365 Project - Days 356, 357

"All is how it should be. Just be. Just breathe." April Peerless

Happy Halloween!

Yesterday I celebrated the 1 year anniversary of breaking my ankle by going out for a short run. I used the opportunity to reclaim my body. Later in the day and this morning, I was filled with agonizing aches and pains in seemingly every muscle, groaning with each step as I climbed and descended stairs. The feeling has been fantastic. Every ache, every pain is like a long, lost friend. I have enjoyed feeling like I'm on my way to taking better care of myself. Those pains are familiar. It has just been far too long.

I was surprised at the strength of my legs and concerned at the weakness in my breath during the run. I felt all my anxieties knotted up in my chest, tightening my breath, making it nearly impossible for me to catch the next one. In that moment, I faced the dichotomy of my existence: one part ready to fly, the other anxious and restrictive. As I was about to try to stretch out a second go, my husband texted to remind me that we had a conference call and our appointment was on the line. I paused; took a deep breath; turned around and with confidence wrought with urgency, ran home. In that moment, my breathing relaxed. There was no time for anxiousness. That deep breath immediately provided fullness and strength that carried me home.

Sometimes when life's messiness makes us crazy, we need to pause and breathe before we get back in the race.

Today's Photos: Just Breathe

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“Your breathing is your greatest friend. Return to it in all your troubles and you will find comfort and guidance.” ~Unknown

365 Project - Days 354, 355

"Every particular in nature, a leaf, a droplet, a crystal, a moment of time is related to the whole, and partakes of the perfection of the whole." Ralph Waldo Emerson

We end daylight savings time this weekend. Yet another sign of the approaching winter. Wedged between the warmth and freshness of spring and summer and the cold and bitterness of winter, it does have a few of its own exceptional qualities. The crisp, bright mornings; cool breezes; uniquely beautiful colors; hearty comforting meals make this an embraceable season. The trouble is that I can often long for that summer heat and grow anxious about the bleak, cold winter. When that happens, I totally miss the grace and beauty within each autumn moment.

Isn't that very true about life? We spend time reminiscing about our past; pre-occupied with hopes of returning to the good ole days and we worry about the days ahead, creating a life of tortured anxiety long before an event occurs. Split between these two worlds, we miss the reality unfolding around us. Then I wondered the other day, "what if this moment, is the most important moment?" What if each moment, as Emerson describes, has impact on our lives as a whole? If none are forgotten and every one is a piece of the perfection of our lives, (which means how we execute today impacts tomorrow) then why waste time fretting over or desiring a spent past or anxious and excited about a distant future?

It is hard not to look back or look forward, but perhaps this is why the sun is so bright, the wind so fierce and the colors so deep in autumn. It's a reminder that the in betweens matters. We must, therefore, focus on perfecting our present. That work could be all-consuming. So I say, live in the present moment. Let it take your breath away and then breathe life back into this moment, creating roots for your future.

Blessings.

Today's Photos: Autumn Beauty and Last Farmer's Market

“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.” Henry David Thoreau

365 Project - Days 352, 353

"When you photograph a face, you photograph the soul behind it." Jean Luc Godard

In one agreeable moment, my son said "yes" to having a new headshot taken. This was unusual, but he was game. The trouble is I forgot, for that same brief moment, what it is like to photograph him. He is simultaneously delightful and exasperating. I told him he was / is my least favorite client. Nevertheless, he and I both had a job to do. His was to look his very best, mine was to deliver the very best image of him.

I thought it would be useful to share the beginning, middle and end of this expedition for the two of us. We had just 30 minutes to produce the photo on Day 352. When I reviewed our work following the session, I decided I was not happy with the pose on the best photo (#2) you see below. So I took us through the tortured process again on Day 353. Both of us were more clear of what we wanted to accomplish and we created a photograph that captures both his humor and mischievousness.

To be clear, he was no easier to work with the second time around. He insisted on testing my flashes every time I looked away. He moved from his spot. Changed positions. Goofed off and was nonsensical much of the session. In the end, it seems we needed all of that to deliver the final photo, I suppose.

