the time to do it, to appreciate it, to try to hold onto that moment for just a little bit longer. Maybe I have a different definition of beauty.

I’m fascinated by the snow. Maybe even the cold. Growing up in a warm place, we didn’t have snow. We didn’t even have cold. There were snowflakes on the hood of the car this morning. They’re probably not even technically snowflakes but some sort of frozen ice/water/air structure that I’m not going to bother to look up. It was icy and it was pretty and I always wonder how nature makes these crazy complex structures–with a bit of water and a car hood.

I didn’t set up my tripod and wait for the light to be just right. I don’t actually have a tripod. But I found a good angle and got my iPhone and got up close and played with different angles and the sun. I could do this for hours. I got a shot where I can’t really tell if it’s the blue sky or my blue car. You can see the silhouette of the trees. I could imagine it blown up huge and above the mantle at a restaurant in Tahoe City.

Part of the beauty is probably the atmosphere of the day. It was the first ski day of the season and it was a stunner. Lots more photos of trees and snow and ice. My kids were happy and my wife doesn’t get much happier than when she’s on the slopes. So my snowflakes on the hood are that much more beautiful because they’re part of an overall collage of the day. Maybe. Maybe I just like them.

I shouldn’t say “Maybe I’m an optimist.” I should come clean and admit it straight away: I am an optimist. I see beauty all around me. I also am known to take lots of photos of “nothing” and enjoy them. It often happens that my family has to wait for me to get the right angle. I’ll get heckled and razzed and I smile as I secretly enjoy it. I get my shot and might check that it worked. Maybe just take a few more real quick.

Maybe I do have a different definition of beauty. Maybe that’s OK. Maybe that’s a good thing. It makes me happy. I’ll take it.