For the past 6 years I have been learning to look and see outside of the box, observing my surroundings and taking in what is before me. That being said what I am experiencing right now is the smell of the fresh crisp morning sea air that is filling my lungs with each breath I take, and the seemingly invisible mist of water that is resting on my skin, The morning  silence has been broken by the voices of numerous sea gulls that are hovering above talking back and forth in their in-obtainable language.  I wonder just what are they saying to each other.

This city like many other cities is now waking up as the new day begins, all walks of life are up doing this and that and starting the day on their own personal mission.  Some that have slept in are now running late, turning their morning into a crazy unorganized frenzy of just trying to get out the door on time.  Other early risers that did made it out the door on time are patiently standing in the long and seemingly never shrinking line waiting to get their first cup of their favourite morning brew.

On this morning’s walk  though the old downtown core of Victoria I  have passed by a few early rising street sleepers who are just setting up at their preferred location and are waiting  for their days first donations. The morning rush has now started and the once sleeping streets are busy and bustling with activity.

For my feathered friends, they now appear to be perched on a higher vantage point watching and waiting for an unsuspecting passerby to drop an unfinished morsel of their morning snack. Which of course will then be quickly swooped up and gobbled down and repeated all day long …  free easy meals in a birds eyes is all about location location location.

Our own individual purpose is no more or less important than each and every other of God’s creations.

Taking the time to really look and see what is before me has been and still is a challenge that takes continual thought and work.  I, like many others have been a victim of being caught up in the race of life, which by the way if you didn’t know has no finish line, no prize, no medal, it’s just a stupid race we somehow  have been pulled into and keep running in.

Now I try to take a little extra time to explore all the possibilities that are right before me, using all my senses to capture and take in all the incredible life that I had been missing. Photography has been the looking glass that has opened countless doors and enlightened my senses.

Life is full of possibilities – we are the drivers, the explorers, the traveling artists and the roads we passage are endless. Every day is a new journey,  a new experience,  a new opportunity. Some roads may need to be revisited a few times before we are able to choose another, but who said life had to be easy to be worth it.

Some believe dead end roads are placed in our path to show us what we’ve failed to see the first time. Taking the time to be a part of the experience not only teaches us but enriches our lives.  Thus giving us the tools we require to find our way home when traveling down those dead end roads or dark shady  avenues that we so often experience.

If we are always thinking about what we have or don’t have and simply comparing our life to lives of others, then how we can ever really live the life we have been gifted. Its not about the destination – learning to see and capturing the journey opens many other paths that we would of missed if still running that race.

Here today and gone tomorrow is easy to say and I’m sure many of us have said or heard that quote, but for many it’s real and knocking right at their front door. Thinking that it wouldn’t ever happen to you or me only sets us up for a life we wish that we had given more appreciation and gratitude for.

Living our life with love and appreciation for every day we are gifted does one very important thing – it opens new doors and new life experiences. If the doctor said to you or a loved one that there was only 1 year left to live what would you do differently ?

What would you change ?

Why didn’t you change your thoughts earlier in life ?

It’s not too late, it’s  never too late to step out of the race and into what we have been gifted. “ This Incredible Life ”

… there is a old saying that goes      “Take time to Stop and smell the roses”.

Life for me has gone by in a blur, I now work very hard at taking the time not only to smell the roses but to feel the roses, to touch the tree bark, to listen to the rain and to truly experience all the things that I never taken the time to do before. Lol, yep, that is just about everything! But on the up side I’m not looking at life through a glass window anymore – I’m living it and taking responsibility to experience every second of every minute of every hour. And giving thanks for all of it.
Life is only what we make of it, so make big… smell those roses and share your experiences with those who are caught up in life’s  race , so they too may step out of the shadows and into the light.