Talking Point by Sr Elvera Sesta
I OFTEN wonder what it must be like when a little baby sees colour for the first time.
In some ways photography is a bit like that.
I was doing an online course and it so happened that I had enrolled for sunsets and another for landscapes.
Late one afternoon I was onto sunsets.
As I finished taking my shots, I happened to look towards the east.
There was a beautiful glow in the clouds – not the sunset spectaculars but that delicate orange- pink colour. I decided to take a shot in that direction with a slow shutter speed.
The photo seemed pretty ordinary.
Once I downloaded it onto my laptop and increased the saturation of the colour a bit I was blown away.
The colours in the sky, sea and land were magnificent.
I was amazed at how little I saw of God’s creation in my everyday life. I wondered whence those colours had come.
Another time I had to take a photo at twilight.
I did not think that twilight existed in my neck of the woods.
Sure enough, I waited until the sun had disappeared below the horizon and it grew dark then I was regaled with this magnificent display of colours – deep purples and blues mainly.
It lasted for less than 20 minutes but my photos showed even more colours than I had seen with my naked eye..
I set my sights on the lunar eclipse around Easter time.
Again I was rewarded with a blood red moon that gradually darkened with the eclipse as the time passed. Looking through my eyepiece I felt as if I could have stepped onto the moon.
It seemed so close but so beautifully mysterious
I did not venture further afield for the landscapes but made do with what was nearby.
I made sure that I took the photos during the golden hour when our world is bathed in that soft golden glow.
Again my camera picked up the beauty that is in front of us if only we have the eyes to see it.
Perhaps it is because I am short-sighted, but as I cropped my images I saw beauty in my water shots with their reflections of trees, clouds and buildings that I had not seen before.
These were not breath taking views, but just the simple things that surround us every day.
My camera was teaching me to see the beauty in the simple things of life. I was learning to see as a camera does.
Now as I drive home after school I find it difficult as it is usually at sunset when the sky is ablaze with that rich gold that lights up our cityscape.
The same happens in the morning at sunrise. I just want to stop and drink it all in instead of keeping my eyes on the road.
Sometimes, as I walk in the park by the beach at sunrise, the little yellow flowers there are closed tight waiting for the kiss of the sun to open.
Truly, our world is ablaze with the grandeur of God.
All of this reminded me of our relationships with one another.
Often, we fail to see the beauty that exists in another’s words.
We judge from our standpoint, not theirs or should I say God’s?
We are so caught up with ourselves that we do not see the gentle or kind expression in the other or sometimes their hurt. How often have we misinterpreted an action?
If there is this beauty all around us in nature, how much more must there be in all the actions that people all around the world perform in just a single moment of time.
Admittedly, there is evil, but even in the concentration camps of Dachau, good actions were done. Sometimes people are just waiting for that kind word or smile from us to open up like the daisies do, to the touch of the sunlight.
Pope Francis reminds us that the kingdom of God is already present in our world if we have but the eyes of faith and hope to see it in the beauty that surrounds us.
He compares it to the seed in the gospel that grows into a great tree and like that good seed grows amidst the weeds.
He tells us that “those who entrust themselves to God in love will bear good fruit (cf. Jn 15:5). This fruitfulness is often invisible, elusive and unquantifiable. We can know quite well that our lives will be fruitful, without claiming to know how, or where, or when. We can be sure that none of our acts of love will be lost, nor any of our acts of sincere concern for others … All of these encircle our world like a vital force.” ( Pope Francis 2014, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium 279 ).
Sr Elvera Sesta is a Presentation Sister who was principal of St Rita’s College, Clayfield, on Brisbane’s northside, for 20 years. She retired from the position at the end of 2008 but continues to teach at the college.
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