Landscape photography involves looking for beauty where it may not at first be evident. In the first picture, I walked halfway around the lake until I found an ice pattern that was especially photogenic. Much of the rest of the lake was without such patterning.
In the second photo, I needed to zoom my lens to focus on the topmost rocks of a cliff at sunset, where a small strip of stone was catching the last light. And in the third photo, a snowstorm made it difficult to find much contrast, a necessary element in any good picture. I therefore found a dead snag with one side that was especially colorful, and then focused on that.
Similarly, it is our task as spiritual practitioners to focus on the good qualities of each person we meet, even if we have to dig beneath the surface to ferret them out. Jewish mysticism calls this a process of "raising the sparks" of divinity that lie hidden within all things. After all, we hope others will do the same for us. It is of course easy to find and focus on another person's flaws. Obviously, we ALL have them. But it is much more honorable and noble to highlight and elicit each person's gifts and assets. Why else are we here on this Earth?
Photos: (Top) Sunset on Bellvue Dome and Watson Lake, Bellvue, CO, January 22, 2015; (Middle) A ridgetop glows at sunset in Lory State Park, CO, January 22, 2015; (Bottom) Dead Lodgepole Pine snag on the shore of Zimmerman Lake, Never Summer Range, Cameron Pass, CO, January 24, 2015
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