Can Photographs speak?

Can photographs speak? Yes they do. I was staring at the photograph I had taken in Pisa, Italy of the leaning tower. This reminiscence was a pleasant experience that brought me back what was going through my mind when I saw this leaning tower for the first time. First of all, its ability to withstand the pressure of gravity for this long. Second, the construction of this bell tower began in 12^th century and spread over two or three centuries. The tower is 183.27 feet tall and has approximately 296 steps. The leaning of this tower started even when it was built either due to poor foundation or soft soil on one side of the tower. Until the restoration work done from 1990 to 2001, the tower had 5.5 degrees tilt and now it is reduced to 3.99 degrees. This means that the top of the tower is 3.9 meters (12 feet 10 inches) away from where it should be if it was built with strong foundation. The tower’s weight is estimated to be 14,500 metric tons.

My son and I were the only one who decided to explore this leaning tower and my wife was smart enough to decide to go for pampering in the parlors located in the cruise ship knowing that this trip involves a lot of walking. My son ran up the stairs until he reached the top of the tower. Being a BP patient myself, I took my own time and reached approximately 250 steps but could not make it to the top. The steps became narrower as I went up the stairs and I could feel the angle that made me feel very dizzy. I stopped at that point to help another woman who fainted and decided to stay with her until her family returned from the top of the tower. After they took control of the situation, I decided to walk down rather than climbing it further.

When my son enjoyed the top of the tower view and I came down and took a lot of photographs of this leaning tower and my thoughts were circling around the purpose of life. None of us are picture perfect to conduct our own life in the comfort zone that we would like to stay on. We all come to this world with an intention to be perfect like the intention of the builder of this leaning tower. Our experiences and circumstances make us become who we appear to be for people around us. If every one of us are perfect to the core, we would be living in a golden age. Apparently, despite our shortcomings, how we conduct our life to become a person who could handle our trials and tribulations and stand tall like this leaning tower makes the difference. There are thousands of perfectly constructed bell towers around the world but none of them get the attention this leaning tower gets. It is the tower's acceptance of its shortcomings and still function as a bell tower that draws the attention of so many people around the world. This tower stands tall in front of the Cathedral and probably the only tower that was built over a period of 199 years.

It does not matter how long it takes us to finish the purpose why we came into existence but we have to keep trying to do what we came here to do. As we go up the steps to perfect ourselves, the steps become narrower and difficult to climb but we should not give up. The challenge is not about reaching the heights but how we sustain ourselves when we get to that height. One could throw the weight around feeling proud of the accomplishments or decide to remain humble. Similarly, one could get shattered by the shortcomings and lose the sight of the entire life ahead of us or accept the shortcoming and move forward to achieve great heights.

Everyone can’t achieve the perfection of Great Pyramid of Giza or Hanging Gardens of Babylon or the Temple of Artemis or for that matter any of the seven ancient wonders of the world. One can be a leaning bell tower and still achieve its purpose with all the shortcomings, if one has the wherewithal and will power to fulfill one’s mission. It does not make sense to feel emotionally charged with our shortcomings but it makes sense to overcome that and stay focus on what we came to do. If you like to look at the narrow steps of leaning tower or the tower itself, please see my Avatar or the photograph attached. Just like this tower, I continue to thrive with all my shortcomings.

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Can Photographs speak?