Through a Rose-Colored Lens

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln

A few days ago I was enjoying my garden — reading, relaxing and taking the occasional photograph with my new camera.  Suddenly I looked above my head, and there were dragonflies flying right above me.  I hurriedly snapped a picture and, oh joy, when I checked my camera, I could actually see the dragonfly in the picture!  This got me thinking…when I saw the dragonfly through my camera, it was beautiful  It was an image, a moment, that I captured.  A thing of beauty.  This is one of the reasons that I love to take pictures, because when I hold the camera up to my eye, I am seeing things in a whole new way.

The morning glory vine that annoys me so becomes an explosion of colors.

The banana tree I can’t get rid of becomes a contrast of bright green across the blue sky.

It’s a whole new way of seeing things, and it’s exciting!  On a normal day, dragonflies swarm at my front door, and sometimes they fly inside, which drives my cats crazy.  In fact, in a recent battle between cat and dragonfly, my favorite lamp was the only casualty.  My last cat ate a dragon fly, got sick, and threw it back up on the floor.  Dragonflies can be a nuisance.  But through my camera, dragonflies became beautiful.

The next time you see something in a negative light, imagine holding a camera to your eye, then look at it again.  Through a new lens, it may become a thing of beauty, of wonder, or maybe it will tell an interesting story.

Life is all how we perceive it.  This is a lesson I learned from my camera.