Something is touching about a young person or young animal starting and taking one of its first views of the outer world, beyond their own sheltered and narrow existence.

Today, we were out walking in an open field, and Zinnia climbed up on a small hill and was transfixed to look out at the world beyond. She stared out across the fields in wonder and for the longest time, and I had the sense she understood space and distance for the very first time.

It just wasn’t something she had focused on before. I thought it was a grand moment to catch, a focal point in her life so far. I tried to think back to my childhood, and I remembered a ride on a massive bridge over the Atlantic Ocean, and for the first time in my life, I was aware of how vast the world is and how narrow my own life had been.

Zinnia could not have had the same response, except perhaps instinctively. She came off the hill, looking more sober and less playful as if she had just begun to understand the world differently.

I ran the photo through one of my AI software editing programs, and it also seemed to capture the drama of the moment.