Two Black Swans Grabbed My Attention and Didn’t Let It Go

I was reminded how absent-minded I can be.

Photo by author

I was in Cēsis, Latvia to see a concert a few weeks ago.

Beforehand, my wife and I were exploring the main park that’s near the venue, which has walkways snaking throughout the area. In the center are ruins of a castle and an enormous pond framed with trees dressed in autumn.

A little bit of the pond — photo by author

Castle ruins across from the pond — photo by author

I was there, but I wasn’t. Thoughts of the upcoming concert pulled at my attention. This blinded me to the incredible scenes I was lucky enough to casually stroll through.

We came to a smaller pond off on the side, and what I saw there shocked me back into the present.

Black swans — photo by author

Two black swans grabbed my attention and didn’t let it go. No matter how hard my mind tried pulling me back into its void, seeing their…