Give Up!

It's time to give up.  It's time to stop trying.  Just let go.  Relax.  Release that white knuckle grip you have on life and just surrender.

• Give up trying to hold it all together.
• Give up trying to make excuses and accept the truth 
• Give up trying to be the person you always THOUGHT you should be and let yourself be who you are.
• Give up waiting for tomorrow and start living today.
• Give up settling for less than you deserve and reach for more.
• Give up wallowing in self-pity and take action.
• Give up wanting more and more and more and be grateful for the things you have.
• Give up constantly reminding yourself of your limitations and remind yourself of your strengths instead.

Just give up.  Let go.  And when you do, you might find that there really are no limits.  What are you ready to give up?

Pull Backs

Pull backs?  What the heck is a pull back?  Well, until this year I didn't really know what one was either.

A pull back, in photography (and probably other things), is when you pull back from what you are shooting to take an image of the full surroundings or set up of the shot you are taking.  It gives you  the context of the shot and is often used to educate yourself or other people on how you got the results that you got with the situation you were in - whether found or created.

Some of you may remember my infamous park bench that doesn't look like a park bench at all.  A pull back would have been a shot of the whole bench or a shot of me taking the picture of the bench so you could see what angle I was shooting from and where I was and where the sun was etc.  This is good to know if I ever wanted to replicate the shot or improve it.  What did I do or not do in order to get those results.

Click It Up A Notch is a blog that I often read.  Today she had a post on Photography Location Ideas.  It's a great example of what a pull back is.  You see the final image and where the image was actually taken - very surprising!

There are many other blogs and such that do this and lots of groups on Flickr that help with that too.

But, I like the idea of pull backs in life too.  I like the idea of taking a step back and seeing what it was that I did or didn't do in order to get the results that I got.  What can I do better?  What can I do differently?

I just made that person happy.  What was it that I did?  Can I do the same thing for someone else to make that person happy too?  OK, I just got reprimanded at work.  What did I do?  What can I do better?  I just solved that problem.  Is there a way that I could have solved that problem better?  Is there a way that I can apply what I learned in this situation to other situations?  Will that help other people too?

So, don't forget to pull back every now and then and take a look at what's going on.  You could be pleasantly surprised.

Here is an example of a pull back of a dandelion shot - with much thanks to my sweet Steven.

What Else Is In Your Camera Bag?

Yesterday I was reading a blog I visit occasionally  - Divas and Dreams.  The post was on 3 Steps to Make Better Photos.  Right off the bat, I'm struck by the title.  Not "take" better photos, but "make" better photos.  In order to make better photos, you need to have the right tools.  I already posted previously about what to keep in your camera bag.

I'm talking about some other stuff that's good to keep in there.  Figurative stuff.  Stuff you might not normally think of.

Compassion - to comfort and encourage the shy, self-conscious, or uncomfortable subject
Courage - to step outside your comfort zone and try something new
Imagination - to view things a little differently
Kindness - to be gentle and nice towards those you are interacting with
Patience - to get the right timing, the right expression, the right light
Vision - to see and recognize beauty and grace when you see it.

Come to think of it, those are pretty good tools for life too.  Don't forget to pack your bag well! (And don't forget your friends - especially the ones who pack the same tools as you do and are willing to walk beside you!)

What tools do you carry?

I So Want...

"I so want to be seen and heard… and I so fear being just that."  I don't remember where I read that but it was recently. It was like someone climbed inside my head and shouted out my most secret thought.


Let's be honest now.  Really honest.  I'm not the only one, am I?  How many of you self-sabotage?   No one?  Liars!  LOL


I wish I had some magical answer or words of wisdom but I don't.  Do you?  Seriously, let's share.  I'll start.


Ready?  Here's my brilliant advice:  Stop.  Just stop.  Stop self-sabotaging.  The end.

What's your advice?

There's Nothing Like a Purring Cat

I puttered around the kitchen this morning making my breakfast and tea and contemplating my day.  And then, I wandered into the living room breakfast plate and teacup in hand.  Immediately, my cat started purring.  And that made me smile.  I set down my breakfast and went right over and scratched her cute little furry head.  She just looked at me and purred even louder.

