Hiding in plain sight

Swamp in Ama, Louisiana, with well camouflaged duck

I'll start by admitting I am not a very good photographer. There was a very distinctive and beautiful duck in the swamp that I was trying to photograph. The duck is in the picture, but hard to see. Part of that reflects the beauty of nature. If the duck was easy to see, it would be easy prey. Another part is my lack of photography skills. And still another is that we see what we are focused on, often not seeing that what we see may not be apparent to others.

I've got a lot of thoughts circling right now, and I am going to attempt to bring them together by writing this post.

I have long believed and preached that we see what we are looking for. If I am looking for a reason to believe the world is a terrible place, I can find multiple data points to support that hypothesis. If I am looking for a reason to believe the world is a wonderful place, I can find multiple data points to support that hypothesis.

When I took this picture, I didn't notice that a piece of the airboat was in the picture. I didn't realize the duck was so hard to see. I was focused on the duck, so all of the periphery faded.

Navigating 2025 is a lot like that for me. There are things happening that feel threatening, things that contribute to my chronic anxiety. It is very hard for me to not focus on those things. And when I do, they are all I see, and I want to stay in my bed and pull the covers over my head.

Thus far, I have been successfully forcing myself out of bed, and trying to do things that will shift my focus. The effort that takes is exhausting. And even though I am making the effort, I don't feel like I am performing very well at any of my endeavors.

I go out and do the things I am supposed to do, and put on a happy face, and act like I am fine. But I'm not fine. I am hiding in plain sight, just like that duck.

And I realize that many of the people I am interacting with are doing exactly the same thing. This is causing me to try to be more patient. To try to be friendlier. To try to be more upbeat and positive.

Two-edged sword. The more I act like I am fine, the less likely anyone is to try to help. The more I try to help others, the easier it gets to shift my focus away from the fact I am not fine.

I don't have any answers. I guess I just wanted anyone reading this who is struggling to know they are not alone. And that they are seen.

We end up living in the world that we notice. I can't control the bigger picture. I can't fix the things that are happening that feed my anxiety. But I can try to be a bright spot in the lives that I interact with.

The more people try to be that light, the more we can collectively push back the darkness. Keep shining my friends. We all need your light.