Delight of Dandelions

On my trail walk I saw many many many dandelions today. Determined to see their beauty, I looked through my lens and gained a different perspective than the one that seemed so easy to come by. Plenty to choose from, I captured image after image of these textured blooms.

I decided to turn them into black and white images to show off their textures the best I could. The bright yellow I saw on my computer screen just seemed to distract me again and scream "weed!" - this is what I ended up with.

Holding my Breath or Taking my Breath Away?

Sometimes we need to move from where we are seeing to see a little more clearly or more fully. That may mean standing up and walking over to another spot, another point of view.

Today I walked from my yard to a field nearby and saw a sea of dandelions. Now directly across the street from my house the dandelions that grow so abundantly do not take my breath away with the beauty that is theirs. But these ones did. I wasn't holding my breath, wondering if a wind would come and blow the weeds to root in my green grass. I wasn't worried about how they might take something away from my yard, from me. I was able to see their delicate beauty in all its splendor.

How much am I like that with people? If I don't agree with their point of view, do I hold my breath, restricting oxygen from my life and the possibility of new or enriched relationship? What if I walk over to take a closer look, a new look, a careful listen? At the end of the day, I may still not agree with their viewpoint but maybe I've made a friend and maybe I can understand their point of view a little more...and maybe, quite possibly, my breath will be taken away by the beauty that is theirs.