The beauty of brown

I'm doing an online contemplative photography course at the moment. It is based on this book:

An interesting exercise recently was to choose a colour and follow it through the week, seeing where it showed up and what it revealed. I instinctively thought "brown" but then dismissed that as "boring". However, as I went for my contemplative walk brown kept showing up! I saw it everywhere. I tried to imagine what the environment would look like without brown. It was very difficult to do! All week I saw more and more of the beauty and essential place of brown. Here are a couple of collages:

Towards the end of the week we were invited to write words that expressed this colour. I wrote:

Brown is an unobtrusive colour 

quietly holding its place

to nurture growth

protect the vulnerable

support the weary

build strong boundaries

and be its beautiful many-hued self!

What would we do without bridges?

I've got a 'thing' about bridges at the moment! Maybe it's triggered by the photo for this month on the calendar I make each year from my own photos:

Lake Tekapo

But I think bridges are even more in my awareness because of the number of bridges I walk or drive over almost every day. The following photos were taken over the last couple of days on walks no longer than half an hour from home .

Without these bridges my life would be much more limited. Some places would be hard to get to; some of my walks would be curtailed; some beautiful locations could only be seen from "the other side of the river" ...

So I've been thinking, how might I be a bridge? Or perhaps sometimes I am without even knowing it. Maybe you are too. For example: A bridge between two sides of an argument, a bridge to connect two people who  haven't met, a bridge from one point of view to a broader perspective, a bridge that will hold someone as they cross an emotional chasm, a bridge to make a long journey shorter and easier...

I appreciate people who have been 'bridges' for me over the years and I hope that I have been, and will continue to be, a bridge for others.