Discovering Beauty in Your Backyard

Every day, hundreds of beautiful things happen in our backyard that we don't notice because we are too preoccupied. When you start to better detect the elements around you, your backyard can become an oasis of discovery. 

Not just the trees blooming into new leaves, but the way they change color as the days roll on. The sun's rays reflect differently in the forest each morning, and the breeze in the evening gives the trees their whisper. I made a short film about this and shared it below.

People often ask me: 

What can I do to become a better storyteller?

The answer is more innate than you might think. 

The answer is to be more curious.

The more interested you are, the more questions you ask, and the more you ponder the things around you, the more you learn about the world (and ultimately yourself). It is through this curiosity; you'll begin to see beauty in the everyday. 

The backyard may be the most common and easily accessible place to experience your own adventures in curiosity. 

Take a stroll through your backyard this week and look for exciting things.

Then share here!

Start by just going outside with your eyes. 

No camera, nothing else... get out there with your two feet.

Get out there and witness something fascinating through playful curiosity. 

Don't go into the situation with ANY expectations or desires of specific outcomes. When you do this, you stint your ability to suspend disbelief and trajectories to "bump into discoveries." 

After doing this, you can revisit the space with a more profound curiosity to revisit your past discoveries. Then, with a reignited perspective, you can approach this shared space with a new way of thinking and exploring.  

I would love to know...

• What are some of your favorite things to discover and find in your backyard?
• What kind of environments are around where you live?
• What kinds of plants, animals, fungi, and other elements are there?
• What other elements do you see? (sunlight, wind, water movement, etc.)
• What did you find on your adventures? 

Leave your thoughts below, and share what you see! 

I would love to connect and explore what you are finding there with you.

Stay Curious,

–Matthew

#Backyard #Exploration #Nature #WorkFromHome #Photography