2.11.22 // I Feel Seen

This is me.
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I feel captured in this photo.
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I feel seen, in a really beautiful way.
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A true candid from an early morning walk with Scout, my sleepy eyes and sideways smile aren't bursting with their usual energy at the camera. There is no thinking about lighting, angles, or if my hair is a mess. It is imperfectly me.
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I'm wearing my usual "uniform" pajamas, which are men's boxers with dark green grizzly bear print on them from Old Navy (I bought them for myself years ago when I was very single and ​I ​refuse to upgrade them), an oversized hoodie, and some cozy socks.
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And while this photo sees me imperfectly perfect, what isn't seen is also imperfectly perfect...
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It was a crisp Vancouver morning. The air was biting in a soft, thrilling way. The kind of way that gives you chills, but doesn't leave you shivering.
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Even in the alleyway, which sometimes has an earthy scent, the air was washed clean with the cold. There is a specific scent that comes with true cold air, like the oxygen is somehow cleaner, clearer, like a transparent piece of glass rather than a translucent one.
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The darkness was giving way to light and painting the puffy white clouds a pale pink. The colors ​were deeply reminiscent of the candy I used to eat at my hometown summer fair​- think funnel cakes, live music, and endless colorful rides that light up once the summer dusk rolled in. ​
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At the start of the walk, the city was just coming alive with sound. You could hear front doors opening, cars being unlocked and started with soft purrs, tire traction on the frozen asphalt. But as soon as I turned into the alleyway, the sounds softened and quiet, quickly filling the air again. It was so intensely peaceful. Catharsis amongst the chaos.
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I've found more of these moments surfacing in my life and maybe that is why the photo is so important to me. It represents feelings of intense presence, and deep satisfaction in just being. An unplanned moment, captured.