With Valentine's Day fast approaching, folk are scrambling to purchase jewellery or chocolate to express to that special someone that they love them. Restaurants are preparing candlelit tables for two in anticipation of the a flood of diners celebrating this 'holiday'.As a kid, I'd awaken on the 14th of February to find a heart-shaped box of chocolate on the kitchen table with my name on it. My Dad must've liked the concept of Valentine's Day, since it resulted in big jewellery sales for his store. Nothing says 'I love you' like a gold chain or diamond pendant, right?Actually, I disagree.I personally don't feel that gifts show people how much I love them; for myself, it's about actions and words. I try my best to show my girls everyday that I love them, either with some gesture or actually telling them. I guess everyday is Valentine's Day for me .When I was much younger, I admit the concept of love mystified me. I wasn't quite sure about the power and depth of that emotion until I experienced my girlfriend clasping my hand at the jazz festival for the first time; staring into her blue eyes on a balmy day at Disneyworld as I said 'I do'. The birth of my children; staring at them in their cribs, sleeping gently.For me, love is unconditional, utterly honest, uncompromising, and transcends all else. It involves sacrifice, patience, and understanding. I feel amazingly grateful and blessed to have people in my life that I love so much.Here's to Valentine's Day. Hopefully, folk strive to love each other beyond one day of the year!
Awhile back, I learned that cameras requiring film to be developed (with chemicals) have been phased out. Although I enjoy digital photography, it hadn't occured to me that film cartridges were going the way of the dinosaur.I remember clearly getting a small Kodak 110 camera as a young lad. I constantly took random pictures (many I'm sure including a big blurry thumb) and sent them off to be developed once the roll was finished. After a few days of waiting, I would tear through the envelope and admire my photos. Often I would be disappointed by an out-of-focus or over-exposed shot, but the thrill of finding out how my pictures turned out was undeniable.With today's technology, photography is a different beast. It's possible to view results instantly, and trash photos that don't make the cut. Continually elevating pixel quality and easy-to-use cameras mean that just about anyone can get that 'perfect shot'. Although I appreciate modern photography, I miss the sense of anticipation I got from awaiting my pictures return from the lab, as well as the surprise in viewing the results (rarely did a photo match my recollection of what I thought I captured while peering throught the view-finder). It saddens me a bit that photography has evolved to mirror our world of instant 'gratification'; today's cameras are far superior to my plastic Kodak wind-and-click, but an exciting aspect of the experience of taking pictures, simple patience, has been forever lost.
Over two weeks into the New Year (my, time flies, doesn't it?), I realize I haven't made any formal resolutions for 2011.Hmm, writing the date makes me feel like I'm living in some pulpy sci-fi movie... remember when the 2000s seemed so tantalizingly distant in terms of time?I tend to establish arbitrary dates to start or end projects. I guess it's an aspect of my mind, I like a certain structure, and deciding things based on a date or time just makes sense for me. As a freelancer, I plan my workload in a similar way, although this approach can encourage laziness or a lack of discipline.All to say that I wasn't inspired to make any resolutions this year, except for the vaguely generalized hope that I improve as a person, and find that ever elusive peace of mind in troubled times. Maybe I'm figuring that setting January 1st as a point for personal change might be a waste of time, since resolutions are easily broken or ignored. We should all resolve to be better human beings, physically and spiritually, every single day!
