So I recently stumbled upon this photographer's work and I fell in love. I was so emotionally drawn, I can't even fully describe it. In fact, his work is so beautiful, so profound that I found myself smiling and crying. His name is Philip Toledano. In this series, he documents and captures everyday moments of his father in his last couple of years before his death. I feel a strong connection to Toledano and perhaps it's because we share this same experience, I remember spending the last few days at the hospital with my ill father before he passed away. Here's the link... Days With My Father
What truly broke me upon viewing the photographs was reading that his father had no short-term memory and thus was constantly re-living the shocking news of the death of his wife. It was painful for both Toledano and his father.
It makes me realize how fragile and precious the human life is, one day you're young, beautiful, and healthy and the next day you're withering away like dust..
First off, I was like WTH??! Then I burst out laughing because it's not every day you hear of a person fending off a wild animal with a vegetable. I thought what this woman did was pretty crazy not to mention foolish but above all it was very brave. It must be instict to able to run up to a 200 pound black bear and proceed to kick it, like protecting a child from harm even if it means putting your own life at risk. But a zucchini as a weapon of choice?? Well I guess she really had no time to think twice and grabbed the nearest blunt object, a 36 cm long zucchini. I probably would have done the same thing...in that situation you panic and act on impulse. She had to do what she had to do to protect her baby (the dog) and her home. So kudos to her. Her dog must be really grateful. I hope he's alright.
I was on the bus the other day just people observing, when a weird realization hit me... people are actually kinda beautiful. Now, appearance-wise, not everyone may be a stud muffin but I look at them, I see them smile, I see them frown, I see them observing others, I see them lost in thought, I see them for who they are even though they are complete strangers to me. Have you ever found yourself in a semi-full subway train and looking at people thought, I wonder what this person's life is like, what do they do? Where do they work? What's happening in their social life? Personal life? What's on their minds at that very moment? What's in their hearts?
See this is what a 45 minute commute to school does to you, it provokes overthinking, listening to music eventually leads to thinking, reading a book and even watching people around you gets you pondering. Then again it could just be me and my brain running wild.
Despite all the "ugly", cruel, cold, rude and horrible people that surround us daily, in the midst of that we can still get a glimpse of how genuinely beautiful the human being can be, catching them in their fragile and vulnerable moments. The other day I saw two little girls on the bus and I didn't just think they were beautiful, I felt it, in my heart, as cheesy as that sounds. Even seeing people sleeping, it's precious. Yesterday, a random construction worker dude made a baby laugh, it was a such an adorable, tender moment, not only did I see the beauty in these two strangers interacting, I felt it as well and in seeing the face of the baby's mother as she smiled.
On that note, it's interesting...why is it that our views and opinions of a certain person's "beauty" change over time as we get to know them? Or do they?
“The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart”
- Helen Keller
This song really has nothing to do with my blog lol, but I really love it! I feel the beauty of it in my heart ;-)
