be present

 

"Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop." 
-King of Hearts, Alice in Wonderland

You and me, we are the same looking glass reflecting eyes, cameras, hearts. Seeing to remember, seeing to be seen, seeing to find the meaning.

Sometimes words flow from lips to ears at just the right speed. They hang in the air between us, little sparkles of loveliness. Sometimes the sunlight flares truth into our world, into our concept of self and space and time. These subtleties are gifts. What we do with them is up to us. But remember this: no one has your eyes, your mind, your dreams. Through our art we give of ourselves. Word by word, image by image. We lay these pieces down like cobblestones that later become the path we walk. It is only by moving forward that we find our way. It is only by doing, that we learn to see how far we've come.

You. Me. We.

Find it. Whatever it is. Find what makes you feel most alive and follow that path. It will lead you to where you most need to be. Your job is to simply begin. One word. One image. One dream. One foot in front of the other until your story unfolds.

.....

I'm excited to share with you an upcoming journey. Registration is now open for the upcoming Be Present Retreat. "Your Story" is taking place on the Oregon coast, this June 15-19. Join me with three other amazing women and mentors at the retreat. Liz Lamoreux, Ali Edwards, Kelly Barton, and I will be part of this studio gathering and we are very much looking forward to it! The only thing to make it complete is your presence and your story!

In Liz's own words:
"During our time together, we will sink into what it means to share our stories through our writing, photographs, blogs, and artwork. We will play with color and words, let our cameras guide us, walk on the beach, and let the sun shine upon our heads as we listen to one another and share pieces of who we are. As with all Studio Gatherings, there will be several hours of free time each day for participants to continue the conversations, "work" on how they are sharing their own stories, explore the coast, or simply relax."

.....

So, today in the spirit of your story, share with us your reflections. Literal or otherwise.

Comments

[Marcie]

Here - I'm 'reflecting' on winter...sharing my story of this season of light:
http://visionandverb.com/2011/01/winter/
And here - I'm simply playing with reflections:
http://marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=1423

Love..love..love your image. And the retreat sounds absolutely fantastic!

[Jennifée]

What a magical image you have up there! Love how it triggers the imagination and makes me wonder what the room looks like - there are only the tiniest hints of it, with the chandelier and the other lights.

I enjoy playing around with reflections - like here, where I caught myself and a piece of my living room inside a pearl earring:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85057042@N00/4420493174/

[Kat]

Ah, literal or figurative, I love reflections. I just posted a new favorite, from my weekend with a friend, where we reflected lots of fun energy back and forth:
http://www.kateyeview.com/2011/02/reflecting-inspiration.html

[christine]

I've often wondered about the way I see the world and 'My story'. I've compared myself far too much to others and never really thought my story mattered. So, I closed myself off completely...then I was hit with unbearable pain to deal with in the form of health issues, unemployment and dealing with an alcoholic partner. I had no choice but to change. Photography came into my life at the most unexpected time and helped me start discovering my voice again. You talk about reflections....I felt so invisible and used to never take pictures of myself. I'm slowly doing that again. I'm writing again too. Hoping that I'll be able to expand on this post I wrote recently...talk about my experiences of good/bad living abroad and maybe help others in the process as well:

http://just-travelin-through.blogspot.com/2011/01/sense-of-purpose.html

[mary]

Oh what a lovely image, and a thoughtful and beautifully written post!

Here is me, reflected in the mirror on my grandfather's shaving stand:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9068078@N05/4506577510/

I'm told that I am like him in many ways -- a little stubborn, kind to a fault, with a love of gardening... he died when I was five years old.

[Eren]

Oh, I so wish I could go...just a bit too much for us right now. Wishing you luck in your preparations M!

[Julie Alvarez]

Wow.

This one is really me:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/5309990544/

And this one, I feel it represents me:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/3517332040/

[kristin]

i love reflections. on your prompting i went back and looked through my archived ones. this one jumped out at me. a very cold autumn day on a special (to me) beach. i was watching the sunrise completely alone on the deck of our hotel. it was so cold yet exhilarating. i turned around to see if he was awake inside and instead i saw my reflection and the colors of the sunrise just appearing behind me, and at that moment i felt that i was right where i was meant to be.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14811117@N02/3957570666/

[sarah]

one from last summer, reflection in an old photo of a young boy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradleysofaustin/4994997818/

[Suzi]

An inspiring and thought-provoking post. Thank you.

A fun moment captured in a reflection on my recent trip to Bath.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40748116@N03/5406857963/

[Emily]

What a fun topic. And lovely words and photo to accompany.
I just happened to have a "reflection" image posted in my Flickr now. It's me, in my baby girl's eye.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/squeeekphoto/5399585103/
xoxo

[Lisa]

I love this image, and your beautiful words. "Sometimes words flow from lips to ears at just the right speed. They hang in the air between us, little sparkles of loveliness." These lines gave me chills. Thank you for this inspiration today. <3

[Stephanie]

Lovely post! I did a little self-reflection/portrait for one of my 365s. I'm not sure how I feel about the camera picking up every little flaw, but I like the overall emotion (my boyfriend was telling me a funny story from the other room - I figured it was the only way to catch a "natural" smile when doing a self-portrait).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephaniecourt/5403282527/

[Liz Ness]

Here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lizness/4097604108/in/set-72157624026894869/ Is a favorite of me with my mom in an antique shop.

I love reflections and reflecting...

And, I'm reflecting today on all of the wonderful encounters that have lead to this very moment. Feeling extra-special grateful today.

[rawqueen]

I love this post!!! "We lay these pieces down like cobblestones that later become the path we walk." Gorgeous. Truly. One of things I love most about living a creative life is discovering often just how in synch we creatives are. Globally.
Once again gratitude for this amazing group of shutter clicking ladies!!! One Love
I posted about eyes today and shared a piece of our story.
http://somethingblu.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/finding-fun-in-the-mundanemy-camera-gives-me-toddler-eyesftr/

[spread your wings]

thank you for this inspiring post

this is how i see myself - a simple girl, in love with nature, but even at 50 odd years still, in some ways, trying to find my path.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/autumnsun/3846165630/in/set-72157621949237170/

[mama-pan | mary frances]

this is gorgeous. I sometimes get self-conscious about reflections and worry I am being cliche. yours is not.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98076237@N00/5333224073/in/photostream/

[AnnGeeDee]

The workshop sounds amazing. Here is the beginning of a new day, reflected again on the building I work in. Through photography, I'm beginning to realize there's beauty even in the mundane details of the day (like walking into work). http://www.flickr.com/photos/anngeedee/5052468041/

[Kathleen O.]

My boy and I...at a local museum (which had this super-cool exhibit about perspective). We were having fits of giggles over this - but as I look now, it makes me reflect on how much our lives are intertwined and overlapped and it feels oh, so good. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ko2008/5357775725/in/photostream/

[Trude]

That retreat looks sooo good, so tempted! This reflection is one of my recent faves:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/trudem/5393338766/

[Chelsea C]

What a beautiful shot and words to go with it. I have recently been reflecting on how to embrace the good and the bad in life and love who I am.

http://heartsandscars.blogspot.com/2011/01/i-am.html

[Betsy]

What a wonderful encapsulation of the essence of art! Thank you for those beautiful words, and the encouragement to share what is within each of us.

[cynthia]

Your writing is so fluid and beautiful. The Be Present retreat sounds intriguing. I hope it will still be around for when my children are older. Right now, my 52-week self-portrait project is my creative outlet and houses my thoughts/reflections on motherhood.

[Ali]

Excited to meet you Meredith - and to share this experience together.

Here's a recent one of me in the mirror: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliedwards/5330930368/in/set-72157600338413321/

[Mary]

Meredith, your words never cease to amaze me. Beautiful. Thank you so much.

[Ashleigh]

Amazing post! I hope to join you in June as the Oregon coast is pretty near :D

[Hannah N.]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58304012@N08/5410018450/

I was looking through these pictures not too long ago and was mesmerized by the fact that I could see myself in this horses eye! Oh the joys of looking back through your images!

[Vanessa]

oh, what i wouldn't give to sign up for a retreat like this!

here's an old, but favourite, reflection of mine from last year: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanessa_r/4891501966

[Christine]

I love this post so much. It is so wonderfully well written, and is so meaningful.

A couple recent reflections:

http://anhonestlife.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/guten-tag-2/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chartlaub/5416886940/