Finding the gold: When old prospectors would look for gold they would take large pan and grab up huge loads of gravel and sand, shaking it backwards and forwards to encourage the heavier gold to the bottom of the pan, at the same time the lighter materials which are worthless are worked up to the surface and swept away. This process is repeated until all that is left is the heaviest most valuable material.
My finding the gold project is inspired by this description, searching through the daily stuff of life that is ultimately worthless…the stress, the what ifs, the tantrums, the work nonsense,…and finding those valuable bits of my day, my week that are the moments i need to remember. The things that catch my eye and are just beautiful in their simplicity unbidden and untouched by the daily grind. Things that make me smile, even if sometimes that smile doesn’t linger and stay.
Some weeks it is harder to than others, sometimes the pan feels like it is only full of gravel and sand. There are weeks when its hard to keep going, searching through the detritus of this crazy, busy, frantic stage of life. Times when having time to catch you breathe seems impossible let alone stopping to look… but then you catch a glimpse, even in the darkest of darkness a small shard of gold can shine out and lift your spirits. Even if it is just one piece.
I think these moments are called ‘kairos’. There are, indeed, hard to spot sometimes but you always know when you have one. That feeling of the world being paused while you stand and remember that this is what it’s all for….
Love the panning for gold analogy…beautifully written x.
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oooh i love that word..hmmmm might just change it to that 🙂
Such beautiful photos and so very true. I found that this year having done the 365 project, I take a lot more photos of the ‘everyday’ and they have been so lovely to look back on.