Discovering hidden gems and picturesque places through everyday conversations. A travel story for photographers seeking inspiration.
I met a lady the other day at an ice cream stand. Norm and I had sat down at the picnic table to eat our cones when she plopped down behind us and started chatting as she waited for her meal. We got to talking and asked, as we often do, if she knew any good places that were picturesque. Aka – photo worthy destinations. Asking locals can lead to some pretty great photography travel tips.
When we asked if she knew any picturesque places nearby, her eyes lit up. She talked about a few places and then said something intriguing – “and in that place there are all sorts of rocks, you know the kind of place where you gather up the rocks, sort through them and find a few that you love and keep.” I nodded appreciatively and made appropriate sounds of agreement, waiting for her to elaborate. I was trying to be polite and not interrupt. More often than not if you let someone free flow with their thoughts, they deliver nuggets of truth and wisdom. Photography inspiration can often come from everyday encounters.
Her words stayed with me and I’ve thought on it since – thought about sorting through rocks.
It’s kind of a metaphor for all sorts of things in life. Relationships, jobs, photographs, … lots of things.
Because isn’t life very much like sorting through rocks?
The Search for What Fits
We spend so much of our time searching—for the right job, the right relationship, the right path. And much like sorting rocks, the process can feel messy and tiring. Some “rocks” are sharp and cut us deeply. Others are smooth but uninspiring. And every so often, we stumble across a gem that feels worth treasuring.
The poet Rainer Maria Rilke once advised, “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves.” Sorting through rocks, or life’s decisions, takes patience. You won’t always know what you’re looking for until you find it.
The Cost of Settling
Sometimes we settle for the dull stone instead of continuing the search. Maybe we’re tired, maybe we’ve been cut too many times, maybe we’re distracted by someone else’s crisis. But settling rarely satisfies.
Henry David Thoreau wrote in his journal, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” He wasn’t criticizing people for choosing simple lives—he was warning us about choosing lives that don’t feel true to ourselves. It’s easy to pick up a stone that doesn’t belong to us and carry it anyway.
Finding the Gem
And yet, if we keep looking—if we keep sorting—something shifts. We find those rare stones, the ones that feel like they were waiting for us. They might be small, unassuming, but they hold our attention.
Author Elizabeth Gilbert once said, “I’ve never seen any life transformation that didn’t begin with the person finally getting tired of their own nonsense.” Sometimes the gem shows up when we decide we’re no longer willing to carry what isn’t meant for us.
The work of sorting pays off. We carry the gem home, place it on a shelf or windowsill, and let it remind us daily of the worth of patience, effort, and discernment.
Nature as a Teacher
If you’ve been reading here long enough, you know we believe nature has a way of teaching us what we most need to hear. Sorting through rocks is just one of its metaphors.
Every decision, every path, every moment of reflection is a kind of sorting. It’s not always easy. We can get bruised or even buried if we’re reckless. But the act of choosing is what shapes us.
As Carl Jung once put it, “I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.”
So this week, let’s sort with courage. Let’s pick up the rocks, examine them closely, and decide which to set down and which to carry home.
Because life, after all, is found in the gems we choose to keep.
Journal Prompts to Deepen Reflection
- The Sharp Stones
Think of a time when a decision, relationship, or opportunity left you “cut” or bruised. What did that experience teach you about discernment? What did you carry forward from it? - The Overlooked Gem
Have you ever overlooked something or someone valuable because you were distracted or discouraged? What would it look like to revisit that “gem” today? - The Shelf of Treasures
Imagine your life as a shelf lined with the “stones” you’ve chosen to keep—relationships, memories, values, places. Which ones feel like gems? Which ones might no longer belong there?