thoughts for graduates––be it schools or seasons

it's about this time of year that you start to see a lot of greeting cards in stores for graduates. why is it that so many of them have a column of some sort on the front? i guess it symbolizes an institution and the idea of completing the course of education there.

i just took this column photo at the parthenon replica in nashville. i thought i heard or read somewhere that it is almost to scale of the original structure in greece. it was very interesting, as well as fun to photograph. i kept picturing ancient times with people standing around outside beneath the columns––students, learners, teachers, thinkers––conversing and debating.

i thought about wanting to post this photo on my blog, but wondered what i would write about. i'm pretty sure there are not many graduates reading my blog, but then i thought about how many of us are graduating from life-lessons––or at least learning them now.

many of us are going through things that we will hopefully learn from. seasons of life perhaps. for me, it's unemployment––as is the case for at least a few of my readers. i recently wrote about learning and how i always hope to be doing so.

if i had the money, i would go back to school in an instant to learn more and soak up all that i can––whether it be about interior design or anything! but right now, i'll have to soak up all the free learning that i can. and believe me––it's everywhere! whether through mistakes i've made or a documentary i pick up from the library or the manual that came with my camera. i want to always be learning.

i came across a quote today––the one that is on the photo i posted. i love what it says. i want this to be me, my thoughts, my philosophy. then just minutes later i read this:

"you find beauty in ordinary things. do not lose this ability."

i liked this, too! i have had several people tell me that i have that ability. i never want to lose that no matter how much i learn. it's why i love photography. it's why i love to look through that little view finder and capture those things. i see it in all of you, too. it's the little things. i'm glad there are others like you out there. i'm glad you see it in me, too.

i guess what i'm saying is, although you may not be graduating from school this month {which if you happen to be, congrats!}, i hope you are learning too. i hope you are graduating from lessons learned or seasons past. i hope you are thinking about the things that matter and finding beauty in the everyday and the necessary. if you are, congrats and keep learning! keep going––go get another degree.

and if you care to share or inspire, leave me a comment about what you've been learning lately. i'd love to hear what it is. really!