#findingbeautyinordinarythings

I think one of my favorite things about doing this series is realizing that I don’t actually have to go looking for something worth photographing.

Most of the time, it’s already there.

I just have to notice it.

And apparently this week, the things that made me stop ranged from a tiny gothic sticker on a gas pump to Batman secretly being an alarm clock.

So.

You know.

A very normal assortment of things. 😂

A Tiny Gas-Pump Stranger

I stopped for gas this week and noticed this little lady hanging out on the pump.

That’s it.

That’s the entire story. 😂

I have absolutely no idea who put her there.

I don’t know how long she’s been there.

But there was something about this tiny, gothic, horned woman sitting directly above a giant WARNING sign that made me stop for a second.

Someone had this sticker.

Someone decided this gas pump was where she belonged.

And now everybody who stops there gets a tiny piece of that stranger’s personality without ever knowing who they were.

I kinda love that.

Lunch, According to Tiny Humans

This one is not pretty.

There is absolutely no artistic arrangement happening here. 😂

But this is what happens when you let a four-year-old and two one-year-olds have opinions about lunch.

Reese’s-filled pretzels.

Mandarin oranges—or, judging by the crime scene, what used to be mandarin oranges.

And whatever else apparently made sense at the time.

There are peels everywhere.

Containers everywhere.

Wipes in the background.

Random cups.

Absolute chaos.

And I almost wouldn’t have thought to take a picture of it because it’s just a messy table.

Except…

it’s also one of those pictures I think I’ll like more later than I do right now.

Because someday there won’t be tiny people making absolute disasters out of lunch.

And this?

This is what life looked like while there were.

Messy counts, too.

The Sky Was Showing Off

And then there was this morning.

Nothing particularly interesting was happening underneath that sky.

Buildings.

A fence.

A basketball hoop.

Trees.

Just ordinary things I see all the time.

But above all of it?

That.

Pink.

Orange.

Purple.

One of those sunrises that makes you stop whatever you’re doing for a second because apparently the sky has decided to be dramatic before you’ve even fully started your day.

And I’m glad I noticed.

Because a few minutes later, it was gone.

Wait…That’s a Clock?

And finally:

Batman.

One of my kiddos brought this into class today, and at first I didn’t think anything of it.

It was LEGO Batman.

Cool.

Then I looked again.

Wait.

Is Batman telling me what time it is?

😂

Apparently, yes.

It was an alarm clock.

I had looked directly at the giant digital numbers in his stomach and somehow my brain had decided those were simply none of my business.

And weirdly enough, I think Batman might sum up this entire series better than anything else I photographed this week.

Because Learning to Look Closer doesn’t always mean finding something beautiful.

Sometimes it does.

Sometimes you look up and catch a sunrise before it disappears.

But sometimes it means noticing a tiny sticker somebody left behind.

Sometimes it means realizing that the messy table in front of you is evidence of a very specific season of your life.

And sometimes…

it means looking at LEGO Batman twice before realizing the man has been telling you the time this entire time.

😂

There are things worth noticing everywhere.

Beautiful things.

Funny things.

Messy things.

Completely pointless little things that make you smile for half a second.

You just have to actually look at them.

Until next time,

—Destiny

P.S. What’s something you’ve looked directly at before realizing what you were actually looking at? 😂

Usually, Learning to Look Closer is about noticing the things we might otherwise miss.

The light coming through the trees.

The colors hiding in a sunset.

The tiny details we walk past every day because we’re too busy looking somewhere else.

It’s supposed to be about slowing down.

Paying attention.

Finding something beautiful in the ordinary.

Well.

I looked closer.

I would like to formally withdraw my previous advice. 😂

I’ve been sick all week.

And somewhere between laying in bed, watching entirely too much television, and feeling like my head was approximately 97% congestion, I decided it would be a good idea to go through all of my clothes.

Because apparently being sick wasn’t enough suffering.

So there I was.

Surrounded by clothes.

Completely out of energy.

Ready to give up on the entire project and crawl back into bed.

And then I looked up.

There he was.

A spider.

Just chilling above my bedroom door.

In my bedroom.

Rent free.

Like he had somewhere to be and I was interrupting him.

Now, there is something you should probably know about me.

I am terrified of spiders.

Not uncomfortable.

Not “Ew, a spider.”

Terrified.

And naturally, this little asshole had positioned himself somewhere I couldn’t reach him.

So I did what any brave, capable, independent 33-year-old woman would do.

I stared at him while trying to figure out how the hell I was going to kill him without getting close enough for him to potentially touch me.

There was just one problem.

I looked away.

For approximately half a second.

When I looked back—

he was gone.

Do you know what’s worse than seeing a spider in your bedroom?

NOT SEEING THE SPIDER YOU JUST SAW IN YOUR BEDROOM.

Because now we have options.

Is he behind the dresser?

Under the bed?

On the ceiling?

Did he leave?

Is he currently watching me write this?

WHERE DID YOU GO, SIR?

And why were you so fucking fast?! 😭

I read something once about jumping spiders that said they tend to have their own little routines.

They supposedly wander around the same areas doing their tiny spider business, so if you suddenly notice one somewhere you normally don’t, maybe you’re the one who stepped outside your usual routine.

I have absolutely no idea how scientifically accurate that is.

But I’ve been thinking about it.

Because maybe he’s been here before.

Maybe while I’ve been living my life, sleeping in my bed and minding my own business, this tiny creature has been living an entire little life alongside mine.

Taking the same routes.

Visiting the same places.

Doing whatever the hell spiders do all day.

And I simply never noticed him.

Until our routines crossed.

Which is actually kind of fascinating.

I hate it.

But it’s fascinating. 😂

Maybe there’s something to that.

There are entire little worlds existing around us all the time.

Things happening in corners we never look toward.

Creatures following routines we know nothing about.

Tiny lives intersecting with ours for a few seconds before disappearing again.

Sometimes looking closer means noticing a beautiful sunset.

Sometimes it means noticing the way two people love each other.

Sometimes it means finding something extraordinary hiding inside something completely ordinary.

And sometimes—

you look up while sorting clothes and discover that you apparently have a roommate.

A roommate who has now disappeared somewhere inside your bedroom.

So perhaps Learning to Look Closer needs one small amendment:

Pay attention to the world around you.

Notice the little things.

Look for what you normally overlook.

But occasionally?

Mind your fucking business.

Because now I know there’s a spider somewhere in my bedroom.

And I can never unknow it.

Until next time,

—Destiny

P.S. If you happen to know where my new roommate went, no you don’t. I would actually prefer to sleep tonight. 🕷️😭