Loving Storm Clouds
While I was in active addiction I had no sense for visual sensations or beauty in the world. All my brain could and would think of was how to get the next high or get drunk. Being in recovery has not only opened my mind, but also opened my eyes. I am truly grateful for this new experience in my life.
Today I am driving down a road on a frosty night and find myself smiling at the beauty of ice crystals blinking like diamonds on the side of the road in the grass and in the trees. In summer, I find myself studying the beauty of a single flower in its natural perfection for minutes at a time. Colorful leaves in autumn give me serenity if I just look at them and soak in the beauty of their shades. I did not see all this while I was numbing myself for decades in addiction. All I saw was “gray”, and this kind of beauty did not get a second look or any of my attention.
I got myself a nice camera, but any cell phone will do the job in an amazing way as well, and started to make photos during my walks in nature. It gave me three very positive experiences. One is, that my walks for exercise were never boring and time flew by. Second, taking a photo is a wonderful tool to be grounded in the present. And third, I had beautiful pictures to post on social media and stay in touch with friends through beauty instead of negativity.
Clouds, sunrises and sunsets are so beautiful to capture in pixels, because they are always beautiful, always different and change their appearance every second. Instead of just focusing on the sky itself, I can also make it a three-dimensional experience and play with foregrounds and side frames. The most angry looking storm clouds have a natural appearance of power and beauty, you can turn an obviously negative thing into something positive: a picture of nature art. No photo has to be professional, as I said earlier a cell phone will do the job— it’s more about the recognition and awareness of our surroundings and the ability to actively look at something with new eyes and remain non-judgmental.
I would like to encourage you to try it for yourself. Don’t use difficult objects like the moon or the sun, since the pictures will be disappointing at first. Take sunsets, sunrises, flowers, old barns and more. Look at the world with new eyes, the eyes of recovery. Do you have a picture you like to share with us? Post it under comments! We would love to see it.
We do recover!
Susanne Johnson