When I was in the throes of the first few days of my depression in 2010, I couldn’t think of anything but my pain for even a second. The first thing that shook me out of myself was a hummingbird in San Francisco. Its iridescent feathers gleamed green in the sunlight as it perched on a cable a few feet from my head and preened. Caught up in the beauty, I forgot my pain for five full seconds. It seemed like a slow start, but it gave me hope that I would be able to have joy again.
I snapped the above picture nearby San Francisco Bay, fascinated by the tiny bird’s silhouette. In my trip to California, I saw more hummingbirds than I ever had before in my life.
Light and high beauty are everywhere, silent reminders that there are some things death and pain and horror can’t overshadow. I look at this photo often to help me remember that, even in a dark and evil world, Beauty survives.
~Lisa Shafter
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