I notice reflections when I’m taking photos – typically what is shown of the world in a puddle or in a pond.  Because sometimes you need to see the regular world reflected in a different way to see the world in a new way – in, maybe, the right way.

Sometimes we are forced to stare at the reflections – like when someone important to us passes from this world.   We may stare at the reflections and see what is truly important – what really shows back when you take away a lot of the other distractions.  Or when there is another life changing event which turns the world upside down.  Reflection can sometimes help us see what we didn’t see or what we really need to see.

Because sometimes it is easy to miss the forest for the trees as we stare at our lives and see every rock and misstep.

And while it is good to look at a situation or at your life and see the beauty in the minor things – the small nuances that are good – we spend too much time as people sometimes picking apart the problems – staring at the pebbles in the road until they are bigger than they are.  Focusing on the minor things – giving them the energy and the power to be major things they should never be.

It’s like in my job.  It is easy to get a problem to solve and go down the rabbit hole as you are trying to solve it.  It is easy to lose sight of the issue as a hole as you fix a symptom.  It’s easy to miss the root cause – the source of all of the issues to begin with.  And as we do battle with the things that are not the cause but a symptom, we let the root issue fester and sometimes grow and cause more issues.

It is why it’s a good idea to step back – to reflect – to look at the situation or the issue or the person or the problem in a different light – by staring at its reflection in a pond, or turning it upside down – see what still shines through – still what shows.  What is seen? What is important?  Am I missing the curves and beauty in life? Or am I focused on the minutia?

I guess that’s why I like photographing the reflections.  A different view of the same subject.  Beauty is found.  And maybe a perspective that has been missed to-date.