exploring

Shopping centres make me tetchy.  Harshly lit and full of muffled noise they evoke feelings of claustrophobia at best and despair at worst.  I'm often totally overwhelmed by the mass of choice and wander aimlessly like a lost soul only to leave empty handed. When forced to take my babies with me into these abysses their eyes glaze over within minutes from the assault of light, noise and visual clutter. My hands reach for them constantly as I perform an octopus dance pulling them back from the swirl of people around us. I'm sure I always leave with one or two more grey hairs.

Oh but to explore. Places where our eyes can rest on natural textures and our lungs inhale fresh, pure air. My anxiety lifts like a fog in these spaces and I release my hold on chubby hands. I let my babies wander off ahead of me, the invisible tether much longer in these parts as they turn over rocks, peer down hollows and crunch papery leaves between their fingers.

Animated chatter and skippedy feet slowly subside and give way to a quietening from us all. I observe them observing the world and use my camera to hone in on the minutiae of their beings in the same way they use their magnifying glasses to scrutinise tiny life. Treasures are collected and new paths are tread. Wisps of nature that capture our particular attention are recorded with concentration and detail. We will delight in looking back on these in years to come.

To explore is to seek, to hunt, to sift, to scout...to question....to live.

Steph x

I made Bijou a small, simple explorer's bag for our many travels (a small calico bag would work perfectly). Filled with a magnifying glass, a sturdy journal and a set of pencils or pastels she is ever prepared for a magnificent discovery.