Friday, September 11, 2009

Anniversary

"To pay attention, this is our endless and
proper work. "
-Mary Oliver

Last week I got together with an old friend that I have not seen for probably 40 years. It was a wonderful day and a gift to reconnect with someone so special. During the course of our conversation she quoted the line above, by poet, Mary Oliver, and the connection it made for me was this blog. Writing a blog and taking pictures, has had many positive and unexpected effects on my life. Not least of these has been discovering the rewards of paying attention—remembering conversations, noticing the beauty in small things, finding the lessons in living life, seeing the faces around me in a new way. Today is my four year blog anniversary.

My blog anniversary will always be tied to the anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001. So it is a day of bittersweet remembrance. For some reason, today, I have been thinking mostly about the passengers on United Flight 93, who caused the highjacked plane to crash into a field in Pennsylvania. What an extraordinary effort. Perhaps the purest act of bravery and patriotism I can remember.

The photo, above, is my favorite taken this summer. I took it when we were in Southern Oregon in July, walking with my friend Muriel. I looked up and saw the beautiful moon and sky. I had my camera in my backpack. And, thankfully, I was paying attention.

12 comments:

  1. Nice post, Terry! Love the photo. Congrats on your blogiversary.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wonderful quote and post. Happy blogiversary. Cheers.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Happy Blogiversary! Thanks for paying attention -- and for sharing it with us.

    ReplyDelete
  4. And through your blogging, you have brought inspiration, pleasure, and knowledge, to name a few. Thanks for the great job you do.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your photo is beautiful. I am glad you were paying attention.

    Why did you start your blog on 9/11?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Happy blogiversary, Terry -- and you're exactly right, it's good to be reminded to pay attention. Thanks for the lovely post.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Indeed. Thank you, Terry, and happy anniversary.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Christine, I started my blog late one night, mostly out of curiosity about how it was done. At the time I didn't make a connection between the date and starting the blog.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wish you many more happy blogging years to come!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Happy Anniversary Terry, and what a beautiful picture to remember it with

    ReplyDelete