Life’s Beautiful Moments in Focus

Posted on September 23, 2015 Updated on October 2, 2015

It’s easy to be so busy that we forget to live in the moment. Before I became a mother, I found myself consumed with two things: Living in the past or worrying about the future. You can’t undo the past, but you can learn from it. And it’s important to plan for the future, but obsessing about it only increases anxiety. At least, this is what I have learned.

One of the things I find myself doing on a daily basis since I got my iPhone 6 Plus back in April as a “push present” is taking photos. If you check out my Instagram, you’ll see my random nature photography collage. While, I don’t profess to be a nature photographer I suppose having had some training behind the camera as a videographer has taught me to have an eye for it. Anyway, it’s amazing when you search each day for something beautiful to capture that you stumble upon more and more of these beautiful moments.

It’s crazy how something I have done a little of each day has now become quite a collection. I never thought I would find so many beautiful flowers and things to photograph right in my neighborhood. But when recently looking at my Instagram page, I was surprised at how many gloriously beautiful things I’ve managed to find. Everyday, I search for something to photograph because nature often reminds me that the simplest things in life can instill the greatest hope and help me overcome whatever life might bring my way.

I have had photographers from all around the world follow or comment on my little flower pictures and nature photos. I always try to look who has “liked” my photographs and I am often totally blown away by who’s praised my “work.” If you can call it that, as it’s something I do for fun and it’s something that I hope helps inspire others. I am always on the search for a “little pick me up” and found that others are searching for the same. Some of these people are actually professional photographers. I am a videographer, content creator, and producer by trade. But, I’ve never claimed to be a professional photographer. What I love about creative people is that we can all appreciate art, whether captured on an iPhone or captured on a $10,000 camera. And taking a moment each day to find that something beautiful, has trained my brain slowly over time to undo cycles of negative thinking.

It’s the same way with finding things to complain about. The more you focus on the negative, the more those things manifest in your life. I still catch myself daily when I’m negative and I try to reverse my thinking. It’s not easy; it takes daily practice.

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The Bottom Line:

Some of us have learned to think negatively. It’s like we’re wired to default to negative thought patterns because that’s all we think we know. But, I’m a believer that little things each day can help to retrain our brains into being a little more positive. Whether it’s a random act of kindness you decide to gift someone with or a smile to a stranger that might be having a bad day or a photo of something beautiful. I also love motivational quotes. It’s important to remind ourselves of the little signs of hope. They are often all around us, if we only open our eyes and be mindful of being present in the moment.