Whether in sales, consulting or photography, I have focused on understanding the underlying nuances of the person with whom I am interacting. The surface is meaningless. In fact, I am terrible at interpreting "face value." All value lies beneath the skin. These photos are a perfect example: Despite the fact that the first and third photographs below were taken just 24 hours apart, IMHO, they do not look much like the same person. Had I thought I was interacting with the young lad in the first photograph, I would have handled the session very differently than if I was working with the young man in the third. People are fascinating and while their faces are interesting, it is what lies behind the face that tells the story. Take a deeper look.

Blessings.

Today's Photos: The Soul of a Teen

#1

#2

#3

“It is not easy in this world for one person to understand the next one.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“I don't like that man. I must get to know him better.” Abraham Lincoln

365 Project - Days 349, 350

"For every ailment under the sun
There is a remedy, or there is none;
If there be one, try to find it;
If there be none, never mind it." W. W. Bartley

I put my crystal back to use for the photos below and was very happy I did. It is difficult to control the results, but not entirely impossible. I can move the crystal around and watch the image change in the lens, but I'm never 100% assured of the result. I have done my best to find the optimal version of the use of crystal with each photo. The efforts can be frustrating, but the results worth the trouble. These photos remind me of grace. The combination of the complication of our lives and the simplicity of God's grace overcoming those complications.

As in Bartley's version of the Serenity Prayer, above, we should do our best to find solutions to problems and challenges as they arise and if we cannot, let go. This is personally difficult for me. I often agonize before giving in. With plenty of courage, I want for more grace and more wisdom as in Niebuhr's version below.

I recently watched a discussion between Oprah Winfrey and Stephen Colbert on The Late Show in which they discussed their favorite Bible verses. I was captivated by Colbert's rationale for his choice of Matthew 6 ... "Do not worry," he said, "it's like a commandment." To which Oprah responded that it's like a sin to worry. Therefore, as the old adage goes, we truly should "do our best and let God do the rest." This is where grace steps in and often grants us wisdom.

Blessings.

Today's Photos: Grace

"God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other." Reinhold Niebuhr

365 Project - Days 348, 351

"All things are possible for one who believes." Mark 9:23

When I was a young child I loved to sing. My challenge, however, was that my family told me I could not sing and I should stop. Nearly every time I opened my mouth to sing a brother or sister or one of my parents would insist that I stop. Sometimes, just for fun, I would belt out "Born Free" and they would all come running to shut me down! I found them annoying at the time, but I suspect their comments dampened any musical light or hope. I was so young, it's hard to recall what I was thinking at the time. I don't believe I had plans to become a Beyonce, but I was stripped of even the joy of singing, for I was always self conscious. Fortunately, I still loved music.

While I stopped singing in their presence, I didn't stop singing. The only people who really got to hear me sing aloud were my children. That was one of the blessings of my newborns. I could sing and they were incapable of complaining plus my music was helping the synapses in their brains. Hah! Perhaps that was God's way of telling me it was time to utilize the fraction of talent I had to light up my little corner of the world. My babies never balked at my singing (when they were tiny) and have grown into honored vocalists. I couldn't have been all that bad!! In fact, I would submit that my children's talent is evidence of my love of music and song. They are far superior to me, of course. Where I had a thimble of talent, they have a well. Yet, had I told them they could not or should not sing, they might have believed me and the world would have missed their talent.

Best wishes!

Today's Photos: Singers!

"Thought creates after its kind."

365 Project - Day 347

"Train a child up in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

I had the opportunity to attend an event this weekend entitled, "A Crash Course in Parenting." The two primary speakers are critically acclaimed authors, both have law degrees, both are teachers and both are mothers of teenagers. Julie Lythcott-Haims is the author of the award-winning "How to Raise An Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kids for Success" and Jessica Lahey is the author of "The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed, writes the bi-weekly column "The Parent-Teacher Conference" for the New York Times, is a contributing writer for The Atlantic, and a commentator on Vermont Public Radio. This was an enjoyable session that was also a bit of a reality check.

