This is 39.
The beginnings of it, anyway.
I recently came across an old column from the archives where I saw fit to wax poetic on the oft-repeated concept that ‘birthdays are beginnings’ — though, if we’re being completely honest, every moment serves as a unique opportunity to shift perspective and strive for … something better.
This is not to say I don’t make a concerted effort to appreciate the present. It is, after all, the only ‘gift’ we are guaranteed. And if the last year has taught us anything, it is to appreciate the small pleasures and savor the subtle nuances of daily life.
As followers of this page have {I’m certain} picked up on, I’m a big proponent of taking photographs, documenting outings and adventures, along with abstract scenes of beauty and boredom that strike my fancy. Partly, it’s become a creative outlet that brings me peace; but more so, it serves to capture life, in real time.
Rare is the calendar year that doesn’t elicit a smile in retrospect, a rush of nostalgia for precious time spent with friends and loved ones. {Yes, even last year.} Combing through my snapshots of 2021 to date, I’ve made it my mission to collect at least one per day — some from a larger gallery highlighting a new coastline explored, a gathering celebrated; but others a mere screenshot of a text thread, perhaps a fascinating shadow on the wall. When stitched together, they piece together a genuine narrative of my reality at any given point.
And isn’t that what life is, ultimately? Our unique respective realities, melding with others — every so often rising to a level greater than the sum of their parts.
And hidden in those moments, is magic.
Here’s to 39.