Hidden Hearts

February 14, 2011

A few months ago, inspired by The Enchanted Earth blog, I had the bright idea to take pictures of heart shapes I found as I went through my daily life, blog about it and call it “Hidden Hearts.” Since then, how many heart photos did I take? Exactly zero. It seems I didn’t see heart shapes around me. Maybe my vision was faulty--I am terrible at those puzzles where you’re supposed to find the pictures within the picture, and not once have I ever seen the image embedded in one of those optical illusion posters. 

Still, I wasn’t quite ready to give up. Remembering this post, I decided to give it one last shot. I took my camera out into our yard. If I found some hearts, great. If not, I’d give up the idea and move on.

As I stepped out the back door, I realized there’s a heart shape hidden in our outdoor table and chair set.


That was OK, but what I really wanted was to find hearts in the natural world. And then I saw this one:


And this one:


And this one:


And this one:


(I also discovered a face in our grill controls:


...but that’s beside the point.)

Now that I was completely focused on them, it took me only a few minutes to find all of these. Well. Is there a take-away lesson? If you know me, of course there is: You find what you look for. Looking for good in others? You’ll find it. Expecting your feelings to be hurt? They will be.

Looking for love? It’s all around you.

Happy Valentine’s Day—may your life be filled with love.

Bonus heart:


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16 comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 14, 2011 at 12:36 PM

    This is great Kathy - thank you for sharing! Paul Schnee

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  2. MeredithFebruary 14, 2011 at 1:36 PM

    Oh, Kathy, I love it! You found some really good ones, too. The knot in the tree is wonderful -- as is the face in the grill. ;) The draped moss is such a creative find. I love your take-away lesson, and as always, your writing is a pleasure to read, with your distinctive, classy, forthright voice.

    Thanks for the link, too. It's so fun to know I inspired a backyard safari. :)

    p.s. What is the last picture? Is that a horse's hindquarters??

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  3. Cheryl GebhartFebruary 14, 2011 at 4:40 PM

    You're so right about finding what you're looking for. I love the face in the grill - even if it is beside the point. :)

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  4. Kathy A. JohnsonFebruary 14, 2011 at 7:20 PM

    Hi, Paul--Glad you enjoyed it.

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  5. Kathy A. JohnsonFebruary 14, 2011 at 7:23 PM

    Meredith--I went back today and looked at your nature hearts--so cool! The moss was literally just hanging there like that--no fooling with it required. I about fell over.

    Yes, the last picture is my horse's hindquarters--the heart was cut into the hair by my friend Marianne.

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  6. Kathy A. JohnsonFebruary 14, 2011 at 7:23 PM

    Cheryl--I think the grill looks pretty friendly, don't you? :)

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  7. Laure FerlitaFebruary 14, 2011 at 7:28 PM

    Thanks for the smile! And you're absolutely right, we do find what we're looking for!

    Love Tank's heart!

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  8. KellyFebruary 14, 2011 at 9:43 PM

    ...amazing what you see when you really start looking. I'm going to have to look for heart shapes and see what I see. Your grill cracks me up. You must have just grill Filet Mignon..because he's really happy!

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  9. Kathy A. JohnsonFebruary 15, 2011 at 6:50 AM

    Laure--you're welcome! Hope you find nothing but happiness and love today--and every day.

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  10. Kathy A. JohnsonFebruary 15, 2011 at 6:51 AM

    Kelly--I WISH we'd just grilled filet mignon...:) I guess he's just a happy grill no matter what!

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  11. Oregon Gifts of Comfort and JoyFebruary 16, 2011 at 11:06 AM

    Hi Kathy,

    What a wonderful post, I really enjoyed it. I even see a face in the tree on the top of the heart. I'm always seeing faces in trees though.

    I guess I haven't visited for awhile, I'm sorry. You have been busy on here, and I need to catch up on what has been going on! Thanks so much for stopping by and for your encouragement. I have been busy researching history for my story and am learning a lot.

    Take care and God bless,
    Kathy

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  12. Kathy A. JohnsonFebruary 16, 2011 at 6:39 PM

    Hi, Kathy--Glad to have you back. I don't always get to all the blogs I enjoy as regularly as I like, so don't feel bad. Good luck with the research and the book project--that's awesome.

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  13. TimareeFebruary 16, 2011 at 9:12 PM

    I love this heart post. It's true we find just what we look for. I love the humorous sidetracking of the grill. I needed a smile today!
    Thank you.

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  14. Claire MFebruary 16, 2011 at 11:45 PM

    Wow - great photos! Very clever interpretations of hearts -- "openness" to seeing them. And wonderfully wise words. Thanks!!

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  15. Kathy A. JohnsonFebruary 17, 2011 at 9:19 AM

    Timaree--Glad you got your needed smile. I need one today also, and your comment gave it to me. Thanks!

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  16. Kathy A. JohnsonFebruary 17, 2011 at 9:20 AM

    Claire--Thanks so much!

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