Places of Contemplation
Before the Covid-19 pandemics entered the United States, life was busy and full. I would wake up and rush my wife off to work and my daughter off to daycare. I would complete my classes, fight traffic back to the house, cook dinner, feed our daughter, eat, prep for the next day, bath time, story time, bedtime, say hi, say goodnight, finish my homework, get to bed, wake up. And I loved the mayhem. I loved the sense of purpose. Then the pandemic arrived and everything slowed down for me.
Stuck in my house, my mind became cluttered. Every single one of my engagements, weddings, portraits, headshots, fashion shoots were canceled. My daughter continued to go to daycare. My wife continued to go to work. But I was stagnant and alone. Eventually, when I woke up in the morning, I didn't even bother to open the shades on the windows. It wasn’t long before I felt secluded like a prisoner in my own house. After weeks of a depression, I went back outside. I went to familiar places and saw them again like it was the first time. I would walk these familiar places with my headphones in, drowning out any outside noise. Sometimes it's nice just to see. I stand in one place motionless and watch the clouds pass over the landscape while I am still. These are the places where I used to go to think, and now I go there to reflect. These are my places of contemplation.
