One of the photographers who shares his images with me told me about his craft. He has a keen eye for finding beauty in a patch of ice, or the slant of the sun through a gazebo. He searches for, and finds, the shimmer of dew on a strand of grass, and the scope of the sky at nightfall. With nothing but his phone, for years he went outside on a scavenger hunt for wonder. 

Then he invested in a digital camera, which has expanded the possibilities for resolution and focus. Or so he says. I was perfectly content with the first era of shots.  And yet, there has been a dip in his capacity to photograph, as he masters the intricacies of his tool. This has been a disappointment, when he wanted to leap from one level of expertise to the next. 

But other artists have told him that this is how it works. When you step into a new realm of creative expression, there is a dip. 

Our current marriage group has been meeting for most of two months. Each week we send couples off into corners to spend ten minutes appreciating one another. Last week, we asked , as we often do, how it went. 

"When we first starting doing this, it was choppy. Ten minutes felt like a very long time to fill, and I stumbled for things to say. But this week, it flowed easily. I like it."

This made me smile. To think that gratitude is becoming easier to express,  seems like a worthy achievement for any two people who walk side by side. Definitely worth the dip.