This post was a long time coming…I had written this quite some time back but was unable to wrap it up. But I finally managed to do so this afternoon!

   In our intricately interconnected and ever-shrinking world, that seems to be coming up with more and more apps to that effect, we seem to be too quick to pass judgments on people we know and on complete strangers, alike.  When did this become a thing?   ‘Rude people have always been around, it’s just that they have social platforms to make that known on a larger scale’ -I can’t remember if I read it somewhere or heard it from someone but I think I agree with it! What happened to if you don’t have something nice to say,  don’t say anything at all? While it may not be possible to adhere to this under all circumstances, I believe it is not always impossible either.

   As an introvert and as someone who has always being a sort of ‘push over’, the fear of being judged has kept me from things that can be difficult to list. Be it social interactions, speaking up for myself, engaging in conversations on debatable issues, choice of attire, sharing photos- the list can go on- have all let me keep things to myself. It’s not simply because I am sort of introvert by nature but it’s also because I have found people to be unkind, unnecessarily (not that we need to be unkind, ever). People talk and talk loud. Just because someone is big it does not mean others decide what that person gets to wear; someone’s skin color should not be a marker in any conversation ever; someone can be Indian and dislike spicy food (FYI- all Indians do not eat or like spicy food and there is A LOT MORE to Indian food than the handful typically found at restaurants outside the country); my neighbor can choose to share 50 photos of her cats and I can choose to share 50 photos of the squirrel that comes to eat cookies on many mornings on our balcony!

   I am fairly new still to this blogging world but I think this is a wonderful arena to share our commonalities and engage in chats that let us know more about each other; it’s a  platform to learn from each other and encourage others to carry on and it’s a front row seat to the viewing gallery of majestic and  hidden natural treasures from around the world; it’s a recipe book containing recipes of grandmas and moms as well as those of professionals; it is lost pages from our childhood that we rediscover through story telling.

   In terms of photos, many of us are amateurs and we get to share our enthusiasm with all. Those photos may be imperfect for many, particularly the professionals, but here’s the thing…we are not professionals and may be we do not really know and hence do not abide by ‘rules’ that may or may not dictate a good photo. I also wonder if art should have rules though. Photos are memories, they tell stories and hold a special place in our hearts. They remind us of moments, of faces and transport us momentarily to an earlier time and place, stirring emotions at times and helping us reminisce.  It’s also a matter of perspective..something that I like in a particular photo might not be appealing to you. And that’s just fine! A lovely person, Manja had an unpleasant experience a few months ago when she shared a few photos (which were beautiful) on a social platform and when I came to know about that it was just baffling. She dealt with it in the most perfect way possible and has moved on since but it’s something that’s becoming more and more common and everyone we know has faced it more than a desirable number of times. And it’s just not right….not once, not ever.

   I applaud Manja again for the way she rose above pettiness and I think it’s a very important lesson too on how to deal with the not-so-nice! This post has been way long overdue but I am glad that I was finally able to finish it. And as I had said, I am sharing some ‘imperfect photos’:)

This is one of my most favorite photos of all times. We were coming back home from a wonderful trip, our first long distance drive as a family of four and our son was trying to cover the rays of the setting  sun. The sky was brilliant and I am glad I was able to capture this shot. It can be edited to hide the flaws but I choose to keep it this way.

Not exactly what I was going for but I still like this.

 

I was trying to take a picture of this bench.

 

The light was all wrong but I wanted to see how this would turn out.

 

I thought this looked pretty. It was a special day…we took the little guy out for lunch as our baby girl stayed home with her grandparents.  While he was a little sad for his baby sister, he was very happy at the same time to be able to do ‘grown up’ stuff. Also, we had taken our smaller car, the one we had before our daughter was born, and it brought back memories we have made as a family of three and the little guy loved the car ride and he said that riding in that car made him remember some of the things we used to do before. This photo can be edited too of course but again, everything does not need to be!

 

Let’s look out for each other and thanks for stopping by!