Pay Attention

"Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it."--Mary Oliver

purple trillium

I walk in the forest, uphill along the base of a cliff-face where spring wildflowers abound. I miss my friend Charlie, who frequented this place of wonder with me before he moved west. I take photos for him, for me. Photographing these early delicate harbingers of spring helps me to move more slowly, to take in the details, to see more. I am paying attention. I am pausing and standing in awe. And I am telling about my experience, through photos and writing.

How do you slow down and pay attention? What, in your everyday life, astonishes you? How and who do you tell?

Dutchman’s Breeches