Sometimes I need a quiet place. The world feels discouraging and lonely lately. Not all of it, but a good percentage. Each day can drone on and on with more bad news. Stories of how one group of people puts their ambitions over another’s sense of humanity. Entitlement. Me First. America First. Makes me sick, and sad, and really discouraged. Not just that. Not just the externals. Art is also a struggle. A struggle to stay alive and be alive and express something that represents something more. That there is more to life than this. That there is still beauty. It reminds me of this and grounds me and keeps me whole. It gets me through the day. Each day when I photograph I see something beautiful about the world.
My youngest is still in this wonderful place of wonderment. Spending time with her is like basking in the glow of imagination; a place where bugs are very important and magical. She is magical to me. So vibrant and alive. So full of fascination with the little things.
Spending time with her in the late afternoon sun at a park reminds me of peace and magic. Magic still exists. I wish to live in this place of magic, now more than ever.
Your photography is amazing, so peaceful. Your photos catch the moment in all its splendor! Perhaps, someday they will come together in a book with your contemplative writings. It’s a book that would give us pause to reflect, dream and embrace the simple and the good.
Remember for all the ugly, horrid, tormenting news out there; there are thousands of unsung heroes, thousands of random acts of kindness, thousands of volunteers that give aid in every segment of life. Sadly, the horrific gets top billing and media support. Acts of compassion and goodness to humanity are somewhere beneath the bottom rung. I grieve for the lives that were unfairly cut short and the families and extended friends and acquaintances whose lives are forever changed in an instant. Sometimes, out of the ashes of chaos and suffering rises acts of courage, strength and new directions of life choices that inspire people to move in different directions.
Keep taking your pictures and posting them. They capture untold number of smiles, chuckles, and laughter as they bring us up front and center to what is really, really important.
Thank you for your encouragement. <3