just be

By sweet synchronicity, as I was reading the words that Lilia shared in her post yesterday, I was packing my camera bag for a little photo excursion with one of my dear Shutter Sisters Kristi of A Life Photographic. We still live in close proximity to one another and were dear friends long before either one of us got serious about photography but these days our mutual passion has only enriched our relationship. And even still our busy daily lives often keep us from spending time together.

But on this day, we spent our morning strolling and shooting, catching up and clicking and laughing about the laundry we should have been doing, shirking the emails we should have been returning, and delaying the work we should have been getting done. Instead we took the long way around the Nature Center and kept walking. And talking. And enjoying the sunshine, our love of photography and our friendship. I mentioned that I had been really making an effort to slow down and just let myself be for a change. To let magic unfold. It doesn’t mean my to-do list is getting smaller, it’s just taking me a little longer to get through. That’s OK, right? I urged of her.

She replied without hesitation, Tracey, I just lost a good friend to cancer. It can go so fast. Yes, it’s OK. In fact, simple moments like these are all that really matter.

I cannot tell you how glad I am that I allowed myself a day of reflection and wandering, and most of all connecting with a soul sister. It’s going to be part of my new routine of just being.

I ask of you today to take some time to yourself. Breath deep. Appreciate the vibrant miracle of life that you are and all the gifts that you are given unconditionally each day. Look around you and capture with your lens of few of the things that you are grateful for. The kind that remind you that you are allowed to just be. Delight us with your visual reminders.

Comments

[kosenrufu mama]

every moment is full of depht and it is important!
http://esterdaphne.blogspot.com/2009/04/bread-and-love.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23206424@N07/3477123336/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23206424@N07/3476073963/

[kaytee]

this is a lovely post. i am grateful for my friends!

http://missredphotos.blogspot.com/2009/03/best-friends-make-me-happy.html

[Marcie]

Tracey - I think we are like-minded souls. I know exactly the feeling of needing to 'do' all the time. There's an art to simply 'being':
http://marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=763

[Chris]

On Sunday night I attended a gathering with Amy Krouse Rosenthal for her "Beckoning of Lovely" tour. There was a decent sized group gathered and there was also this darling 18 month old boy there with his mom and dad. You know their attention span is zip, so dad was constantly chasing after him and trying to keep him still. Not until the night was over and people were leaving, dad managed to find a way to keep his little one still: he read a book to him. In the midst of all the noise and activity and people, this was their moment of stillness. I'm glad I caught it with my camera.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeroldssis/3485825346/

[Vanessa]

a simple walk on the pier: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanessa_r/3479971659/

[Alicia]

Yesterday, I spent some time in the evening just enjoying, just being...
http://aliandsethinthecity.blogspot.com/2009/04/spring-tuesday-on-my-street.html

[Puna]

Though your post has a great teaching moment, it's kind of sad in a way. Cancer is an awful thing. For some reason I'm reminded of my own brother-in-law's death two years ago.

http://lifesignatures.wordpress.com/2009/03/23/in-rememberance/

[ELK]

your time was so well spent Tracey...

so grateful to be in harmony with my long distance daughter:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sammymom/3485990404/

[renee @ FIMBY]

My own just be shot from a photo walk I took this weekend.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fimby/3474324553/

[Gayle]

Today I am basking in the joy that pets can bring to our lives!

http://planetmfiles.com/2009/04/28/pet-parade/

[Wayfaring Wanderer]

So crazy how my posts align sometimes.......serendipitous, even.

Reminder {1}
http://www.wayfaringwanderer.com/2009/04/reminder-1.html

[shelli - mama of letters]

What you say is so true. It's one of the reasons I give thanks everyday that I was able to quit my job and stay home with my son. I don't worry too much about chores or whatnot. I do what I need to and I TRY to savor time and simplicity.

