Monday Birds
Monday turned out to be beautiful, which is kind of ironic considering how much I was dreading the beginning of the work week. It came at the perfect time, when I needed a day like that, to anchor me somewhere outside of my turbulent thoughts. Besides the beautiful scenery, it felt like a sweet reward for maintaining a new habit for a whole week. Instead of waking up and hitting snooze more times than I’m willing to admit, then rushing us all out the door in a mini panic, I managed to mix things up. I had Jacob take the bus instead of fighting my way through the school drop off line, which left just Madelyn to drop at daycare. I’ve had almost an hour to myself every morning for a week now, which starts the day on a much brighter note.
I spent my hour Monday exploring my favorite photo taking spots down by the creek that weaves around my neighborhood. I got to feel the hint of warmth from the morning sun, breath in the refreshing cool breeze and to hear the the birds singing. I’ve walked this same area almost every day lately, every chance I can manage to escape the confines of life responsibilities. Somehow, there is always something new and exciting to photograph. It’s the perfect prescription to offset whatever chaos ensues in between.
Monday was no exception. I walked down the first dock, taking in the beautiful muted morning sunlight reflecting off the water. As I turned around, I spotted a bald eagle as he took flight towards the tallest tree along the shoreline. Somehow I managed to hold the phone steady enough and not blur the entire picture in my excitement. I then noticed that the tide had receded more than usual. An area of the shoreline that has been under construction had just enough of the rocks exposed for me to walk on. I ventured along the uneven path towards a cove I can’t normally see. Able to experience the view from a different angle, I captured a picture of the sun shinning through the trees and the reflection of a bank of clouds on the water.
I would have been more than satisfied with just being able to enjoy these moments, but it somehow got even better. As I approached the second dock, I heard movement through the trees. I rounded the bend feeling a mixture of excitement and slight apprehension, as I had no idea what I’d find. A heron that has eluded me many times now took off from a partially submerged branch, allowing me to photograph him mid flight.
And the grand finale of the morning played out at my last stop. I walked down the skinny wooden dock that leads to the most expansive open view of the creek. I kneeled down to take some comparatively average pictures of some sailboats against the morning horizon. Out of nowhere, a seagull came swooping down and landed on the dock not 3 feet from me. Had I not been so relaxed already, I probably would have accidentally thrown my phone (or myself) in the water to get avoid the incoming bird torpedo. However, I held my phone steady, planted my feet, and snapped a few of my favorite photos of the morning. And then he stayed as I sat on the dock for another 10 minutes. I swear he was showing off and posing as he chose multiple spots to perch or walk around me.
Top it off with a variety of ducks, robins and other small birds as I headed back home. I didn’t have any more time to look through all the pictures I’d taken, but that planted a seed of excitement, knowing I had a bunch of photos to look forward to sorting through at the end of the work day, which also ended with a beautiful sunset.
There is such contrast between starting the day stressed about the scarcity of time and starting the day feeling full of gratitude, awe and creativity. I didn’t realize how much I was running around trying to check everything off the list and de-prioritizing these moments. The funny thing is, I was much more productive the rest of the day after making space to start my day differently. It makes me wonder, if I was able to capture all that in an hour, what else am I missing? When I am feeling stressed, it pulls me inward, towards a vortex that constricts me within. It’s hard to remember to even pay attention to what’s beyond me. When I take a walk, that feeling fades away and is replaced with a feeling of expansion and focus.
If you need a quick fix, this is the best one I know and in my experience, it has a 100% success rate. Plus, you never know what you might find - as my dad likes to say, every day holds new promise
There’s science to back it up too.
Dr Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist at Stanford has been studying the impact of vision and breathing on stress and the body for over 20 years. His research has revealed that when we look at something stressful (or exciting) our field of vision narrows so that one thing is in laser sharp focus and the rest is blurrier. Our eyeballs actually rotate slightly inwards towards our nose. In contrast by expanding our visual field the body is able to switch off the stress response.
So, to take this one step further we can induce a state of calm and reduced stress by allowing our eyes to relax and take in a wider panorama or view. Forget focusing on one thing and instead broaden your horizon.