The speakers addressed the traps of over-parenting versus child-rearing. "When," they said, "did it become about the parents instead of the children?" Fair point! They stressed that our responsibility is to work ourselves out of a job. I shared that I struggled with the two ends of the spectrum ... For example, one of my sons had a competition over the weekend while my husband and I were at Parent's Day with our eldest. I prepared the materials for the younger son and reviewed his binder with him when I dropped him off at his friend's home the night before. As we discussed the details, his friend mentioned his own lack of organization and the work he still needed to complete, on his own. The speakers said that while the right answer was somewhere in between, the friend would likely be better equipped to handle difficult situations as an adult. "Hmmm," I thought, "Yes, he will know some things, but I'm hoping my son now knows how to create an orderly set of materials." At 14, exactly how much can he be expected to do on his own? Well, I'm game to let him have a try next go around. At least he has an example he can follow.

Life is filled with challenges, adversities and failures. Far more of these than, as parents, we tend to want our children to experience. Shielding them from these is disrespectful, I agree. There is a difference between the mother giraffe who kicks the baby when their born so they can rise and learn to walk and the mother who steps in to cover or prevent every possible mistake or the mother who told me that her job was to ensure her son survived until he was 18. A genuine middle ground can be found that sets our children up for both success and recovery or said differently, for both short term and enduring success. And in doing so they will understand that we loved them enough to give them the gift of training for both success and failure.

You see, I believe my children have an appointment from God and my job is to make sure they arrive, competent and confident.

When my son returned to his university after a recent visit, he requested brownies and chocolate chip cookies to take back with him. It was my pleasure to honor his request ;-)

Blessings.

Today's Photo: A mother's gift ...

"Children are not things to be molded, but are people to be unfolded." Jess Lair

365 Project - Day 346

"I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples." Mother Theresa

As I thought about today's photo, it occurred to me that while we are called to give, we can actually manufacture that quality. How? Giving is inherently contagious. We have all heard stories of people committing acts of kindness with the beneficiaries replicating / perpetuating the same. Giving begets giving. Therefore, giving is contagious.

As an illustration of this, many of the lights in today's photo were added. They are replicas of lights that were in the photo naturally. The photographed lights produced new lights that created more depth and interest in the photo, changing and improving the image.

The lemon represents the importance of stretching to get involved in helping the difficult and bitter, or even sour. When we help them soar, we have done something special. They may then become inspired to help others soar. When that happens, we have lit two lights in the darkness and the power of our service is multiplied.

Perhaps we should think about service in this way: our calling is both to help others and to help others help others. Now that's how to change the world.

Blessings.

Today's Photo: Manufacturing Light

"Through love serve one another." Galatians 5:13

365 Project - Day 345

"Are you called to preach? Then preach as though God himself were speaking through you. Are you called to help others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies so that God will be glorified through Jesus Christ - to him be glory and power forever. Amen."
1 Peter 4:11

My son is extremely musically talented. He can instinctively play any instrument he picks up with little practice. His musical instruments of choice in the past have been the upright bass, the piano and the guitar. So when, as a new High School Freshman, he bounded into my room joyfully announcing that he was joining the marching band, I frowned. "But my dear," I said quizzically, none of the instruments you play - march." That did not deter my son. I wasn't trying to to extinguish his fire or passion, but I wanted him to understand the realities of his situation. Nevertheless, he sat down one afternoon with one of his closest friends and learned to play the saxophone in a day. Amazing. He also discovered the other reality of marching band. It requires a significant time commitment and while he may have had the talent - he certainly did not have the time.

I have recently come to understand that I had a very old fashioned view of marching band. I had the opportunity to watch a local marching band event and competition and was surprised by the bands. I have heard a lot about the talent of our own hometown band through the years. What stunned me wasn't just the band talent, though there was plenty of that. I was pleasantly surprised by the volume of activity displayed by each band; the diversity of the bands - in all ways; and yes, by the fact that every single band included instruments that do not march. These non-marchers were instrumental to the success of the bands and several bands included lead vocalists. Each band executed with energy, enthusiasm and fervor far beyond what I anticipated.

