Kirkhaven Pathways: Seeking But Not Striving

Puppies don’t pose. They romp and pounce and chew. They stick their noses into holes. They chase after mysterious scents that only they can smell. They rarely come when you call them. They usually dash into places they shouldn’t. Sometimes, for a split second, they might pause to wonder . . . but puppies do not pose.

If you want to photograph a puppy, you have to turn your camera onto the “action” setting and just start clicking. You’ll get tons of random pictures . . . blurred noses, floppy ears, waggy backsides . . . Getting just the right picture framed just the right way is a futile endeavor. Composing a photograph of a puppy is impossible. Nothing about a puppy is composed.

But if you are looking for something other than a perfect composition . . .

maybe something funny . . .

or something sweet . . .

or something nostalgic . . .

or something poignant . . .

then you will probably find it.

Mixed in with all the uncoordinated, mis-aligned, uncalculated, blurred images that you snapped on the run, you will find some treasures that you never could have orchestrated. Moments that simply happened . . . and you simply happened to catch them.

But if you are not willing to lay aside the schedule

and turn off the television

and walk away from the computer

and set aside the cell phone

and find a place where a leash isn’t necessary

and get your shoes muddy

and look for more than you can see

and hope for more than you have known

and believe that an aimless stroll with a puppy isn’t wasted time

then you won’t catch a thing.

"Ask, and it will be given to you;

seek, and you will find;