I almost decided to skip this week’s #FriFotos theme of “Holy Places”. While I’ve got plenty of pictures of those, I’m not religious in the least—in fact, I’d go so far as to label myself agnostic, leaning toward atheism.
So I was surprised when, perusing my photos, certain shots elicited a visceral reaction of, if not “God,” at least spirituality. For me, that feeling of universal energy (or whatever you want to call it) isn’t found in a church, or a temple, or a mosque, although I do think these can all be beautiful buildings. Instead, I feel the most spiritual during those little moments—the sun glinting off a shell on the beach, the fierce beauty of a fresh snowfall, even the solemn stillness of a cemetery. Here, a few of my favorite photos.
Fresh snow after a blizzard in the Austrian Alps.
A staircase in one of the Borders Abbeys in Scotland.
The grounds in back of Dachau. One of the saddest places I’ve ever been, yet the feeling of perseverance—and of nature reclaiming the site—was overwhelming.
A statue at Mount Auburn Cemetery.
A rainbow near Kilt Rock on the Isle of Skye.
Rain on a mushroom at Boston’s Blue Hills Reservation.
Okay, one church. The Congregational Church in my hometown of Norfolk, Connecticut.
The raw power of the waves after a winter storm in York, Maine.
My first sighting of a dolphin at the beach in Naples, Florida.
A sunset over Boston, as viewed from the Harbor’s Long Island.
A hyacinth in bloom in my backyard.
View from the top of Belize’s Xunantunich Mayan ruins.
The wild beauty of Iceland’s Gulfoss waterfall.
An owl sleeping in the Florida Everglades.
Beautiful, Jess!
The owl is adorable.
Your “surprise” at your visceral reaction might be telling you something. Our intellect often shouts down our intuition. The beauty you react to and photograph so well broke through your defenses and spoke to you about God. If you continue to surrounding yourself with beauty and working with creativity (I hope so!), more surprises may come your way.
Cute owl.. ;D