I did not understand every thing happening on the field, but I was happy and I was inspired. The diversity of creativity in music, song, instruments, people and activity was impressive. These extended band members have learned the importance of putting all of their energies into every performance. If we can exhibit similar focus, fervor and passion in our everyday, we position ourselves to create an inspirational force field around us, making our little corner of the world a fantastic place.

Blessings.

Today's Photos: Modern Day Marchers

“I began to realize how important it was to be an enthusiast in life. He taught me that if you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it at full speed ahead. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good. Hot is no good either. White hot and passionate is the only thing to be.” Roald Dahl

365 Project - Day 344

"Have no fear of perfection. You'll never reach it." Salvador Dali

"Art is never finished, only abandoned." Leonardo da Vinci

Haha! These quotes warm my soul today. I wondered if I should share my real objectives for today's photo or make something up. Why not? Because, I failed. I was unable to achieve the project task, despite a longer than usual daily session. And like da Vinci suggested, I finally gave up. I will try again, but I had enough for the day and despite several adjustments, I wasn't getting any closer to achieving my goals.

So my project was to capture water drops with reflections. An ambitious project, true. I had a recipe for success in hand and was excited, perhaps too excited. As usual, I started with a more challenging graphic in mind - the Greenbay Packers Logo. When that did not work, I switched to a simpler target of flowers. In my post-project analysis, I was overly confident to start and I went too far the other direction when the Packers logo did not work.

I look forward to another go and achieving my dream after I catch my breath. The good news is despite this failed attempt, I still managed to capture a few pretty cool water photos. Isn't that what happens if we give ourselves the space and time to live a little while we learn? Even if our intended plan fails, something interesting, if not magical, happens along the way when we slow down. And, if we can enjoy that magic, we are stronger when we finally arrive at our destination.

Blessings!

Today's Photos: Near Water Reflection and Slow Down

"You may say I'm a dreamer ... " John Lennon

365 Project - Day 343

"Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is not delay, nor defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing." Denis Waitley

So I've been a bit melancholy and existing on little sleep the last few days. I've decided it comes down to a couple of things. The signs of impending winter and rain. I did not enjoy the lengthy winter we endured last year, partly because I was on crutches and partly because, well, it was so cold and wet. Yesterday, it snowed. That's crazy. It is possible that our pastor, who preached one of his all time best sermons on prayer using the story of Elijah expecting rain, caused the snowfall - something about praying prophetically. Still - it snowed! And rain decidedly kills creativity. The cleansing aftermath is pretty sweet, but the rain, ugh.

One of my beefs with rain is that my own hair explodes to 10 times its natural volume in the rain. As long as I have nowhere to go, there's no problem. The bigger issue comes when I have headshot appointments on rainy days. I have shot as many as 40 headshots on a single stormy afternoon and did my best to keep a pleasant attitude. Now, I am tasked with editing a headshot taken on a rainy day and it is making me crazy. I watched a webcast the other day that began with, "these stray hairs are the reason why the suicide rate is so high among photo editors." I sobbed. It seems no method works. I keep telling myself, "the only way I will know if which one works is when I try and fail." Call me "little Edison."

I am determined, but may go nutty along the way. Failure will be my teacher. The question is what kind of student will I be? So far, I've thrown in the towel every day. "That's it," I scream at my screen, "this is impossible." Yet, a voice deep inside rises just as quickly, "It is possible. You will figure it out."

Along the way, I have learned a lot of of other pieces of information. I am getting lots of practice at Photoshop. I now know it is a bad idea to use the backside of my headboard, regardless of how pretty it looks. I am getting more adept at using my Wacom Tablet and I know which edits I want to perform in Lightroom and which in Photoshop. So, learning how to remove dark stray hairs from dark busy backdrops will come. And, also will winter. Both arriving painfully.

Best wishes!

Today's Photo: Winter is next!

