Reflections

I saw this heron when I was paddling my kayak back to Chaffinch Island State Park in Guilford a couple weeks ago. There was so much beauty in the scene: the heron standing perfectly still, the bird's reflection broken across the ripples in the water, and the green grass and blue sky also reflected in the water.

The way the water shone back the scene around reminded me of a conversation Amy and I had about the picture below, which I took a couple years ago in the Canadian Rockies:

Amy had said, "It's so hard to tell which way is right side up in this picture! Why is the color in the water more intense than the color in the sky?"

"Because I set the exposure of the camera based on the reflection," I said. "The camera can't adjust exposure for everything, and I chose to focus on the reflection."

Focusing on reflection is not necessarily a good thing. One thinks of Narcissus. But also, those of us who live near the woods think of male cardinals, which fly over and over again into our windows. Why? Territorial behavior: the bird mistakes his reflection for another male, and attacks the window to drive off the competition. Ouch.

So reflection has its dangers, but of course its benefits as well. After many hours in therapy, I find myself aided by self-awareness, when I can achieve it. Our music group Just Harmony has been singing a song we learned from a recording of Michael Jackson: "If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, then make a change!"