Imperfections Unseen

No, don't wait for it to load or anything. The picture you see is complete--black, a stretch of murky darkness. I was looking through my files trying to decide what picture to post then I saw this. A dark expanse... of nothing. One may wonder what this picture could have been. I know what exactly this should be like and why this picture turned out this way (faulty camera settings and trying to guess my way through using my new camera), but what would others see in this picture. I wonder. What could this picture have been in the minds of other people?

As I type all these words out I felt my fingers shake, tremble on the keyboard. As I stared at this picture of nothing I can't help but be bothered that this should be something. 

And I stop writing. 

No. I was wrong. It is a picture of something. 

We just can't see it.

Sometimes life is like that. You're faced with problems and you can't see the way you planned out, the path you know you're taking, because there's a huge roadblock named "obstacles" on your way. It's dark, you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it's there. It hasn't disappeared; it's just temporarily out of view.

So you look at this picture, and other things that are dark and unfathomable, and know. Know, that darkness isn't always the absence of light. Know, that every picture--blurred, overexposed, out of focus, against the light, or in any way "imperfect"--though not always able to show or convey what we want to, was made for a purpose. Know that every action taken in this universe is meant to convey something. Though the message is unclear right now, it would never, ever, be nothing.

So when I look at the picture above, I see a world of possibilities. All the what-ifs and could-have-beens of this picture are astounding. It could be a picture of children playing. An old couple kissing. Arguing friends, tearful goodbyes, or a picture of a fly buzzing threateningly near your favorite food. Whatever this picture could have been, this picture is now, simply, itself. 

And yes, there comes that small tinge of regret whenever a photo turns out in a way you least expect them to be. But there are happy accidents, shots you never thought possible, until you actually take them. It took me this picture of nothing--wait, no. It took me this picture of something to realize this. Maybe I'm just overthinking everything. But this is how I choose to see life. Regrets are inevitable; it's a human emotion natural to everyone. But what you feel after that regret, how you get past through that regret, that's what matters most.

As I look at this photo now, I smile. And remember the things that happened that day I took this. The people I was with, the emotions I may be feeling at that very moment, even the thoughts that may have run through my head . And this photo slowly turns from a picture of nothingness into a secret corner of memories in my head, just waiting for that lamp in my brain to turn its attention its way so it can show what it has for me.

Just like life.