a moment...not fully captured

so today, after a full day of teaching, i stood in the open balcony-like hallway of the Hong Kong school I have been teaching at this week and looked out across the area and onto the beautiful mountains that surround this vast city.  I was astounded by the beautiful bright green colour that the mountains were appearing in today, as the humidity (and maybe smog) were lower today, made the mountains appear much closer and clearer, instead of so misty and distant.  As I looked out, amazed and captured by this scene of such deep and inexplicable beauty, i went and got my camera, in hopes of being able to capture this moment, image, and maybe even feeling on my camera, but to my great dismay I could not nearly encompass the great beauty that i saw before my eyes in the screen of my camera.  The colours were just so bright and clear and vibrant but each picture that i took only showed a faded, distant picture of some far off mountains and for some reason, today, this really bothered me.

The other day, I was reflecting about what it means to take a picture and why it is that I always take so many pictures and feel so lost without my camera.  I came to the conclusion that for me, taking pictures is not just about capturing what I see before me but is also about capturing what I feel around me as I look at this beautiful picture or scene painted before my eyes.  To be able to share just that intense emotions and 'gasp for air' , 'take your breath away' moment with someone else, even though they may not ever be able to see the scene or be in that place themselves would be a dream come true, as well as to be able to personally relive those moments myself; again and again and again.

As i stood there looking out at the unfathomable beauty before my eyes, and expressing my great frustration in the fact that i could not adequately display it, I was talking about my camera and how it was the problem and one of my fellow teachers spoke up stating something so true: 'there is always a better camera, theres always another lens'.  This really helped me to put things into perspective; God's creation cannot ever truly be fully explained, captured in it's full essence, appreciated for all that it is or respected for all the it is worth.  If it could be, then would we truly be as in awe and reverence to God as what we are in knowing just how inexpressible His glory and works truly are? ...They are so much more than what words or pictures or actions or thoughts or even feelings could ever capture, even all combined together as one.