I drug my tired body outside this morning.
Not for exercise.
But to see the sun rise. With a cup of coffee in hand. And warmth on my face.
It wasn’t the most spectacular sunrise. But it was one full of promise. Of a new year. Fresh. Yet comfortable. It was like saying hello to an old friend, whom I’m been missing lately.
I came back and cleaned, and took a warm bath and plopped myself down into a pile of magazines and books and notebooks and kleenex (it’s just that time of year for pesky colds) and I left the TV off and let the sun come through the window and hit my face some more. I caught up on quiet nothingness.
Now… I have said a hundred times over the years, I’m not a resolution maker. I have a list of goals and things I want to do a mile long tucked into the shadows of my mind. But there are things I need to remind myself this year. Things I think I struggled with this past year. And maybe from time to time I will come back to read this or open the little notebook I scribbled them on… and remind myself again.
Keep it simple. And genuine. And real.
Be brazenly me.
Be less daunted and more valiant. Believe in myself. Don’t let small negative setbacks become big. Be colorful. And mindful. Be Creative. Be me. Unapologetically.
Make connection significant.
Make disconnection a priority.
Grow.
“Hold myself to a standard of grace and not perfection.” (quote from one of the magazines I was reading today and it resonated deep in my heart) And embrace that growth will happen through these imperfections. Despite them. My work matters. Continue to learn in larger ways. Lessons. New skills. With an open mind and heart. But also… be the kind of photographer and person I am with determination to be better. Not what is trendy or expected.
Seek New.
New places. New Perspectives. New People.
Do it with wild abandon. Do it daily.
But remain grounded.
What will be…. will be.
Ride the wave. Ride the river. Ride the roller coaster.
I can hold on. Scared. White knuckled….. or throw my hands up in the air, face to the sky, feel joy…and choose happy.