"Failures are finger posts in the road to achievement." C. S. Lewis

365 Project - Days 341, 342

“I would teach children music, physics, and philosophy; but most importantly music, for the patterns in music and all the arts are the keys to learning” Plato

When my children were born, I insisted on music being piped through the operating room during their deliveries. I never imagined that the doctors or hospitals might say "no." I suppose I was fortunate that they obliged, particularly given one was born in a very public hospital in the south and the other in a more exclusive one in the north. I was convinced that the music would both ease their arrival and soothe my state, but more importantly, create children who were more intelligent, more playful and also more calm upon their entry into this crazy world.

To be certain, we ended up with children who love music. I'm not sure I can prove their birthing environment is the source, however. I wholeheartedly agree with Plato's assertion that the arts are the keys to learning. Certainly music facilitates all learning and enhances all play. Music can be playful, spiritual, soulful, intellectual, philosophical, psychological, whimsical, physical, emotional, joyful, disagreeable, poetic, imaginative, timeless and transcendent. As many have said, music speaks when words fail us, "Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent." (Victor Hugo)

Yet, one of my favorite ways of looking at life and music is Wolfgang Mozart's perspective,
“The music is not in the notes,
but in the silence between.”

It all matters. Too often, amid the noise, we forget what matters most. Blessings.

Today's Photos: Boys and their play!

“If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC” Kurt Vonnegut

365 Project - Days 339, 340

"I am always doing what I cannot see yet, in order to learn how to do it." Vincent van Gogh

"Poetry surrounds us everywhere, but putting it on paper, alas, is not so easy as looking at it." Vincent van Gogh

When you look at a flower or a bouquet or a single candle or a candelabra, what do you see? Are you certain that what you see and how you interpret what you are seeing is the same as everyone who sees? This is an interesting question. Artists interpret scenes in various shades or dimensions of colors and light. The way they see what lies before them, therefore, can vary greatly from one artist to another, hence the reason paintings of a single place or setting often differ markedly.

Add a lighter shaper in the mix, as I have below, and the complexity of how that scene is read changes dramatically. As I shared previously, I've been having fun playing with my crystals and prisms. It's amazing how a simple flower or a single candle changes with these light shapers. I was stunned myself and am getting better at anticipating the patterns and adjusting quickly as I learn more.

This exercise is a reminder that just as the artist creates poetry with their interpretation of an environment, we also have a choice in what we create with our interpretation of the scenes that play out around us. Beauty or destruction lies in our hands and we are the light shapers.

Blessings.

Today's Photos: Shaped by Light

“A painter should begin every canvas with a wash of black, because all things in nature are dark except where exposed by the light.” Leonardo da Vinci

365 Project - Day 338

"If there is anything in us, it is not our own; it is a gift of God. But if it is a gift of God, then it is entirely a debt one owes to love, that is, to the law of Christ. And if it is a debt owed to love, then I must serve others with it, not myself.

Thus my learning is not my own; it belongs to the unlearned and is the debt I owe to them ... My wisdom belongs to the foolish, my power to the oppressed. Thus my wealth belongs to the poor, my righteousness to the sinners.

It is with all these qualities that we must stand before God and intervene on behalf of those who do not have them, as though clothed with someone else's garment ... But even before men we must, with the same love, render them service against their detractors and those who are violent toward them; for this is what Christ did for us." Martin Luther

I had an interesting conversation the other day about retirement and the person said they feared that if they retired, they would become reclusive. I find that in retirement, I am less so. I have had the time to become rejuvenated and with that rejuvenation I am more determined to serve and participate in activities that change the world.

Each of must decide if we are up to the task as Martin Luther describes above. Living in the fullness of our gifts can be exciting and fun, but our gifts were designed to be of service to others. Artistic gifts, gifts of leadership, and others - all intended with one purpose, service. I suspect that is why as much as I love photography, the photograph itself is never enough.

Perhaps this is where sacrifice and service merge with our self. As I was driving home from a nonprofit board meeting the other day, stuck in traffic for hours on a rainy evening, I was reminded of the sacrifice that accompanies service. Yet, it was a good reason to be stuck.

