not to be forgotten

Its precisely the time of year when we'd give anything for warmer weather, budding blooms, soothing greens, birds and bees. We been waiting, searching, pleading for spring to come and discovering all the signs, both large and small that she is one her way (if not already than any day now). We have been focused on this glorious seasonal inevitability for nearly a month now at Picture Spring and it has been an inspiring rejuvenation of the spirit!

But in the push for what we know is coming, are we overlooking other beauties around us? Are we forgetting something?

Today as a brisk wind commands me to keep my coat on, I look around and see beauty. Yes, my attention (and lens) is drawn to the lovely colors of our blooming rose bush and to jubuliant yellow dandelions as they poise themselves to turn white and willowy. But then there is also the slow letting go of winter. There is a quality and richness that is in the letting go, the passing on, and with that there is a reminder from our old friend winter;

I am not wholly gone yet. See? But soon I will be. And then, I will return, like I always do. Don't forget me and the gifts I bring.

And so, I turned my lens to the last whispers of winter as she gently moves and indeed was reminded of her gifts.

Today, why don't you do the same and see what discoveries await you and your lens. Show us what winter is saying to you as she goes.

where do you go?

We talk a lot about shooting the beauty in life's happy moments full of light and colors.  But where do you go on the darker days?  We all have our low moments and darker times.  Life is full of ups and downs, it is inevitable that sadness seeps in and finds its way into our creative spaces every now and then.  Especially when shooting a 365 project.  No matter how steadfast you are at being positive, eventually you are going to have one of those days.  So where does your lens go when you feel off balance? Where do you find solace?  Do you commune with nature?  Perhaps still life brings you a sense calm? Focusing even seems too much? Let go and find beauty in the blur. Or maybe you turn your lens to something personal or sacred?   On those certain off days i seek out a little piece of peace.  One of my favorite things to look to are my smooth beach stones.  I carefully choose a few and stack them, finding my center in this simple practice of stillness and nature all in one.  Show us where you find peace on your darker days?  What brings you serenity when things seem off balance?  There is beauty and light to be found even in those moments of darkness.

Self-Talk

Of all the many ways we use words perhaps the most important are the ones we use to speak to ourselves.  The conversation we carry on in our own heads, day in and day out is the most intimate dialogue there is. No one else will ever hear the things we say to ourselves. This can make that dialogue either very sacred or very scary. 

Once, many years ago while suffering post partum depression, I scheduled a call with a highly-recommended energy worker/healer. Even before we began she revealed that it was actually paining her to have me on the phone because of the way I had been abusing myself. I didn’t know what she meant or what to say. Over the next few minutes I was made aware of how destructive my self-talk had become. Although at that time I would have called myself a perfectionist, I didn’t realize at what cost and all of the sudden there I was, called out by a perfect stranger. She had heard (even seen in some other-worldly way) the conversation I had going on in my head. It broke my heart. It really did. And it changed my life.

It’s taken me a long time to travel from then to now and a lot of courage to share it. It almost feels like another lifetime ago and yet it still stirs up intense emotion. Thankfully, over the years I have replaced almost all of those old words with the new ones filled with the loving self-kindness I deserve. The same ones we all deserve.

It seems to be coming in droves lately; all the compassion, nurturing, support, and encouragement is everywhere I turn affirming that it’s time to embrace the truth that we are all worthy of everything we long for.

What we do matters.

We are worthy now.

We are enough.

Today, I encourage you to be good to yourself. Listen to your own inner-voice. Are you treating yourself with the love and acceptance you so deserve? No one else can do it for you. You are the one you’ve been waiting for. You are enough.

If you are so moved, let your pictures help do the talking. Capture your own self-talk in a photograph. Hearing it or even reading it over and over can only be good.

bright shiny things

Sometimes when we see ourselves in a new light we are surprised by what we see. Sometimes a different lens can highlight a detail or a feature we may have overlooked. We're often hard on ourselves; much more so than anyone else could ever be and we can fail to see what those around us see. Our strength. Our beauty. Our talent. The list goes on and on. Seeing ourselves with kind and gentle eyes can be the biggest gift we could ever give ourselves. Sometimes it just takes our sisters to help us see it.

Share with us a shiny new you today. Something playful, reflective, pretty, real. Have fun seeing yourself in a whole new light.

Pictured above in my self-portrait with me is Meredith and Maile. Oh how grand it was to finally meet them face to face; lens to lens.

the beauty of backbone: nurturing for Haiti

It doesn't unfurl like silk, release a scent, flutter in breeze. A stem draws moisture, a channel of nourishment as well as fortitude. A stem feeds something beautiful. A stem is a backbone.

Nurturing isn't just about hope or prayer, as welcome as those gestures are. It's about resources and food and water and shelter. Literal, tangible, everyday caring -- the very same we do as mothers. Picking up and putting away. Wiping and lifting and stirring supper with one hand while tussling a scruffy, three-foot head with the other. This is the nurturing that keeps souls safe, keeps bellies from rumbling. It is plain and often unseen and unrecorded and yet it keeps whole families straight up and down, growing taller.

For a while, until we need not be, we can be Haiti's stem.

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Bright and early this morning, the virtual doors opened at To Haiti with Love, an auction and gathering of creative spirits and many of our own beloved shutter sisters.

René came up with the idea about a week ago -- literally. She emailed me, and responded by cannonballing into it, landing on top of her head. Within hours, emails were fast and furious and our community of artistic friends responded without hesitation.

With all proceeds going to the St. Joseph's family of homes for children in Port au Prince, Haiti, we're selling a Mondo Beyondo pass from the lovely Jen Lemen and Andrea Scher, a parade of beautiful (and many familiar, in these parts) photographic prints, original artwork, clothing, a coveted Shutter Sisters flash bulb necklace, my mother's unspeakably wonderful bird mobile, homemade maple marshmallows, and a weekend ski getaway in a historic cabin in Telluride, Colorado that comes complete with a small, blonde, Maritime female hobo-skier camped out on your front porch. And that's just to name just a few of the treasures up for bidding. More items will be added every day, so visit often throughout the week -- we've got such fabulous items waiting in the wings I can hardly keep my grinning mouth shut.

As photographers and authors and painters and toymakers and quilters, we offer what we know. Useful things, beautiful things. All tangible. Perhaps it's not the same as being able to pick up, dust off, offer embraces and warmth as motherhood would compel us. Perhaps it's much, much better. It's the means and the resources from which self-nurturing springs.

St. Joseph's nurtures Haiti's future innovators and artists and leaders. It creates family where there was none. Let's nurture them in the endeavour.

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At the heart of all things good, there is a stem of love and caring, support and nurturing. Whether it's over the miles, giving to perfect strangers or to our own children, we outstretch our arms and hold those who need to be held. We are women. It's what we do.

This month we're celebrating how we love with our One Word Project for the month: Nurture. If you're new to the One Word Project we invite you to read more about it on our OWP about page.

What does the act of nurturing look like in your everyday? What does nurturing look like when it's an extraordinary act?