This simple interaction between my cat and me brightened my morning.  In fact, any time somebody acknowledges my existence in a positive way, it makes me happy.  I'm pretty sure that's a universal thing.  You walk into a room and a child's face lights up or someone smiles.  Even better if someone comes to greet you with a handshake, hug, or kiss.  Who doesn't like that?

It's so nice to be acknowledged, to be told in small actions that your presence makes somebody feel happy.  And when they express that happiness, it makes you feel happy too.  So, today, let's reverse it.  If someone comes to you who is important to you, who makes you happy, who you appreciate, show it.  Go on, share that smile.  Stop what you are doing and get up and greet the person!  I bet you'll both feel better for the simple act.

Because, really, there's nothing like a purring cat to make you smile.

Previously Impossible Dreams

I'm reading through The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron.  I've read the first two chapters umpteen times.  (Embarrassing confession....)  For the first time ever, I actually read chapter 3!  And next week is chapter 4!  I can't believe it!

Anyways, chapter 3 is called "Recovering a Sense of Power", which is a challenging one to read when you've let yourself get into the victim mentality and feel powerless.  There are many things in this chapter that confront me in the way I'm living my life right now.  However, this following quote really got to the heart of it in my mind.

Anyone honest will tell you that possibility is far more frightening than impossibility, that freedom is more terrifying than any prison.  If we do, in fact, have to deal with a force beyond ourselves that involves itself in our lives, then we may have to move into action on those previously impossible dreams...Life is what we make of it.  


I could go on and quote the entire chapter!  No, really, I could.  I have ideas.  I have dreams.  What would happen if i started taking action?  What would happen if the impossible became the possible?  What if God answered my prayers and dreams when I started taking action?  What would happen then?  What would it look like?  Is the sky the limit?

I think of Sara and Abraham, past the age of bearing children, yet hoping for the promise of descendants more numerous than the stars.  And yet, the impossible became possible with Isaac.  A miracle happened when they answered the call to their deepest dreams and God met them there.

What about you?  What if you started taking action on those "previously impossible dreams"?  What would your life look like if God met you there?  (Yeah, I find that frightening too.  To the point where I can't even picture it!  But I'm trying!!!)

Just Keep Going

Sometimes that's the best advice to give...and to follow.  Just keep going.  Sometimes I'm tired.  Just keep going.  Sometimes I'm discouraged.  Just keep going.  Sometimes I wonder why.  And then... I just keep going.  Why?  I have somewhere to go.  I have a place at which I want to arrive.  I'm not always entirely sure I'm going in the right direction but I don't want to lose momentum, because when I do, it's awfully hard to start again.  So, I just keep going.

So, today, my advice to you, and to myself is ...(can you guess?)... just keep going.  You'll get to where you are going... eventually.

Stop Hiding

Remember playing Hide and Seek as a kid?  Especially at night or in a new place it was fun!  It was always a challenge to find a really good hiding spot.  But, then, if it was too good, it could get boring as you sat and waited...and waited...and waited while no one found you.  I was never quite that good as a kid.

However, as an adult, I'm much better at hiding.  In fact we all are.  We hide behind our excuses and old failures never letting success or happiness find us.  And, it can get quite boring.

I want to be ready to stop hiding.  But my hiding space is safe and cozy and I know it well.  Venturing out is hard and scary.  What about you?  Are you ready to stop playing hide and seek?  Are you ready to let success and happiness find you?  Are you ready to step out of your comfort zone?

Park Benches and Such

My last blog was written by guest blogger, Galen Pearl of 10 Steps to Finding Your Happy Place (and Staying There).  Her amazing post invited a lot of readers and a LOT of comments!!  It was great, and I was humbled and honored by all the visitors and their great observations, but it was also a little overwhelming.  I wanted to engage with all these wonderful visitors, but found it a little impossible.  I work on a computer all day for my day job and commute about 3 hours a day.  By the time I get home, cook, eat dinner, whew.  All I want to do is sit on that park bench!

