Perspective

I’ve had a headache all day.  I woke up with it this morning, but it went a way for a little bit and came back with a vengeance after breakfast.  Two Advil and three glasses of water later, I was on the couch under a blanket trying to shield my eyes from the light that was shooting pain through my eyeballs and out the back of my head.  Every movement increased the intensity and made me feel just a little more nauseous.  Suffice to say the last thing I was thinking about was taking my photo of the day.

This evening, after a bit more water and two Tylenol, I started to feel a bit better.  I knew I still wanted to get that photo, and as I lay on the couch, still in pain, I noticed that I could see the guitars and the Christmas tree through the open shelf in the coffee table.  I got my camera and laid back down with my head right at the edge of the couch, and took a few shots until I got one that I really liked.  And I’m very happy with it.

If I hadn’t had this headache, I would have gotten a lot done.  I would have headed out into the world and looked for a great photo to represent the day.  I would have looked through the world as I usually do and sought for the right image, and then taken that shot from a variety of angles until I was happy with one of them.  But the lesson I was reminded of today is that I need to start from a new perspective, rather than trying to find one after I’ve already chosen my subject.  It’s a lesson I know from the rest of my life, “beginner’s mind”, “looking through new eyes”, etc.  But it’s a lesson that I constantly need reminding of.  Sometimes a headache is a blessing in disguise.