Nowhere to Be

You get to choose your pace.
 
 
 
Nowhere to Be is for the person who has spent too long moving at everyone else's pace.
 
I found this frog in Italy, on a warm day when I was travelling in tourist mode. I'd been photographing a pond because the water lilies were beautiful, with their white flowers and vivid green leaves floating peacefully. Then I noticed him, tucked in close to a lily: a spotted frog with a bright green stripe down the middle, and camouflage that almost won. I still don't know what kind of frog he is. He was floating quietly, enjoying the warmth. To honour his camouflage, I focused on the water lily and let him go soft. Most of the sharpness belongs to the flower. Most of the feeling belongs to him.
 
I'd been in tourist mode, looking for the next thing. He was floating. It's satisfying to watch something take its time, to feel how it takes away all sense of hurry. I realised he was making me present. And I realised the moment wasn't going to last. The water would move, the light would shift, he'd drift off. If you enjoy it, though, it gives it more power.
 
Nowhere to Be is for those carried along by everyone else's pace. It isn't asking you to drop every obligation. It's asking you to choose, to decide how fast you move and what you take in. Hurry isn't the point. Intention is. Let this frog float quietly in the corner of your day, and when you notice yourself rushing, check whether you're choosing the speed or being carried by it.