Look for the light: An invitation

A weekend word search + photo scavenger hunt

Ever since we finished the last season of Only Murders, I’ve had Meryl Streep singing the chorus of her lullaby, Look for the Light, stuck in my head. When I googled the lyrics (because I really only have that one particular line playing on repeat), the second search result was a Wikipedia entry for the post-apocalyptic HBO series, The Last Of Us. Turns out, the final episode was also titled Look for the Light.

What first felt random suddenly felt very ironic, and now feels incredibly relevant.

I know there is a lot that is heavy right now. Collectively. Personally. I know it can feel like light and lightness have no place in the conversation right now. And, speaking of conversation, I really wish I knew what to say.

I know that words have power, that in the right arrangement they can pack a punch so searing they knock sense into senselessness or ring so loudly they wake us up. I know that words can carry weight like heavy blankets, that they can turn a fall into flight like parachutes. I wish I had those words right now.

When things get really loud, I tend to get very quiet. Sometimes it’s a freeze tactic. Right now it’s mostly listening. I don’t know what to say because I don’t quite understand what’s happening– in the outside world or my inside world– and the more I learn, the less clear things become. Which maybe means I am moving closer towards the truth.

It reminds me of the Looking Through A Bagel experiment. How the lens we look through changes what we see, but also where and how we look. After years of bypassing hard things with positivity and a good attitude, the bright side is now the last place I turn when difficult things happen. But training my sights only on the darker, negative parts is just the tarnished side of that same too-shiny coin.

It’s like when you manually adjust a camera. We typically associate light with visibility, but letting in too much light can actually make it harder to see the picture. It can overexpose the image so that all the details get washed out. We become, literally, blinded by the light. On the other hand, not enough light casts everything in a shadow. Even a sunny sky will look like a brewing storm. In order to capture the full picture, you have to balance the two. Clarity exists in the contrast.

This is something I don’t think we’re very good at. ‘We,’ being humans. Me, being one of them. We like our fiction in full technicolor, but we prefer the real world to be black and white. It’s hard for us to hold nuance, which makes it hard for us to change our minds or adjust our opinions, which makes it hard for us to ask questions, which makes it hard for us to learn.

Even learning how to learn is a skill. (Actually, a camera is a good analogy for that, too. Because variables are always changing, different settings require different settings, and finding the right balance is a constant process of trying and assessing and adjusting and trying again.

I am a beginner at a lot of things. And, while I’ve heard it’s best to assume and retain that posture throughout your lifetime in order to stay open and curious, there are definitely some skills I’d like to strengthen. Among them:

1. learning how to learn

2. getting better at seeing different points of view

3. spending more (or any) time on things that are not career or work-related

I recently read that learning is significantly improved when you make it fun and when you turn it into a group activity. No real surprise there, but…I had an apostrophe!

I used to do photo scavenger hunts all the time. In fact, my early instagram feed was almost entirely interpretive photos prompted by themed lists that circulated our feeds like chain letters. I loved the creative challenge of looking for things in unexpected places, the independent treasure hunt done alongside a larger group.

This probably won’t come as a surprise based on all my camera analogies, but on my list of extra-curricular activities (I think they’re commonly referred to as “hobbies”) that I’m really excited about (but never seem to actually do) is photography.

That’s when it hit me!

🎉 What if we did a collective photo scavenger hunt to practice paying attention, adjusting our settings, changing our point of view, and experimenting with how and where we look for whatever it is we need?! It could be as simple or as elaborate as you want. And it could start with a word search! A search for a search! A game to prompt a game! (sent with confetti)

You can use your phone, a fancy camera, you can even use a bagel if you want. Whether you are looking for more lightness or things feel particularly dark right now or you just want to pay more attention and get better at playfully seeing all of the ordinary magic that surrounds us, this is for you. This is for all of us.

Let’s go look for the light! What do you say?

STEP ONE: SEARCH FOR YOUR WORD(S)

There are 12 light or lightness-related words hidden in this word search– horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. Some are more conceptual while others are quite literal.

If you want a single word to hunt for, go with the first word that you find (or the first word that finds you). If you want a full scavenger hunt list, see if you can find all 12.

STEP TWO: LOOK FOR YOUR WORD(S) IN THE WILD

Pick a day or play all weekend, but wherever you go, keep your eyes open and your photo-taking device handy. See if you can find your word (or words) out in the world or wherever you are. Get as interpretive or as literal as you like. Prepare to be surprised and delighted!

STEP THREE: SHARE (optional, but recommended for a more fun experience)

To enjoy this in a collective way– invite a friend or family member to play along.

To enjoy this in a more connected way– share your photo treasures with your fellow Optimists on Notes (tag

Tami Carey

) or on Instagram (tag @tamicarey).

Wait! Don’t go yet…

1. What’s your word? I can’t wait to hear what you’re looking for!

2. What’s the most surprising thing you’ve seen lately?

3. What’s the last thing that made you laughed out loud?

I’ll go first! Meet you in the comments 👇🏻