Blessings!

Today's Photo: Traffic Bokeh

"Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth." Muhammed Ali

365 Project - Day 337

"When you catch a glimpse of your potential, that's when passion is born." Zig Ziglar

The teen headshot is my favorite photographic project. I believe, however, that the course of this project requires me, as the photographer, to deliver photographs that help the youth visualize their future. To do this, we include a few photographs that reflect the client's passion, their potential for greatness ... their imagined future. Photographs are powerful. And, IMHO, these can be some of the most powerful.

In any work activity, we are most engaged when we understand the underlying rationale for our efforts. This is as true in my business professional activities as it is in my nonprofit and artistic ventures. My corporate employees were more fully committed when we were clear about the direct connection between the actions they took each day and our clients' success. I can draw that same parallel between the headshot photograph and my client's career success. Yet, my Type A tendencies needed something more, hence the silhouette.

Best wishes!

Today's Photo: A Bright Future

“Begin to weave and God will give the thread.” German proverb

365 Project - Days 335, 336

"and he has filled him with the Spirit of God with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft." Exodus 35:31-33

I have become enamored with creating interesting photographs by placing glass, crystals and prisms close to or against my camera lens. For fun, I started out with wine and champagne glasses and switched to small aperitif glasses in various colors. I am getting a kick out of this and I literally had to stop myself from continuously pulling new objects out of my cabinets. Upon the advice of famous fashion photographer, Lindsay Adler, during a recent Creative Live webcast and a recent article, I ordered small teardrop chandelier crystals and a glass prism and went creatively crazy.

One of the joys of the creative process is that aside from basic ground rules, we have the complete freedom to exercise our visual and neural muscles in any range of combinations. There is no right or wrong. This is our personal creation. It is up to us as artists to decide whether the work we are creating is appealing. To be sure, not everyone will like it - not everyone likes the paintings of the masters. So be it. As one of my favorite artists, Henri Matisse said, "creativity takes courage."

There is a measure of creativity in all of us. The developmental difference may simply lie in one's yearning and courage to create. The photographs below wouldn't win contests, but were borne of a relentless desire to create something new. The first photo was taken with a wine glass creating the haze at the bottom; in the second there are only 2 real flowers, the rest are created with the use of crystals. I am anxious to see how far I can push these simple tools to create unique photographs.

That's how I am using my burning desire to create. How about you?

Best wishes.

Today's Photos: Crystal Creations

“Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten. Then when you hit puberty they take the crayons away and replace them with dry, uninspiring books on algebra, history, etc. Being suddenly hit years later with the 'creative bug' is just a wee voice telling you, 'I'd like my crayons back, please.' ” Hugh MacLeod

365 Project - Days 333, 334

“To find out what is truly individual in ourselves, profound reflection is needed; and suddenly we realize how uncommonly difficult the discovery of individuality is.” C. G. Jung

I had the opportunity for a moment's reflection this evening. In that moment, while grilling hot dogs outside on the deck in the cool autumn air, I thought about my day. I had spent much of it engaged in a variety of activities readying my son to return to college. And, in the evening, I chose to relax and grill hot dogs for my younger son. In those few minutes I thought, "I've come a long way in two years."

I spent the Fall of 2013 in Central and Eastern Europe. I can vividly remember moving from airport to airport with more luggage than I should have had, but who knew when I would be in one city long enough to have my dainties washed? I was at the disposal of the local teams and I went where they needed me to make client calls. I smile now as I picture myself in small European airports, a well-seasoned traveller, with both arms loaded. I enjoyed being in the field, but I also missed being at home.

Tonight, I am filled with gratitude - not for just today, but also for the work, filled with trials and triumphs, that brought me to today. No one gets to a moment like this without both challenges and successes. For both ends of the spectrum I am grateful. And, I have grown through and since. I find it funny that people say, "I would not change a thing." Hah! I would change lots, nevertheless, I am grateful for it all. Every experience shapes us into the individuals we are meant to be. There is cause for celebration as we discover ourselves and our uniqueness. And, gratitude for how we have become who we are.

