Sunday, April 17, 2011

Looking Closer


A small reflection of the Ponte Vecchio (old bridge) in Florence, reflected in a window of the Museum of the History of Science. At first glance, you might only see the window, the buildings and the river. You have to look closer to see the reflection of the bridge.

I haven't shown you many pictures of our weekend in Florence, I've suddenly and completely been distracted by the flowers in the park. I must admit, I'm distracted by not only flowers, but a lot of other projects such as getting my newsletter launched, prepping for my next series of Find Your Eye courses, and putting the finishing touches on the Liberate Your Art postcard swap so I can announce the details. I can't forget the time I spend on other things going on in my life, like planning out our move back to the US (plane reservations are made, final apartment walkthrough scheduled), and visiting Greece next week. Oh yeah, and the occasional soccer game with my son or with my nose buried in a book.

Sometimes I wonder where my "free" time goes, but then I look at the list - just a partial list - and I know. My time goes into things I love to do. The results of those things are not always as immediate and visible as promptly edited photos showing up on the blog, but they are real just the same. So while I don't have a lot of photos from Florence to show you, I'm reminded today that sometimes I need to look beyond the visible and obvious marks of accomplishment. Sometimes I need to look a bit closer, maybe change my angle and see my time in reflection this way, to find that sense of achievement I seem to crave. And take a deep breath, because then it seems like a lot more than I thought at first glance.

How about you, do you like to be able to call something done, to check things off of the list? How do you personally count something as an accomplishment if it's not clearly visible?

14 comments:

  1. Beautiful shot. I was in Italy in 1994 and remember this bridge. Such a beautiful city. Actually all of Italy is beautiful. Charmaine

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love this and my eye went straight to the reflection of the bridge because I remember it so well from our visit.

    My great accomplishment today is being able to sit down in front of my computer, commenting on my favourite blogs, in complete and utter peace. Why peace? My puppy is fast asleep beside me with her feet in the air resting against the wall and her nost butted up against the skirting board. Silence reigns! But for how long...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Can't wait to see more of your Florence photos, I think it's one of my favourite places to photograph in Italy (so far). I'm a list person, love to cross things off my list.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great reflection and if we could see this in bigger size would see great details, i guess:)
    I hate lists, sometimes it feels life is so boring and that life without lists make it more unexpected. I also hate rutins I want to live my life without cleaning day or shopping day, I do things when I feel like doing them.
    I hope you did have great time in Florence and enjoy the Creece.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wonderful post (as always) Kat!
    I do like to check things off, because the reality is, there are simply things that need to be done, but I think I feel best about accomplishing something when I have just a little time for me, and I use it to do what I most want to do.

    Thank you so much for sharing this today at The Creative Exchange.

    Have a wonderful day, and a fantastic time in Greece!!

    lisa.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think I should probably make a list if I'm going to be able to get anything done!
    Your photo is beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love ticking things off a list - but since some things take to long - I make really long lists with details just so I can have the to cross of regularly.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm a listmaker since childhood! I'm not compulsive about them. These days I consider them motivation and guidelines. But when I used to hold a job...then they were essential to me.

    Lovely photo! :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh, I am so the listmaker in Real Life but when it comes to photography, not so much. I see it in my head and then go find it. Most of my reflections are accidents and that is not my natural default. You learn to live with your strengths and work around your weaknesses. Thanks Miss K!

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is the best you can wish for: your time goes into doing things you love to do.
    And yes, I love to make lists and then check off one "item" after the other - it feels so good.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Very impressive reflection! Lovely post. Safe journey.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I went to Florence one time, but this shot makes me want to return even more. Love the reflection of the bridge. A great capture.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Beautiful reflections...picture perfect.

    ReplyDelete

What's your view of the world? I love to hear yours too!

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.