A Kaleidoscopic View

Ever since I can remember I have always loved kaleidoscopes. The first ones I looked through always had those little pieces of coloured plastic that moved as you turned them making patterns that jerked as they changed and were never the same twice. It fascinated me how they worked and although such a simple concept they created infinite combinations that I never tired of looking at.

When I got older I got to look through ones with a glass bulb on the end that had no plastic pieces and made a kaleidoscope of whatever you were looking at. That appealed to me even more because the possibilities seemed even more endless. You could change the colours to whatever you wanted by looking at different things - not just be stuck with the colours of plastic put in the end of the kaleidoscope. I always hoped that one day I would have one of my own to enjoy whenever I wanted to.

                                                
The next type I came across was one that had a viewing surface like the eye of a fly. It created a different type of kaleidoscope and just by turning it or moving it you could see different things. It created a more regular pattern that is still appealing but not quite like the other one.

Several years ago when going away on a trip with some girlfriends I found one of the fly-eye type in a gift shop for very little money in my favourite colour red and couldn't resist buying it because, despite my fascination with kaleidoscopes, I had never actually owned one. I must have been quite excited about finding it because one of my friends tucked that knowledge away. When it came time for my birthday that year she presented me with a lovely little glass bulb kaleidoscope with a leather look cover in red. It was perfect and and I have it sitting on a dresser in my room. Today as I was doing some housework I realised I have not taken the time to have a look through this in a long time. I picked it up and was transported back to the beauty of a kaleidoscope. I thought about the different perspective it gave me of my everyday and how I needed to look through it more often. Things I see everyday were transformed into pattern and colour and looked like an ever-changing stained glass window. I hunted out my fly's eye one and enjoyed the patterns of that too.

A simple pleasure and one I always got a thrill from yet one I have allowed to slip into the past. Even though I have the objects to create these beautiful images I don't stop often enough and look. I think I will take time more often to look at things and enjoy the beauty of them in a different way. To remind myself that life is how you see it and you have a little bit of control over making things look all that much better even if it's just by having a kaleidoscopic view!