It’s My Birthday

 It’s my birthday—yay! ☺️ Happy Groundhog Day! So, this is what 39 feels like; I’m a fan. 💓

I woke up today remembering my 34th birthday. I’d gone to get my taxes done, and after giving numerous papers to the accountant, I studied a photo on her wall.

    It's an intriguing picture of five people all lying on their backs in a grassy field. Each person is a different race, and the concept of “unity” seemed pretty clear.  But I couldn't quite grasp something else about the photo. Each and every person wore a pair of eyeglasses….

    "Wow, you really like that photo," the accountant said at one point as she continued clacking away on her keyboard.

    It was in that instant that I finally found what I’d been searching for. “It's amazing," I said. 

    "I like it, but I wouldn't say it's…’amazing.’” She raised a brow and studied me. 

    "I know this is a common concept, and there are a lot of photos out there like this, but I just realized what makes this one so different."

     "Oh?" she asked.

     "If you stop focusing on the obvious things: the people, their clothes, the grass they're lying on, and just focus on their glasses...."

     She came next to me and stared at the picture. "Their glasses, huh?  Well, they look like regular gla— Wait, I see it! The reflection!  I've never had anyone point that out before."

    The reflection shone faintly in each of their eyeglasses, but even those faint images were far more beatiful than the obvious picture itself.  Greying buildings, lanky trees, and a stormy sky showed itself in the reflections. As if every subject looked at a dry, dying world, ready to be refreshed by a storm....

    I almost wished momentarily that the photographer had rested in the grass as well, and taken a picture—not of the people, but up, seeing what had appeared above and around them.  Were the people the real subjects of this photo, or had the artist realized what the reflection told about their surroundings?

    "You're right, Elisa. That picture is amazing!"

    As I took my paperwork and got in my truck, I looked through the business window. The accountant sat down where I had been and she intently studied the photo.

    The whole drive home I kept thinking about the picture.... 

    It’s true that if we take the time to look at life through different perspectives, we'll discover truly amazing things.