Snapshots of Serenity and Gratitude

Ever wonder how a simple photograph can shift your perspective on life? Discover the transformative power of capturing everyday moments as we wrap up our GrateFall series on the Create Harmony podcast. You'll walk away with a newfound appreciation for the world around you, guided by the book "One Photo a Day Keeps the Doctor Away." In this episode, we revisit cultivating gratitude through mindful photography, with seven creative prompts that invite you to notice the unnoticed—whether it’s the charm of mundane chores or the serene beauty of nighttime.

As we reflect on the happiness hidden in life's simple joys, the conversation turns to the comfort found in ordinary routines like cooking, running, and spending time with friends. Together, we'll celebrate the strength and solace that arise from cherishing honest moments, hearty laughter, and meaningful conversations, even amidst life's challenges.

To learn more, go to mycreateharmony.com

Chapters

• 0:06 Finding Joy
• 7:32 Counting Blessings and Finding Happiness

Transcript

Speaker 2: 0:06

Welcome back to the Create Harmony podcast. Our focus here on the podcast is the joy that is all around us all the time. It's just nestled in the little things. It's the sun shining through the window in the morning, the feel of hot water in your shower, the taste of your favorite treat, it's the beauty of trees filled with fall leaves and the smell of cool, crisp fall air. Each of these things holds a tiny piece of joy, and it just takes a moment to notice it. So I'm your host, sally Burlington, and this is episode 98, and we are all about noticing those tiny pieces of joy. We're wrapping up our Great Fall series today, so this is where we focus our attention on all things. Gratitude and that whole series happens in the fall, so we call it Great Fall. And as we draw this series to a close, we are going to circle way back around to the start.

Speaker 2: 1:07

So in the first episode of this series, we talked about a book called One Photo a Day Keeps the Doctor Away, and, in case you haven't listened to that episode, the idea is that this is a book filled with things that you can capture in a photograph in order to see the world differently. So at the beginning of the book, there's a page that explains the concept. It explains that looking and seeing are two different things. Seeing requires more attention and, as a user of the book, you're encouraged to take some time out of your busy day and take pictures. And this is what it says, a quote. Stop the clock and take a deeper look is what it says, a quote. Stop the clock and take a deeper look at what's going on around you. Now, I loved this idea because we are a culture that focuses so much attention on our devices, and our devices have lots and lots of images and photos on them, but the way that we usually engage with these images is to quickly scroll through to get to the next bit of information and, in addition, the images that are there are usually very perfectly curated to be beautiful and the lighting is just right.

Speaker 2: 2:16

In this book, the user is urged not to consider the quality of the photograph. In other words, you're not trying to curate the perfect image, the photograph. In other words, you're not trying to curate the perfect image. Just let your camera help you pay attention to details that you might have otherwise missed. And I thought that that really married neatly into the concept of gratitude, because gratitude requires slowing down just a little bit to notice things and give thanks instead of just taking them for granted. To notice things and give thanks instead of just taking them for granted.

Speaker 2: 2:45

So today we're circling back to that idea again as a reminder as you journey through your fall season. And I'm going to read seven examples from the book. So the reason I chose seven is because that's a week. So if you photograph them each one day each week, you'll have a whole week of different ways to see the world differently. So here they are. Number one take a break today and go sit in your car and take a photo from the inside out. That's what you would do on your first day. Number two make a photo documentary of a mundane task that you hate doing, something you do not enjoy, but maybe if you photograph it, you'll see it a little differently. Number three take a self-defining selfie.

Speaker 2: 3:36

Not just a selfie, but something that defines who you are. Number four take three things to the charity shop. You're going to clean out your closet and find three things. You're going to things to the charity shop. You're going to clean out your closet and find three things you're going to take to the charity shop, but don't forget to photograph them before you do. Number five take a picture of five orange things today, things that you see that are orange. Number six photograph the circles and everything you see around you. And lastly, number seven this one might be a little bit too challenging, but get up in the middle of the night, go outside and use all your senses and photograph everything you see. So those are your seven examples from the book.

Speaker 2: 4:23

Now, if none of those speak to you, this is not homework. You do not have to do homework here. If that doesn't speak to you, you can create your own list that fits more neatly into your routine. But let the concept inspire you. Once you've got all these images, just take a moment to examine them and give thanks. Maybe you also want to just scroll back through some of the pictures you might have snapped already and see things differently. This simple, small habit will help you draw your attention to things that you were overlooking.

Speaker 2: 4:57

The thing is, even though I believe in gratitude and fold those practices into my routine, sometimes it's challenging to just spit out things you're thankful for, and what happens is that you just say the same things over and over again. But using this photo challenge helped me adjust my lens. You see what I did there Adjust the lens. It helped me to examine things more deeply and it helped me to see the underlying blessings that maybe I hadn't noticed, and I bet it can help you do that too.

Speaker 2: 5:29

So for our closing today, I've got two things. The first is a quote from Henry Nowen from Return of the Prodigal Son, and he says the choice of gratitude rarely comes without some real effort, but each time I make it, the next choice is a little easier, a little freer, a little less self-conscious, because every gift I acknowledge reveals another and another, until finally even the most normal, obvious and seemingly mundane event or encounter proves to be filled with grace. I thought that was very lovely and a great reminder. And the second thing I have for you today is a poem written by a student on the day her school closed, march of 2020. And it goes like this Today I am grateful for grandmas, for love and cookies and wisdom, for years of knowledge and generosity to health and life and life.

Speaker 2: 6:41

Today I am grateful for spring, for warm weather, for rain and sun for birds at the feeder, for four-leaf clovers in the grass, lighter jackets, lighter spirits and for subconscious hope as the sun returns. Today, I'm grateful for school, for learning and not for boredom, for routine, a sense of normalcy. Today, I'm grateful for things taken for granted, like toilet paper and bread, but we will make it through. Today, I'm grateful for my dog. Today I'm grateful for my home. Today I'm grateful I am young and the beach and the wind and those that I love who are safe and well and clean clothes and chickens.

Speaker 2: 7:32

Today, I am grateful for movies, for books and for friends, for crocuses and forsythia, for running in the morning and making dinner in the evenings, conversation, laughter and honesty. And when I get afraid, for those that I love, I will remember that there are good things happening, positive, happy, beautiful things, and I will remember that today and I am grateful. May it be so. Thanks for joining us as we come to the tail end of our Great Fall series. Hopefully, you've been able to discover many, many more blessings as a result of all of our conversations here. We hope you'll come back next week for more conversations about joy and blessings.

Speaker 2: 8:25

And until next time, peace, thank you.