Blessings.

Today's Photos: Celebrate Individuality

"Always be joyful. Pray continually, and give thanks whatever happens. That is what God wants for you in Christ Jesus." 1Thessalonians 5:16-18

365 Project - Day 332

"Great minds have purposes, others have wishes." Washington Irving

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him." 1 Corinthians 2:9

I recently read an article that likened the number of disconnected youth in America to the size of the state of Minnesota. For this discussion, "disconnected youth" refers to youth ages 16-24 who are neither in school nor working. Millions of youth who are single, at home caring for a baby (one study removed women who in this age range who were married to a working spouse) or seemingly lack the clarity, ambition, or guidance to get where they are intended.

My son is home from University for a long weekend. When several of his high school friends were over today, I wondered what made them seem different. Then it dawned on me that they were coming into themselves and emitted a lightness in becoming more like their authentic selves than the teens society wanted them to be just a few months ago.

At the same time, I had a brief a chat with a student looking at universities and asked what they wanted to study. When they did not have an answer, I probed about studying theater. I got the usual hesitation about the risk of not making a lot of money. I have long grown anxious that adult practicality throws water on the fire of youth passions and ambitions and then, those youth become adults who are no longer clear on their purpose in life.

I thought about this as I was processing these photos for today. Like the recent Super Moon Lunar Eclipse, we start out our lives with clarity and bright anticipation, only to become confused as we conform to the world's expectations. That is begins the time when we hide the person we believed we were meant to be. In the same way, the true nuance of the moon was difficult to photograph during the total eclipse.

Some of us become completely consumed as we accommodate the world's view of us, remaining hidden or disconnected and others are persistent enough to press through and become what God had intended. And, that is a truly beautiful thing.

Blessings.

Today's Photos: Stages of the 2015 Super Moon

"If you listen obediently to the Voice of God, your God, and heartily obey all his commandments that I command you today, God, your God, will place you on high, high above all the nations of the world. All these blessings will come down on you and spread out beyond you because you have responded to the Voice of God, your God:

God’s blessing inside the city,
God’s blessing in the country;
God’s blessing on your children,
the crops of your land,
the young of your livestock,
the calves of your herds,
the lambs of your flocks.
God’s blessing on your basket and bread bowl;
God’s blessing in your coming in,
God’s blessing in your going out.

God will defeat your enemies who attack you. They’ll come at you on one road and run away on seven roads.

God will order a blessing on your barns and workplaces; he’ll bless you in the land that God, your God, is giving you.

God will form you as a people holy to him, just as he promised you, if you keep the commandments of God, your God, and live the way he has shown you.

All the peoples on Earth will see you living under the Name of God and hold you in respectful awe.

God will lavish you with good things: children from your womb, offspring from your animals, and crops from your land, the land that God promised your ancestors that he would give you. God will throw open the doors of his sky vaults and pour rain on your land on schedule and bless the work you take in hand. You will lend to many nations but you yourself won’t have to take out a loan. God will make you the head, not the tail; you’ll always be the top dog, never the bottom dog, as you obediently listen to and diligently keep the commands of God, your God, that I am commanding you today."
Deuteronomy 28:1-14

365 Project - Day 331

"Jesus said unto him, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.' " Matthew 22:37-40

As I began to work the photo for today, I started with a simple idea: photograph white eggs (which, by the way, we do not eat). Soon after I started, I was compelled to shoot a different photograph entirely. I was driven to create this view of something more than diversity; a vision of the reality of us all being created equally (given we are all created in the image of God); the beauty of the various colors we represent both in skin color and in personality; and the delightful and challenging fact that we are locked in this world together.

While the end result is not perfect, it is the photograph I needed to create at that moment, inclusive of the shine on the eggs, reflective of the difficulty of the message. Nevertheless, choose love.

Blessings.

