The Birds of Paradise

The beauty of life is everywhere and this is something I am reminded of all of the time. Beauty is everywhere!!! Many of us just get so caught up in our day to day that often times we overlook the beauty of life that is right in front of us. Almost any scene that we see has beauty with in the scene but often we do not allow ourselves to envision it in a way which allows the beauty to come forth.

Heidi and I were recently in So. California. It was our last day and we had just gotten our Starbuck's coffee. We had a little time to kill but what should we do? We were in a strip mall parking lot right next to Carl's Jr. and there was garbage and broken bottles strewn about.

It was here that we found some "Birds of Paradise" just sitting and waiting for us. These are some of the coolest and most beautiful flowers I have ever seen. They look like they should be on a tropical island in the South Pacific or in the Caribbean but rather they were right next to a busy street and parking lot. We took out our cameras and had a little session right there in the parking lot. Looking through the lens, we could imagine being on a beach and hearing the sounds of the crashing waves. It was so beautiful and almost magical. The beauty of these flowers transported us away from a parking lot with Mickey's 40 ounce bottles and other garbage to a place of beauty and serenity even if it was only for a moment.

After our session was over, we had to get back to LA traffic and head to LAX to fly home. The whole drive I had the images of "Birds of Paradise" in my head and it made traffic seem more tolerable, it made the airport seem more welcoming and just put me in a better all around mood.

Remember to look around, envision your surroundings versus only seeing and know that "Birds of Paradise" are around us all of the time.

Real beauty is often found where we last expect it. We just need to open our minds and our vision....

Here are some from our parking lot session: