Cindy Pitts Gilbert, Buford Weekly Illustrated September 2nd
Are you a planner, a
worry wart, or a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of person? Are you that
person who offers a warning from your experience or the person that says, “That
will never happen to me”? We live in a world of uncertainty. The only thing that
is certain is that nothing is certain.
Everything is going
along just great until you spill your coffee on your shirt before a big
presentation. You rip your suit pocket before you meet with the boss, or
you accidentally wear two pair of shoes that are identical, except one is blue
and the other is black. Do you carry a change of clothes, “just in case?” Do
you drive too fast or too recklessly, making your passengers gasp in all the
air in the car? Have you ever drank too much at a party and maybe even lost
your dinner hanging over the porcelain throne exclaiming, “I’ll never do that
again”? How about that ridiculously fragile cell phone? Is the cover on or off?
Everything will be alright, until someone screams at a spider, and hello,
cracked screen, or plop, plop into the toilet it goes. I once picked up
my phone from my desk, forgot it was plugged in, the cord yanked back, it
literally, flew out of my hands and flipped right into my full cup of coffee;
true story.
What is it about
humans that we naively believe that all the terrible things that happen are not
going to happen to us? Experience has a lot to do with it. I’m not
suggesting living in a bunker and not living life. I am just suggesting that
perhaps taking advice from those who have “been there, done that” might be
advantageous to those who haven’t, and more importantly, shouldn’t. I will
admit I did things when I was younger that I now know were unwise. Did I listen
to anyone? Probably not. I am now more cautious in my car than my children
would like because my car once sailed across the highway into ongoing traffic
all because of a thin sheen of water on the road. Those same children that
didn’t heed the words of their wise mother have learned the hard way: it’s all
fun and games until it’s not.
We walk through this
thing called life making multitudes of mistakes and hopefully, yes, I said,
hopefully, we grow wiser and learn a lesson. There are, of course, those people
you know that seem to be a bit more stubborn than others about this lesson
thing. We learn very young that if we touch the stove it may be hot and burn
us, but some children may touch it a time or two more than others. It’s a
personal journey, though, isn’t it? We can’t seem to save many the benefit of
our mistakes, or can we? The lucky ones become “the elders,” those wise
ones who survived the carelessness of not listening to their elders. We shake
our heads at the young and offer words of wisdom and warning from our own
mistakes while the young shake their heads believing that the elders know
nothing. “OK, grandma,” they say. “I’ll be careful,” until they are not, the
fun is over, the “I’m sorry” is said, and the lesson is either learned or not.
Could it be that
there are no accidents? Maybe accidents are only incidents due to a lack of
focus and experience. To be a great photographer you have to learn how to
focus a camera. You can either do it yourself by investing a lot more time than
you’d like into figuring it out yourself, or by learning from a skilled professional.
Make life easier on yourself, learn how to focus your camera of life from
someone who knows how to get a clear picture of the consequences before you
shoot. And try to remember, life isn’t digital. It’s 35 millimeter film; once
you shoot, there is no delete.
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