There is something about the first major snowfall that brings a sense of quiet. Amongst the chaos of the city, there’s a feeling of solitude. The snow reshapes the city by covering the flaws and offering a fresh perspective.

It’s time to prepare the mind for the winter.

Let’s face it winter can break you if you let it. The long dark days. The frigid nostril-sticking-together cold that makes your bones ache. The exhaustion caused by the weight of constantly wearing every piece of clothing you own. It can all beat you down.

To get through it find moments of solitude. Setting time aside to be alone has been known to increased happiness and help reduce depression. So, when winter punches you in the throat, spend some time alone enjoying what surrounds you.

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Let’s talk about the weather shall we? I don’t know what the weather has been like where you live, but in Quebec it has been a rainy, snowy ugly chaotic mix of weather sludge.

I’ll be honest, I like to see the sun once in a while. You’d never know that based on the regions I choose to live. It’s not uncommon to go days, sometimes months, without the sun making an appearance. This will wear you down to the point of exhaustion if you let it. There are times I find the lack of sun rage inducing.

As the days without sun dragged on, I decided to go search for beauty in a rainy, snowy, gray, monochromatic world. I figured it was a better option than sitting inside and repeatedly plunging pencils into my eyes.

Well, the ugly I thought existed was nowhere to be found. I found beauty watching a single bright colored leaf cling to a branch as the rain continually beat it. I found beauty in the way snow piled onto a barren branch. I found beauty in the reflections revealed in a mud puddle.

I found beauty. You can too.

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Let’s be honest, every one of us would love to have one moment to stand out from the throngs of people vying for a remarkable moment of their own. A moment when we break through the noise and bask in our greatness as bouquets of roses land at our feet. The greatness we always knew was there, but others have not had the opportunity to experience.

In a world where being uber-famous is celebrated and instant gratification dominates our pleasure center, we quickly become discouraged when the time for our close-up appears to be out of reach. So, we give up.

We give up and yet everyday we have small moments of greatness that we toss aside because we feel the stage is too small or our level of gratification is not reached.

Create small moments where you stand out among the people who really matter. Several small moments of greatness often lead to bigger moments, which lead to larger moments. Before you know it you’ll have your bigly moment.

Everyday is filled with opportunities for a close-up. Be ready for yours.

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From the time we born we are conditioned to do what’s right. We often forget being wrong can sometimes lead us in a new direction or help us understand what we are searching for.

Every two weeks I grab a camera and make the walk to our mailbox which is 2km from our cottage. That’s a little over a mile for my US friends. I know what you’re thinking—why the hell is your mailbox so far away? If you really want to know, read this article.

The walk gives me time to think and absorb the world around me. It’s a time for me to play around with camera settings while searching for mundane subjects to photograph. I have no expectations, I just shoot.

During my last walk, I blindly changed some of my camera settings to see what would happen. Once I saw the first image I was pleasantly surprised. The settings on my camera were all wrong according to the rules of photography and yet, I find the images very pleasing.

Why are we afraid of being wrong? Who determines what is right? What may be considered wrong for one person, may be the norm for another.

Being wrong helps us interpret what we don’t understand.

Go forth and be wrong.

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