Eternal Love (Part 1): The First Hello

“Any decisive
moment takes
more courage
than anyone will
ever realise.”__K Madhavan Pillai

It all begins in a fraction of a second. It is a moment intense enough to be almost revelation, and yet so fleeting and tenuous that it disappears before you can grasp it, leaving behind a trace of mystery, a certain fascination, a definite allure. Your whole being begs for you to explore and discover. You know that what you find might open your eyes… maybe even change your life forever. And yet, how many times has anything so alluring been out of reach, because of who you are? Because you are just not good enough? Worse still, how many times has it all been something that never was? A mindtrick? An illusion?

Perhaps being in love with an illusion is better than knowing for certain that it was all a lie. You keep telling this to yourself until you realise just how many times you have killed a moment before it became real. You rationalise. If you were a child, it would have been easy to grasp at a possibility simply because the possibility existed. Is there any solace in not knowing for sure?

So you fight your fears and indecisions. Any decisive moment takes more courage than anyone will ever realise, or even comprehend. It lends to the heroic. You move above the rut of every other lost and empty moment in your life. You finally say, “hello.” It dawns upon you that your whole life has been leading up to this. You have made a beautiful discovery that fills your soul with light. You release the shutter… yet again. But this time, it’s different. You suddenly need to go beyond.

This article originally appeared in the July 2013 issue of Better Photography.