When our first child was about 3, we took him to an outdoor symphony concert. It was in a park where we could lay out a blanket, a picnic and plenty of toys to keep him occupied. When the orchestra struck that initial chord, on which they all tune up, he dropped what he was doing and spun around to gaze at the stage - totally aware and totally engaged.
I believe that kind of presence is essential to being really alive, but the older we get the less automatic it seems. To practice that attention and openness, I carry a camera when Annabelle and I walk, and try to respond when summoned. I call the resulting images Awarities. Such photographs can be like opera: a way of embracing, prolonging and illuminating a brief but deep moment.