Today's Photo: Beyond Inclusion: Love thy neighbour as thyself

“He who is different from me does not impoverish me - he enriches me. Our unity is constituted in something higher than ourselves - in Man... For no man seeks to hear his own echo, or to find his reflection in the glass.” Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

365 Project - Day 330

"There is peace in the comfort of something like a bowl of freshly cooked homemade tomato soup but to grow, we must disrupt that comfort, agitating our hearts, minds and souls knowing that once stretched, we can always bring our new self back home to be refreshed."

Joy, nurturing, peace, comfort and renewal are intertwined in the freshness of homemade soup. While I am not a big fan of traditional tomato soup, on this day, I chose to make an entirely fresh pot of tomato and basil soup, for the first time. The process was a labor of love. Chopping 18 tomatoes took quite some time, yet in the end, it was all worth it.

Is it not true that the happiness we receive in living life as we always have is momentary, like a fleeting laugh with friends or simple contentment with autumn breezes? I believe that expanding our lives with extraordinarily challenging activities, new adventures, diversity in friends and acquaintances and occasional failures, however, creates the opportunity for exceptional joy. We stretch, we grow and we find new truths. It is exciting and exhausting and drives us to want to come home again, ready for renewal.

Blessings.

Today's Photo: Prepping for Comfort: Fresh Homemade Tomato Soup

"I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint." Jeremiah 31:25

365 Project - Day 329

I could not have said it better ... From BRIGHTSIDE.ME on Facebook

"You have a uniquely creative personality!

The main things in life for you are your intuition, wisdom, joy, satisfaction and curiosity. The world for you is full of mystery, and is made up of so many different things, situations and people which are all constantly stimulating your imagination. Your life is painted in a multitude of beautiful colours, and you're always looking at it through the prism of creativity. You can turn anything that happens to you into something positive, and you never look for simple answers to life's questions.

You live your life in constant anticipation of experiencing something new and wonderful. However, at the moment you feel a lot of aggression inside. It's possible that recently you've been experiencing a lot of negative emotions and have the desire to finally resolve something that's been bugging you for a long time. You need to calm down and relax. The time has come to do something new. You have the ability to draw a huge amount of strength from yourself, whilst at the same time remaining a tender and loving person."

So the most important thing is ... be authentically me - That's all.

Blessings.

Today's Photo: Still life with apples

"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." George Bernard Shaw

I feel compelled to say this about the above quote ... God creates in us the ability to be superstars. It is up to us to create that reality.

365 Project - Day 328

"Arise, shine, for your light has come." Isaiah 60:1

The other day, I was inspired to combine two articles I had read into a single photograph. One article was about backlighting photographic content and the other discussed the quality of Bokeh, the out of focus background in photos. I was fortunate to have a beautiful Fall afternoon for this project.

It took a few attempts to get this right without blowing out the highlights and to incorporate my bonus element - the setting sun. I needed the sun glare as a reminder. I am in the midst of a project that seems to be taking an extraordinary amount of time to complete. I pray for the wisdom needed to complete the project and the guidance necessary to direct my steps along with the combination of the two to speed my way to conclusion. The light shimmering through in this photo is a reminder that, though, the progress may seem little, fuzzy and slow, God is directing a bigger play. And, I can have confidence in tossing my anxiety into His light and in return, He will light my path.

Blessings.

Today's Photo: Light and Bokeh

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21

365 Project - Day 327

“Make the most of yourself....for that is all there is of you." Ralph Waldo Emerson

I have enjoyed the reaction of people the last few days as I have offered to have people with fewer items than I step in line in front of me or had someone order ahead of me at the deli since I was in less of a hurry. It feels good to have the fullness of time and patience to offer these blessings to others.

One of the beauties of a cup overflowing, is that you have so much left over that you must share or the blessings spoil. That is true whether we are discussing people or fruit. And, when we make the most of ourselves, we expand our blessings until we become more than enough and overflow. When that happens, our good gifts are shared with others.

May your blessings overflow.

Today's Photo: Limes overflowing

“When you wish someone joy, you wish them peace, love, prosperity, happiness... all the good things.” Maya Anglelou






EXIF: Nikon D750
ISO 1000
50mm
f4
1/4s