no fear

There are many times, even though I am there in the moment, that I don't see the story until I develop the photo. That happened to me recently when I watched my 4 year old nephew jump off our dock at the cottage for the first time. I didn't think much of it then, other than wanting to digitally capture another first at the cottage for Ben, but when I was working on the editing of the photo, I saw the story....a story of no fear.



In the photo I saw a little boy leap into the great unknown...unknown for him, having never jumped off a dock or never been swimming in a lake...and he leaped not just with no fear but with enthusiasm and joy. I was reminded how that is the one of the very qualities that I love about kids and that makes them so easy to photograph...they live their lives with no fear in their hearts. When I was editing this photo of my nephew, I was also able to see why he was able to leap with no fear, as the picture shows him jumping into my brother's (his daddy's) arms. He was able to jump because, instead of feeling fear, he felt love and trust. And I think this ability to live with no fear because of love of trust also exists in many dogs...I definitely recognize it in Sophie.




She follows my commands to jump on this new table or run through this unknown tunnel without hestition because of her relationship with me...she knows I would not send her into peril. She trusts me...and that trust is founded in my love for her. Our kids and our dogs are able to take these leaps of faith because they know they have someone to catch them....and because they know the person advising them to "jump" only has their very best interests at heart. And I think, as adults, we should follow their lead. I have, in the last two and a half years, done more "leaping" than I ever thought possible....and I did it because I knew I had my wonderful family and irreplacable Ya Ya's to catch me if I fell...and that it would be okay if I did. I was also able to leap because, just as Sophie trusts in me to guide her, I trusted in her to guide me and she showed me the true path I was meant to walk in this life. Granted, as adults, our leaps get a bit more complicated than a little boy's first jump off a dock, on a warm summer afternoon, into his daddy's arms. But I can remember my first dock jump as a kid....and I can say with certainty that the adult leaps take just as much as support from the loved ones in our lives as those ones as a kid....and they can bring just as much joy. Living a life with no fear in your heart....I think the kids and the dogs have got it right.