Pick me up

I've had a rough couple of days. You know the ones. Where everything goes wrong and there's not enough time and you just don't handle things well. Where you lose your cool and let everything get the best of you. The days when you just look forward to bed. I know we've all been there but somehow it doesn't make it any less disheartening.

I was wallowing around, groaning and grumbling about what was probably nothing discernable to anyone, while my husband opened a package that came in the mail. As he pulled out a bundled wad of newspaper about the size of a grapefruit, he slowly uncovered a small box made of polished metal and shiny black plastic.

"I got this for you because...because...you're having a bad day", he said soft and kind with his gentle smile and extended his offering to me.

I went from miserable to grateful in an instant. As I studied the pristine vintage Kodak Brownie Reflex 20, I marveled and smiled back. Totally speechless.

"And look, " he continued, as he lifted the lid that covered the large viewfinder at the top, "it's just like you wanted."

Indeed. There is was, a viewfinder that framed the beautiful world outside of my muddled head; saturated color, bold shapes, bright light and clarity. Like a child, I began to squeal with delight and so began the instantaneous shift from pity party to creative celebration.

Playing with my new toy for about an hour pulled me out of my mood. Not for good unfortunately, for I do believe that hormones will have the best of me for a few more days, but certainly for long enough to be reminded that sometimes a kind gesture, a simple spark, a tiny new way to see the world is all it takes to shine light on the darkest places.

Tell me, when was the last time you had a shift like this, from blue to blush? Was it something someone said? What it using your own camera to mine out the gems of your life? Share with us they way you've experienced your own kind of "pick me up".

Image of me holding my new muse (above) courtesy of my 8 year old daughter via my iphone.

hello soul hello business

Sometimes I forget what it was like way back when; when I was bright eyed and bushy tailed, just out of college, eager to begin a creative career. I had no idea what it was going to be, but I knew it was going to be awesome. Seriously. I had NO idea. Not exactly the kind of thing a father wants to hear from his new college grad but I didn’t doubt it for a second. I knew that I would forge out a creative career for myself; somehow, some way , doing something I loved.

I found photography. Or maybe photography found me. I’m not sure which.

But it could have been anything I suppose. I was open. I only had a few simple (yet imperative) criteria. It had to be something that I was passionate about, something that coaxed out my most creative self and allowed me to be me.

Fast forward to now and my path from there to here might sound enchanted. I won’t deny that there was a little of that along the way but for the most part it took a lot. A lot of work. A lot of learning. A lot of time. A lot of perseverance. A lot.

Way back then, there wasn’t the internet the way it is today. There weren’t ways to find the other people in the world that were trying to do the same thing I wanted to do, the same way I wanted to do it. It made it that much more difficult and often that more isolating.

Enter the splendor of the World Wide Web! We are alone no more! I cannot even imagine what my path would have looked like if I had the bounty of creative resources that there are today. Communities, classes, websites, women, inspiration, encouragement, support…the list goes on and on. And it’s bright and shiny and full of beautiful potential!

If you are uncovering and discovering your creative bliss—whatever it may be—I want to encourage you to take full advantage of all the amazing offerings that are out there, right at our finger tips. Leap. Learn. Launch. Run. Jump. Fly. Just go for it! You’ve got nothing to lose. It’s never too early or too late to become an entrepreneur; to pave your way as successful creative, making money doing what you love.

The new e-course by Kelly Rae Roberts and Beth Nichols, Hello Soul Hello Business is exactly the kind of opportunity I wished I had way back when I was starting out. Two incredibly enthusiastic, crazy talented, and business savvy women willing to spill the beans on all the stuff I wanted and needed to know. I may not have had them then, but I have them now and all I have to say is let the revolution begin!

Share with us what you’re excited about this year? Are you taking a leap? We can’t wait to hear all about your awesome plans! Hello 2012! And if you choose to start your year with Hello Soul Hello Business, I'll see you there.

A new year, a new word

 

Happy New Year! We made it…together.  Another year behind us, a brand new one ahead.

Oh, the bright and beautiful possibilities!

It’s that time again, for setting our intentions, making our own personal creative goals and exploring new ways of being in the world. For the last few years, we’ve joined collective energy with our dear friend Ali Edwards through her One Little Word tradition. Way back when, at the start of our One Word Project, it was Ali that inspired us and proved that indeed, One Little Word could make a really Big difference in our creative journeys.

Today, we kick off this month of beginnings with YOUR word. We did it last year, just like this; asking YOU to celebrate YOUR word all month long for the One Word Project, in honor of One Little Word. YOUR word. Share it with us here in the comments and in our OWP Flickr group and who knows, YOUR word might be featured here!

So, as we start, share with us…what word do YOU choose to begin 2012?

a celebration of light and color

"There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it."  ~Edith Wharton

Tis the season for lights and color. And when you combine to two? Magic happens!

The golden glow of candle light, radiant ornaments, moonlight, subtle sparkles, twinkle lights.

Whether you choose fantastic focus or a brilliant bokeh, today, illuminate us with all the light and color that you've captured this holiday.

aliveness

In the end

you won’t be known

for the things you did

or what you built,

or what you said.

You won’t even be known

for the love given

or the hearts saved,

because in the end you won’t be known.

You won’t be asked, by a vast creator full of light:

What did you do to be known?

You will be asked: Did you know it,

this place, this journey?

What there is to know can’t be written.

Something between crispness of air

And glint in her eye

And texture of the orange peel.

What you’ll want a thousand years from now is this:

A memory that beats like a heart—

A travel memory, of what it was like to walk here,

alive and warm and textured within.

Sweet brightness, aliveness, take-me-now-ness that is life.

You are here to pay attention. That is enough.

-Tara Sophia Mohr

Today, as we continue to savor the moments, we encourage you to pay attention through your lens. Share a thought, a word, an image where you're focused on this  "sweet brightness, aliveness, take-me-now-ness that is life."

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In the End is one of the poems featured in Your Other Names, the new book of poetry by Tara Sophia Mohr. She is graciously giving away a copy of her exquisite book today. All you have to do is leave a comment between now and midnight tonight EST (12/5).

For more information about Tara, visit her website. And for more information about her book visit the Your Other Names web page. We'd like to thank Tara for sharing In the End with us here, just as she shared a poem with us almost a year ago. It's always pleasure to have her.