Be Our Guest - Kelly Kardos

It is my pleasure today to introduce our guest blogger, Kelly Kardos. Many of you know Kelly as I do, from Instagram where she comes across not only as a great photographer but a fun person, someone I’d love to meet up with ‘for real’ sometime.

Kelly’s style philosophy begins and ends, “where the little things make up the big picture.” This helps her slow down and pay attention to the little things that might otherwise be overlooked. Whether it’s behind her DSLR or her iPhone, Kelly likes her photos to tell a story, as if we didn’t have a written language. You can find her on Instagram  @kellykardos or on her personal blog.

What's In A Word?

[wurd] n. Simply put; one or more spoken sounds or written representations.

But nowhere in the definition does it mention to empower or enlighten. This is my third year choosing a word. Before that it just felt like making a New Years resolution. I was never good at those either, pretty much failing miserably before February.  I believe fate stepped in three years ago.

Before I chose the word “LIVE”, I questioned, researched and read -- a lot -- to try and understand what exactly it was I was trying to do. What I found was choosing a word is more of a philosophy and that seemed much easier to grasp than a bunch of restrictions I had always placed on myself. Then, unknowingly, I set myself up for failure.

I started by writing random words that seemed inspiring. It was like shopping and, hey -- I was good at that! I opened my heart and read each word one by one. Quietly to myself and awkwardly out loud letting each one dance and swirl on each breath I took. I mulled the words over through out my day. I was in a photography rut:  full of self-doubt, hesitant to try new things and forgetting to have fun -- THAT was a biggie. So my word had to have meaning and purpose.

One word kept leaping off the page at me -- LIVE. It felt good and I was excited. So, LIVE it was. I was going to climb out of that box I had put myself into. I hand stamped my new word onto a washer, attached a band and made a bracelet so every time I looked at it I’d be gently reminded to stay the course.

 But Fate was already intervening.

Soon after, tragedy struck … over and over again, the horrible, gut wrenching, life altering kind of tragedy. I learned what I was made of that year. I lived through more than any one person should ever have to in one lifetime, much less in 365 days. But I lived and fate knew I would need to rise above it all.

Last year my chosen word was “Breathe” -- a no brainer really. I needed to mourn my losses and heal my broken heart and soul. My husband, Frankie, ordered a beautiful necklace with my word and I wore it religiously every day. It was something tangible, touchable and oh, so relevant.

My word for 2015 is “Balance” and it seems to marry "Live"and "Breathe" together hand in hand -- especially coming out of a year of no self imposed demands. I will be practicing time management so I can enjoy the day as it’s meant to be enjoyed and still do what is necessary. Jewelry seemed only appropriate to guide me on my new path and failure is not in this year’s vocabulary. 

“Women need real moments of solitude and self-reflection to balance out how much of ourselves we give away.

                                                                                                                     ~ Barbara de Angelis

Dotti, and all the beauties here at Focusing on Life, thank you for allowing me to share from my heart in this beautiful and sacred space for women to come and just be … in community and spirit.

                                                                                                                                                            Kelly