So this past year I have been participating in something
called a, “Project 365”. It is a photo
journal where you take one picture a day and document your travels throughout
the year.
“Evil Chicken, how did you stumble onto this, Project 365 thing?” Gentle Reader, the whole sordid affair can be
found right here: http://evilchickenscratch.blogspot.com/2012/12/project-365.html. This is how it all started. However, this particular blog entry is not about
how it happened; it’s about what happened between Point A and Point B, 365 days
later.
I have felt the pull of the undertow of the tides of
time. It recedes at an alarming
pace. “Tempus Fugit”, my friends; time flees. I don’t say this to depress you (or myself
for that matter), I say this as a gentle reminder to be aware of this fact; use
your senses, to become more observant of where you are and what you are
doing. To capture as many moments as you
can with those you love for the old saying is more than true, “we are on loan
to each other”. Enjoy each moment. Celebrate it because it is not coming around
again. It is precious. I consider myself to have a rudimentary
appreciation for time. I know that it is
fleeting and, therefore, I try to spend it wisely. This project reminds me of that fact – the precious
nature of time.
As Project 365 progressed and I had habituated myself to
the process I began to notice something unexpected. I found that as I reviewed each and every one
of the pictures that I was taken back to the exact moment that it was
taken. In a very real sense, Project 365
has been my pensieve (which places me one step closer to wizarding
greatness). Yes, a pensieve; in the
Harry Potter books a pensieve is a magical bowl where memories can be stored
and viewed to be examined at will. Albus Dumbledore possesses one and, now
due to Project 365, so do I. This was
completely unexpected on my part and it remains a happy discovery. I would recommend doing a Project 365 for
this experience alone.
You learn certain things when participating in something
like this; celebrating the ridiculous, the sublime, and everything in
between. There were some days that I had
a hard time choosing just one photo and other days where nothing presented
itself and I had to get, “creative” to meet my self-imposed deadline. Doing a Project 365 you see not only how
large the world is but how small it can be too; you become a moment collector
and some of those moments speak to you.
I saw that some pictures inspired me to write poems like
this one…
I found that I had a neighbor who likes to decorate his
antique John Deer tractor with flags for Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.
I watched the seasons change and found that I prefer the
blue skies of spring & summer to the grey skies of winter. I found that I subscribe to the James Taylor
philosophy of choices in hues.
Deep greens and blues are the colors I choose…
There were days at the beach…
And the odd weather event…
Some of the things that I photographed this year are gone
now. They don’t exist anymore. There is the payphone where I ran into the
girl (again) who would become my wife.
It’s been torn up for an expansion project and now it only lives in my
memory and my pensieve on Project 365.
The places some familiar…
Some forgotten…
And then there were the beautiful sights that I was lucky
enough to see and to try to capture in the lens of my Android cell phone.
My pensieve has kept them all – even when I forget a
moment, Project 365 remembers. These
days I need all the help I can get remembering; when I find my precious time is
pulled so many places that I never wanted it to go it becomes vital to steal
some of those moments back. Here are 365
moments that I stole this Year of our Lord, 2013 documented in my Project 365: http://www.pinterest.com/theevilchicken/project-365/.
I will be starting my Project 365 – 2014 Edition immediately. I couldn’t recommend the experience higher to
you, Gentle Reader. Moment collecting
has its rewards and I’m looking forward to a rewarding New Year.
Until then, Gentle Reader, may God hold you in the palm
of his hand throughout the coming year and may we both be comparing our Project 365 – 2014 editions one revolution
around the sun from now.
Happy New Year!
