Have you ever used a word in context only to later learn that it does not mean what you thought? I have, on too many occasions to count! Recently I learned that I have been, for most of my adult life, using the word “ephemeral” wrong. I thought it meant a very long time. Can you blame me? The word sounds like a long time when you say it! Now when I hear or read that word, I hear the voice of Inigo Montoya of The Princess Bride say “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” Inconceivable!!

I thought of this word this past week when I read about a series of photo contests called Your Shot put on by National Geographic. The recent contest, called As The World Turns, asked photographers to submit photos that capture the ephemeral quality of transitions – the brief moments in time before change occurs. The tipping points in life. The photos are simply gorgeous, thought-provoking and a true testament to the power of visual story telling. You can find the contest and the photos here, as well as this contest’s judge, photographer Jim Richardson’s commentary on why he chose these photos as the winners of the contest.

It got me thinking about what photo I would have sent. I thought about the one above that I took on a recent adventure in Steveston. Cherry and apple blossom season out here in BC is early this year. So early in fact that it may be long over before the yearly Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival held in April. In an often wet and sometimes dreary spring climate, the blossoms represent a transient burst of colour that lift your spirits and compel you to capture the moment before it is gone for another season. I felt the same way about lilac season back home in Ontario. We had beautiful lilac bushes surrounding our farmhouse growing up and for a too short two-week spell every spring, these traditionally green bushes burst forth in colour and scent. It always represented a magical time for me that never seemed to last long enough.

It reminds us that we need to savour these precious moments. They do not last forever. Carpe Diem. Tempus Fugit.

I will leave you with a link to my latest photo adventures here, but also the full quote from Greek novelist Nikos Kazantzakis because it is beautiful: “I am a weak, ephemeral creature made of mud and dream. But I feel all the powers of the universe whirling within me.”