I think this photo says it all:

http://www.mamaofletters.com/Site/The_Focal_Point/Entries/2009/4/25_Rising_Above_It_All.html

[Stevie]

What a beautiful post. It reminds me to slow down and enjoy time with family and friends. Here is a photo from a lovely afternoon spent with my beautiful cousin and her family

http://steviet365.blogspot.com/2009/04/april-24th.html

[Kacey]

Always a good reminder to appreciate what's around us and take time to enjoy it. I went out and captured the end of spring? beginning of summer? just this past Sunday. Enjoying the flowers, the green, birds...and the wonderful scents of this time of year.

http://www.wineonthekeyboard.com/2009/04/27/is-summer-really-almost-here/

[Toni | DailyVignette]

What a wonderful post. Life is fleeting and it is so important to enjoy the small moments, to create the memories, because all the other stuff - the dishes and bills and laundry, will still be there. My sons are grown and out on their own, but I relish phone calls and emails. When I come home from work, I'm greeting lovingly by these two - it is nice to have someone/something to come home to:

http://dailyvignette.com/2009/04/29/pet-parade/

[claudia]

It seems like I take a lot of landscape and still life shots. And although that's okay, I realized how few people shots I really take. The other night I had the chance to try my hand at something different and so much more memorable.
http://gnubee.wordpress.com/2009/04/29/on-assignment-for-a-couple-of-hours/
Thanks for the reminder of how short our time here really is and the importance of capturing the images that might really count in someones life.

[summer]

Even though today I feel like I should throw in the towel on mothering already and it's only 7:20 AM...I am thankful for the moments with this child who daily is changing me and who I know I will become a better person because of.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sufferingsummer/3483935039/in/photostream/

[Karyn]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kayak57/3486422264/in/photostream/

Comfort and peace, and hope.

[Jaana]

Springtime is a great reminder for me to just be. I love just hanging out outside. Some of my most spiritual moments have been with nature. I just feel like It gives me a chance to reflect & really be appreciative for all I have.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dxeechick/3485664621/

[brittany]

took some time last night to slow down. ate dinner outside with my husband and watched this little one play in the yard.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sivyerfamily/3485040590/

[Charlane]

just being together is beautiful

[kristin]

we had a freakishly warm day yesterday. 94 in parts of maine in april is unheard of. but for me a sun loving warm weather worshipper, it was a day of reprieve. a day to open windows WIDE, feel the warm breeze, smell the warming earth, listen to children playing outside my open windows, and just breathe. i noticed how beautiful the curtains looked dancing in the breeze.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14811117@N02/3485693745/

[Elizabeth]

Lovely lovely post. Thank you Tracey!

[Kelly]

Talk about not having any energy to do anything but "be." I know what you mean...
http://kellysphotographyblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/115365-dreams-remembered.html

[lilia]

yes. slow down. breathe. be in the moment. thank you so much for the reminder, Tracey. xoxo

[debi]

This morning I stopped & let myself just be, finding myself in a field of poetry. Making me later than usual to work, but that's okay - the work was still there when I arrived.

http://emmatree.blogspot.com/2009/04/field-of-poetry.html

[Just Jinny]

I had the perfect set of pictures for this concept. Laughter is SO important!! I love catching it in a photo.

http://realworldgirl.blogspot.com/2009/04/take-step-back.html

[melody is slurping life]

The image, the thought...so enticing.

Will definitely add it to my "to do" list.

Thanks for urging me.

[Candy B]

Being a family portrait photographer (mostly), I still find time to catch my kids doing different things, but I usually end up with memory cards full of photos I never get around to editing because I'm under such tight time constraints editing everyone else's photos. Well, tonight my house is in disarray as I am rearranging stuff, and my help didn't show up tonight to move some heavier pieces, so I said "Ya know what? I'm going to edit and post and blog about pictures of MY BABIES!" and that is exactly what I did! Here's the link: http://eyecandyphotog.blogspot.com/2009/04/my-big-girl-cheyenne.html

Lovely post - and I go on my weekly "photocations" with one or both of my shutter sisters, usually on Tuesdays. :)

[CarrieJ]

I am one of the Shutter Sisters that Candy B is talking about. We run away from our daily lives and immerse ourselves in the soothing click of the shutter and random conversation. We love our "photocations" as Candy dubbed them.
Just a hint, I let my daily chores fall to the wayside quite often to play with the kids. And of course, it is all caught by my camera.

[Liz]

a little late uploading!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilybeth29/3491712281/in/photostream/

[cat]

be entertained