Live, Laugh, and Love

When I began looking for photo opportunities in my backyard, I began to notice the beautiful structure and grace of dragonflies. Photographing them really taught me how to focus, keep still and wait. The more I photographed them the more interested I became in their symbolism. I found some articles that noted that many cultures see dragonflies as a symbols of change and new beginnings. This is because dragonflies begin their lives in water and then transform into the beautiful creatures that we see flying around. I read that they also can be a symbol of living life to the fullest because they have extremely short life spans. I found this very interesting considering one of my life's motto's is "Live, Laugh, Love". Funny how I became gravitated to these creatures and then learned that they symbolize what I believe in.

I also came across some articles that said that some Native American Tribes believe that dragonflies are the souls of people who have passed on. This struck me because I have had some personal experience with seeing a blue dragonfly frequently around me when I was outside shooting pictures. This began to happen right after the loss of a very close loved one, and the dragonfly seemed to appear a lot that year. My children even noticed that the blue dragonfly "really liked us". Below is a picture I was able to capture of it. Chances are it was all coincidence and it wasn't even the same dragonfly, but it was certainly was ironic. Especially after learning about the symbolism.

My children use to be afraid of dragonflies, but since we studied them together and learned more about them, they too have become fascinated with them. Learning about them together was a great experience.