Wait.  Park bench?  What park bench?  The one that Galen chose to write her blog about "The Curiosity of Not Knowing".  Looking at the image, you can't tell it's a park bench.  It looks more like a funky tunnel, and based on the comments, most people couldn't see it.  And, I guess that was my point when I took the image.  It was at a time when I didn't have the kind of camera I wanted to have.  I wanted a dSLR (a digital camera with interchangeable lenses) but I only had a point and shoot.  (Oh, and for all who are wondering if I had an image of the full bench, I don't.  Sorry. ) Anyways....

I could have been really sad and frustrated about not having the kind of camera I wanted, but instead, I decided I wanted to max it out.  Whenever I can, I try and get myself into that mindset.  In any given situation, whether it's what I want or not - especially if it's not what I want, I try and see what I can get out of it.  What can I learn?

In this case, I decided to play with composition and point of view.  I spent many a day wandering around and trying to develop my eye to see - especially to see the unusual, the different, the beautiful.  I have lots of images from parking lots, sidewalks, and parks.  Yeah, I was also frustrated that I couldn't travel too!  :)  What I wanted to prove to myself and others is that beauty can be found anywhere if you just look and that it's not all about equipment.  It's what you do with what you have.

So, what are you doing with what you have?  Are you letting what you don't have limit you?  No need.  Max it out!  Learn what you can.  And when you get what it is you feel like you are missing, you'll appreciate it that much more.

Any guesses what this image is from?  J

Lynn, MA
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The Curiosity of Not Knowing

I am incredibly honored to have Galen Pearl of 10 Steps to Finding Your Happy Place as my first guest blogger.  I don't remember if I discovered her blog first or if she discovered mine.  Either way, it was delight at first sight for me!  I've been enchanted and blessed every time I've read her blog and continue to learn something new.  So, without further ado, I invite you to read her wonderful guest blog here and then I encourage you to read some more of her wonderful blog entries.  I hope you will be as inspired by her as I am!

The Curiosity of Not Knowing

I was delighted when Therese asked me to write a guest post.  I have long admired the matching of her photography talents with her thoughtful reflections on her photos.  She suggested that I link one of her photos to some aspect of my blog.

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The photo I picked is this one.

The reason I picked it is that this photo drives me crazy!  When I first saw it in her post titled Everything is Interesting When Viewed from the Right Angle, I couldn’t figure out what it was.  My mind tried out all sorts of ideas, but nothing clicked into place.  I felt uneasy and even a bit insecure, thinking everyone but me would be able to identify it.  Even after she told her readers what it was, I still couldn’t “see” it, and that made me even more agitated.

We’ve all heard that nature abhors a vacuum.  Our minds, I think, abhor not knowing.  Most of us have had the experience of mis-identifying something that we see or hear.  For example, one time I heard a noise in the distance that I immediately classified as a train, but a few seconds later I heard more clearly that it was a dog barking.  How on earth did my mind register train when a barking dog doesn’t sound anything like a train?!  The story is told of the man who sat up all night terrified of the snake sleeping in the corner, only to see with the dawn’s light that it was a coiled rope.  At least a rope is more like a snake than dog barking is like a train.

Our minds are not comfortable just resting in not knowing.  Any answer seems better than no answer.  Our minds would rather grasp quickly at a wild guess, and then correct the perception when more information becomes available.  I wonder why that is.  Why is pausing in uncertainty so terrifying that we would rather be ridiculous than unsure?  What happens in that nanosecond between the stimulus and the attachment of a label? It must seem a dark and scary place for our brains to want to move through it so quickly.

In mindfulness training, that nanosecond is called the gap.  In A Course in Miracles, it’s called the holy instant.  An entire universe of possibility is there, an eternity of wonder.  The price of admission?  Tolerating the groundlessness of uncertainty.

How do we do that?  In her book Comfortable with Uncertainty, Pema Chodron suggests becoming curious, curious about whatever our experience is.  Maybe we feel confused, angry, afraid, happy, excited, bored.  Before we start putting labels on our experience, before we start judging it, before we start telling ourselves stories about it, we can pause, perhaps just long enough to take a breath, and pay attention with open interest and curiosity.

So take another look at that photo.  If you look at it without trying to label it, without trying to figure it out, what do you see?

Therese is right.  Everything is interesting if we pause and look with an open mind.