letting your heart breathe

Sometimes it is necessary to work outside of our own “norm” in order to reignite our innermost flame. We tend to rely on what we are comfortable with instead of venturing out into unknown territory and taking risks. We forget to slow down and enjoy what we are doing because the majority of the time, we feel rushed. We need to be entertained, we feel like we don’t want to miss anything, and of course these days, we don’t want anyone to miss what we’re doing either with the surge in real-time updates from our cellular devices (yes I’m even picking fun at myself for being an avid Twitter and Facebook user). We become tied up in what we claim to “love” and anticipate becoming great experts, eager to find our true “niches” in life. In actuality, stopping to enjoy things outside our own declaration of interest is often the key to growth, and can lead us forward into new possibility.

When I stop and listen to the passion in someone’s voice when they are talking about something they love, and put to rest all of my own mind-clutter, I’m reminded that there is life outside my inner circus of must-see and must-do and must-feel. It is only then that you can truly see beauty, when you stop thinking that the things you love constitute beauty, and that anything else that doesn’t particularly hold your attention lacks significance. What’s wonderful is, there is so much beauty to go around, so much to share, so much right there in front of you; the ego tricks the mind into deceiving the eyes from truly seeing. It is true, the heart does beat, we do have passions of our very own to nurture.. but the heart can grow free, the heart can breathe, there is more time available than our senses lead us to believe.

I was out with friends when I took the photographs in the free wallpapers shown below, and I’m not normally one who really takes an interest in photographing flowers or even using macro. However behind the lens, throughout the creation of this image and others that day, was a garden blooming in both nature and friendships, as we eagerly encouraged one another to try shooting differently than what any of us were used to.

Please feel free to enjoy this wallpaper pack on your desktop and/or cell phone as a reminder to slow down, and take a moment to let your heart breathe (click image to download).