Anticipation

Anticipation: a feeling of excitement about something that is going to happen in the near future. We're all feeling it, as we imagine being with friends and family once more. We imagine what we'll do when the world is ours once again; when we're free to travel anywhere, dine out, or go to concerts. 

Springtime in Vancouver! I've been anticipating it for decades. The ribbons of pink cherry blossoms lining city streets, the Sakura groves in city parks, and private gardens, and even the petal snowfalls at the end of the season, have been on my mind for nearly thirty years. I was not going to let a global pandemic stop me from capturing the fleeting beauty of cherry blossoms.

 

I saw them way back in November 2019 BV (before the virus). Even with bare branches, the vignette of a small group of cherry trees overlooking Vancouver's False Creek, filled me with anticipation. I returned earlier this month, expecting to capture their beauty with my camera. I was too early. Their buds needed a few more days of sunshine and warm weather to open. Anticipation and patience usually travel hand in hand. 

A few days ago, I journeyed two miles along the seawall walk, back to the cherry tree spot. What a disappointment! Instead of full, ruffled pink blossoms framing the blue waters of the creek, I could only see gnarly, gangly branches through my viewfinder. Things don't always turn out as we anticipate. 

I chose to enjoy the experience...to be present to the beauty around me. It was magical. Worth the wait.

While we're physically isolating ourselves, anticipating the day when we can live more normal lives, be mindful of the present. Enjoy every moment of life. My walks along the False Creek Seawall are always filled with beauty, and inspiration. The journey is the experience. Sometimes, when you're open to the world around you, you discover something unexpected, that you didn't anticipate...  

 

Photographs Copyright of: Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.