Archive for January 31st, 2012
Rescuing Joy For the Inner Child
The joy of being young and alive
Sometimes there are scenes that emerge that didn’t exist prior to my raising my camera to my eyes. I saw this young boy at a road construction site only metres from large equipment in use with big holes and deep water too close by. I had been taking photos of men riding a bucket into some of these holes in order to rescue equipment and of family members watching on the sidelines, some of them holding babies, when I thought, ‘Why not?’ and took this single photo of the boy. With the photo taken his joy was soon shared by the adults including what I would assume was his mother (in the background with the baby) who smiled and nodded as though I had done something special in taking the photo.
I guess it all has to do with having someone actually see and recognize you. I think back again to Martin Buber’s book, I and Thou, and know that the eye to eye recognition is one soul resonating with another soul and knowing that this is enough, a feeding of the soul.
This boy also touched something else with me, my own little inner boy. I see in his smile, his trust, and openness, the hidden child within me who has to learn to smile, trust and be freed. Some of the most important things are the simplest things.
