Dont Forget to Look Down

There’s something quietly powerful about walking with your eyes cast downward.

In a world that often tells us to look up, to dream big, to chase the light, sometimes, beauty waits below, nestled in the shadows.

This image was taken on an ordinary dog walk. Nothing planned, no intention of making art. Just a moment. The grass around was dry and tangled, the light was fading, and the air was still. But then this small, intricate bloom appeared, seemingly glowing in the gloom. A fitting name Queen Anne's lace (Daucus carota)…

I found this old gravestone dated 1770. The inscription reads:

“Here lies the body of Simon… who died Jan’y 1770 aged 46 years (I think). Pray for his Soul.”

This quiet marker tells a powerful story. In an age before modern medicine, living to 46 was a full life. Simple, hand-carved, and weathered by time, this stone shows how death was once deeply spiritual, personal, and woven into everyday life. No grand memorials, just a plea for remembrance.

There's something profoundly humbling about standing before a marker like this. It’s a glimpse into a world long gone. Simon, whose full story may never be known, lived and died more than 250 years ago. Yet here he lies, resting quietly beneath the’ gravestone, as if nature itself is cradling his memory.

It makes you reflect on legacy, memory, and the stories that are left behind or forgotten. In a time when everything is instantly documented and shared, this stone speaks to the quiet permanence of history, etched in rock and rooted in the earth.

Next time you're out in nature, keep your eyes open. You might just find a whisper of the past beneath your feet.

Just a few steps away a tree root is exposed with a dying leaf resti, before the wind takes it…