As I hopped out of my old truck that dies every few weeks, I came across a beautiful family looking at some otters down south of the bay. The art of noticing the small things.
As I have walked through life these last few months, I have come to the realization of several things. One of those things is this art, and the other is that everyone was once a kid and everyone still has that kid in them. The sun was beating down on our necks on a Saturday morning a few weeks back. The dirt on the trail we were walking on was still muddy and our shoes were far gone. We walked another 15 minutes, snapping images on an old Kodak Polaroid camera along the way, and we arrived at this little cove covered with colorful shells and footprints from the old men and women before us and the young kids running around.
We looked down maybe 75 feet from us and saw a middle-aged man with a little boy sitting on the edge of this small rock cliff that the ocean surrounded. A fishing pole in each of their hands. However, the man didn't seem to be fishing. It was like he was holding it just to make the boy feel more confident. Maybe it's his son, maybe it's his buddy's son — it didn't matter though. He was there for the little boy, and he'll remember that without knowing at some point down the yellow-striped road.
Later in the day, as we made our way north up the coast, we hopped out once again… bare feet getting scraped by the rough ground. We found a little spot a little ways down the beach. I had taken many images here before and got some really great waves as well. However, it was extremely low swell this day. Once again, two fishermen standing there on the waterline, casting lines and letting out a laugh or two. All we could think was, “They probably planned this out the night before over a beer or two, just two kids wanting to go for a fish the next day…” They were probably in their 30s.
As I think about these two moments, they connect more than we can understand. At one point, these two men we saw on the waterline were just that little kid standing on the jagged rocks with their old man. It's a small world we live in, and it can really be so simple when you notice the small things.
