Waiting to bloom

It's been an interesting week trying to blip around a theme. I chose the theme of 'waiting' whilst being unable to sleep a week ago and began to reflect on the week ahead. I was conscious of my doctor's appointment on the Friday but also of a lot of travelling this week. So the theme seemed to emerge from those thoughts. I began to think more conceptually as the week unfolded partly because my assumption that waiting rooms would form the bulk of my blips simply did not work out, though I took a number of such pictures they were intrinsically boring. I have compiled a number of such pics this week, seven waiting rooms in all and I did think of a final blip compilation of waiting rooms but have not found it possible. Then I wandered around my garden and ended up with today's blip.

So what did I learn from theming my week?

It created an extra dimension to my observations, seeking not just an interesting blip but one which conforms to the theme. However this has meant that some potential opportunities were lost in the process. I found my observation of every day life which blipping has already enhanced in the first two weeks was somewhat intensified. Starting blipping in winter is quite a task anyway for me as I tend to have less access to the outdoors. (Maybe there is a message there about getting out more?) So a themed approach both narrows and extends the possibilities.

Given the tension which was surrounding my personal circumstances this week, (and I am so thankful for the kind support shown) having a theme certainly occupied some of the spaces where your mind can linger on overly negative outcomes. The good results I got was just a bonus. Two years ago, when first diagnosed, I determined through reflecting and blogging with close friends, on the importance of making the most of my time. I have felt energised and positive about my situation and have sought to engage much more with every day than I think I did previously. Finding blipping also focuses my mind on each and every day and so far I am enjoying the experience. It also shows the limitations of my camera work but I think more important for me I am capturing aspects of my life rather than expecting to produce high quality pictures. I leave the latter to the many phenomenal photographers I have seen so far. This quote on the theme of waiting sums up what this process is enabling for me.

“I don't want to wait anymore. I choose to believe that there is nothing more sacred or profound than this day.I choose to believe that there may be a thousand big moments embedded in this day, waiting to be discovered like tiny shards of gold. The big moments are the daily, tiny moments of courage and forgiveness and hope that we grab onto and extend to one another. That's the drama of life, swirling all around us, and generally I don't see it, because I'm too busy waiting to become whatever it is I think I'm about to become. The big moments are in every hour, every conversation, every meal, every meeting.”
― Shauna Niequist, Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life

So thanks for sharing this journey so far!