Here’s the thing: what is fair to expect of someone?  Or is it even right to have expectations of someone?  So often we place these weighty requirements on the people around us that have nothing to do with who they are, but rather who we want them to be.  Families are perfect examples of this.  I think we all have these pre-conceived notions of what mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, and daughters are supposed to be like or what we want/need them to be.  We hold the people we’re actually given up to these ideals and they’ll never be a perfect fit.  Notice how I say that won’t be a perfect fit, and not that they won’t measure up?  It bothers me that we instantly take a negative view of people when they don’t meet our expectations.  So maybe your mom wasn’t a great cook (not true in my case, just an example) but she had the patience of a saint and was always willing to lend a helping hand.  Maybe we should just learn to love people for who they are and appreciate what they are willing to offer of themselves.  Which brings me to the other piece of my puzzle: why  do we have to demand so much of one another?  I am perpetually reminded of the “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” conundrum as of late.  If you’re not familiar with the children’s book it’s about a mouse that gets a cookie and then wants milk.  Once he gets milk, he wishes for something else, and then something more, and so on.  I particularly like the “If You Give a Pig a Pancake” sequel, but as always, I digress.  My point is that we are rarely satisfied with what we’re given.  Someone helps us, and we wish they’d done more.  Or gives us a gift and we find fault with it.  Why?  Isn’t it enough that they gave their time, ability, etc. in the first place?  We are all busy, with our own lives to lead and our own interests to pursue.  I don’t know.  I realize it’s an answerless query in many ways.  My stance comes from Taoism which teaches the practice of not having expectations and just taking every person, place, thing and moment for what it is.  Now, I’m not saying I am successful in my practice in this, but I strive to be.  It is not my intention here to insinuate that I am above all this and worthy of climbing up on a soapbox to preach to the rest of you.  Truly, I think I am just trying to reason and write my way through my state of irk.

So what does this have to do with photography, you might be asking?  Well, very little, but that’s the hazard of visiting a site maintained for personal reasons, now isn’t it?  You are kind of at the mercy of my moods.  Sorry about that.  Although, in a way, my current state of mind does tie in nicely to the day’s images as they exceed my expectations.  I shot out the window of the airplane as we began our descent into Colorado yesterday afternoon on a whim, really.  I didn’t think I’d get much from it, or that I’d have to edit them quite a bit for them to be presentable.  Because, really, you should have seen this window.  Clear is not the first word that comes to mind.  Not a trace of the scratchiness and smudginess that made me worry is noticeable on the final product though, and I didn’t have to do a bit of retouching in that respect.  See what I mean about approaching things with no expectations?  Ah well, thanks for indulging me and reading through to the end of the post.  I’ll endeavor to keep things a little lighter in the future.

I know, I know…I can’t help it.  If there’s something that looks remotely fuzzy or feathery in my general vicinity, it’s like my camera locks on it and I just can’t not take the picture.  So I present you with today’s cuddly creature: a little bunny that was hanging out near our car in the parking lot of the marina.