To wake up each day and meet the challenges and rewards of the world without judgement or weariness is to live our lives as a life-long child. I challenge you to go out this weekend and discover something new with an open mind. Go to the museum, start a new book, sit under a tree and dream... No matter how small, what do you plan to do to ignite the child in you?
After the Storm
"This is the first time we've gotten to talk to each other all day!" I hear it every time I pull a bride and groom aside to do portraits. On a Wedding day they've often met face to face for the first time in front of an audience to say their vows, only to be pulled apart afterwards by loving words and celebratory hugs from all of their family and friends. It is a beautiful rush - all of it, but I can't tell you how much quiet joy I see when a couple is finally alone for photos. The storm has passed, their family is occupied, and they both have settled into the comfort of the commitment they just made to each other. Thank you Katie+Lance for sharing those special moments with me!
Terrain Musings
I've heard it said that there are types of people who feel most at home in a certain place. Mountain people, prairie people, ocean people, that are shaped by a certain terrain and cannot fully live without it. For me all places are paramount. I need the mountains to feel strong and humble, to be reminded of the majesty and measure of the earth. I need the prairies to feel grounded, still, cradled and secure. I need the ocean to remember the freedom in uncertainty, and endless possibility.
Each of these places shapes my relationship with the earth. In the mountains I am a part of her - united with the wind and the rock. In the prairies I may borrow a piece of her to do with as I wish - a partner with a privilege to grow and harvest, and a responsibility to return what I cannot use. Where the ocean meets the land I stand at her mercy - small and exposed.
I need all places to feel whole.
