A Year of Gratitude – March 5, 2024

I saw my gratitude through a camera lens today. It was grey and dreary here today. It rained off and on all day. I waited, hoping that the sun might come out for a bit so that I could take photos for a few recipes and projects that Emma and I have been working on in the studio.

Around mid-afternoon, I decided not to wait any longer. I got out my ring light and started setting things up to take a few photos using the light to brighten things up. Penny ran past my light to yell at a squirrel in the front yard. The light started to topple over, but I caught it before it did.

I had ingredients, bowls, and spoons laid out on the nearby table. I grabbed a few cloth napkins for good measure. I also had a few new pieces to take listing photos for our Mercantile Shop. So, I had quite a mess going on as I tried to gather everything together.

Some days I can easily pull together the pieces that I want to feature in a photo. I can see it in my mind, decide how it should be put together so that the photo will look the way I want it to. There are days when that happens easily. Today wasn’t one of those days.

I struggled. I just couldn’t see to get it right. The light wasn’t as full as I wanted it to be. The pieces weren’t falling into place. It just didn’t look “right” to me.

I took a deep breath. I stepped away for a minute. I just stood there and listened while the antique cuckoo clock ticked away the seconds. Then I went back to the table and looked at things with a slightly different attitude. I stopped focusing on what was wrong with what was in front of me and tried to think about how I could make it better.

It didn’t take me long to pick up an inexpensive piece of foamcore to bounce the light off the far side of the photo. Then I pulled the smooth piece of parchment paper I had set everything on and crumpled it up in my hands. I smoothed it out a bit and started placing the pieces on the paper. After a few adjustments, I had made it better.

I took a few photos, shifted a few pieces just a bit, and took my photos. It was still dreary outside. The scene wasn’t perfect. I didn’t set up the perfect shot. Instead, I accepted that it couldn’t be perfect. I made it the best that I could with my old camera, my $20 light, and props I had in the house. Most importantly, I decided that my best was good enough. It took me awhile to get there, but I did. It felt good.

Of course, then I turned around and realized that I needed to do it all over again and then I had to clean up the mess I had made on the dining room table. So, I did. In case you were wondering, Penny Lane slept through the whole thing.

I need to accept that my best efforts are good enough more often. I need to look for ways I can make things better without trying to make them perfect. I’m trying to do that for myself, but I definitely need more practice. I’ll start tonight by putting the day’s work behind me and telling myself that it was good enough because it was.

I hope that your day treated you gently and that you decided that your best was good enough. It can be such a relief to do that.

This post is part of our A Year of Gratitude Series. You can find the introduction, inspiration, and entire year’s gratitude’s posts here.