Blasts From the Past

by Deanna

Within the past 10 days I received an unexpected blast from the past.  My older cousin Sue (who I haven’t seen in more than 50 years) vowed that this is the year for de-cluttering.  Hmm, seems to me I make that same commitment each year, but so far it hasn’t happened in my world. (yet)  She even went so far as sorting out old photographs and mailing them to the appropriate family.  Wow, was I surprised to open the large envelop and discover photos I didn’t even know existed.  I want to say it was a trip down memory lane, but some of the photos were taken way beyond my memory bank.

This one, for instance.  When I first saw this photograph what immediately grabbed my eye was the scarf tied around my head, oh my Lord. Then upon closer viewing I realized that I was holding a snowball and standing in snow, altho it looks like Mom thru a rug out for me to stand on. I am dressed like summertime, short-sleeve, (but I will say it's a sweet dress with that little bolero) nothing on my bare legs. I promise you, my Mom was a better Mom than what this photograph would imply. 

Ruffling through all the photographs, I realized what a gift Sue gave me.  I have this one, a picture of my Mom and her sisters, brother-in-law and another huge surprise, a picture of my Dad. My real Dad and Mom were divorced when I was just an infant (another story) and honestly I don't ever remember seeing a picture of him. I think my Mom wiped him from her life.  My father is on the far left and my Mom is in the center with her hand on her cheek.  It's difficult to think that these old images are all that is left of my heritage, but how blessed I am to have them.  

Probably 6 to 7 years after this was taken, and that is just a guess since there was no date on the above photograph, my Mom met and married the man who became my "Dad" when I was 5 years old. A wedding....small, with my aunt the maid of honor and my Dad's cousin Ted the best man. I think cousin Ted was a bit of a scoundrel. Everytime Ted came to town Mom would get nervous. I have no idea what made Mom so nervous, probably better I didn't know at the time. 

About a year later, my brother entered the picture. He is 6 years younger than me and let's just say we weren't exactly the best of buddies. He was a pain in my side and really dampened my free time in the summertime while my mother worked outside of the home and I had to stay home and babysit.  This image was obviously taken prior to the horrors of babysitting your little brother. (another cute dress I might add)  PS  As adults we have a great time together. 

I think this image pretty much illustrated our mutual admiration (?) for each other. Makes me giggle. 

And finally I am all grown up, 17 and ready to grab life.  At least I thought I was grown up at 17. 

Don't most 17 year old's think they know it all, can handle most everything, know better than Mom and Dad? Only to find out later just how much you needed the wisdom of your parents, the love and sometimes unwanted guidance they gave. Wouldn't you just about give anything to have that one last conversation with your Mom and Dad? To ask them unanswered questions, to know them better as a person, not just Mom & Dad.  Be able to tell them one more time how much you loved them and missed them, I know I would. 

So, thank you Sue, for sending me these photographs. Bringing me great joy, they are wee bits of treasures with their scratches, fading and sometimes out of focus images. I cherish each one.   

Blessings

by Carol

Write your troubles in the sand,

But carve your blessings in stone.

Focus on Gratitude

by Kim

"Do not take anything for granted - not one smile or one person or one rainbow or

one breath, or one night in your cozy bed." - Terri Guillemets

Not for friends who are willing to meet you at the sunrise at o'dark thirty since the time change because they know you've had a bad week.

Or for your coffee date after the sunrise with those same friends at your "spot" and playing with your shots in instagram.

Not for the belly laughs that are medicine for your soul.

And especially not this . . .  or for getting to personally express my gratitude, for the impromptu hug or that it landed in the parking lot where you were having that coffee date.

No, do not take for granted that the day can lead you by the hand if you let it.

Or for good timing, or shrimpers and their fresh catch.

Or for the pelicans that do a fly by...super close!

"At the end of the day, let there be no excuses, no explanations, no regrets."

- Steve Maraboli

Have a fabulous day!  - Kim

The Women I Love

by Deanna

Well I did it again…..put everything off till the absolute last minute.  Well not really everything, I did manage to pack (forgetting only 3 things), found someone to watch “the kids”, arrived at the airport on time, flew to Houston, TX to meet with 9 incredible women that comprise and compose this blog….the women of “Focusing On Life”.

We gathered in August of 2013 at my home, this year we rented a house on Galveston Bay, who knows where we will be next year but I know there will be a next one, we are committed to that.  For those of you who are “Instagram” fans you have probably been seeing quite a few “Galveston gals” shots from our adventures together.  The only one that was unable to join us was Cathy Sly who is still in recovery mode after her hip surgery.  But nothing stopped us from at least “skyping” with her.  As of 9:00 PM Thursday evening we were all in the same room together, 10 of us here, and Cathy on the computer screen.  Oh the marvels of technology, bless their little pea pickin’ hearts.

This group of women have been such a blessing in my life.  We have climbed the “steps of life” together, supporting each other every step of the way.  And when we reach those un-opened doors of life we are there again with encouragement and love.  I love these women, they are sharing and caring, lovely and lively, sharing their joys as well as their sorrows.  Photography is what brought us together, but love, trust, and friendship keeps us together.  

Thanks so much for being a part of our lives, we appreciate all of our followers and wouldn't it just be the best thing ever if we could ALL join in on a big group hug.

Gifts

by Carol

I was given a gift this morning - a thought to mull over. And that thought fits perfectly into my experiences of the past week. Over Labor Day weekend I attended Kim Manley Ort's Contemplative Photography workshop, co-taught by Patricia Turner,  on the incredibly beautiful and raw Star Island. I should have taken the name of the workshop literally - because the weekend left me much to contemplate - not only about photography, but about life. Oh my - I've had some big thoughts since then! And I am very aware that a door has opened a little bit wider. Another path has appeared for me and I can't wait to walk it.

My gift this morning came in the form of a quote from Polly Young-Eisendrath. Here is the sentence that started my mind rolling: "People did not live with mirrors or photographs or anything like that for eons of time, " and in many places still those things are not a part of daily life. Think about the impact of that - the change in perspective it creates. Looking in a mirror creates a separation. There is you , and there is the image you are staring at. It feeds comparison and insecurity and separation from others. Polly, a zen Buddhist and psychotherapist, encourages us to look away from ourselves and out into the vast world. Move from that narrow, self-important position - and look - no REALLY LOOK at your surroundings. That simple action will create an earthquake - a seismic shift away from that tiny, narrow focus of worry and regret and judgement to a view of all we are given. It is so much better to feel insignificant than insecure; so much better to focus on gratitude, rather than judgement.

Star Island is an outdoor paradise, not much spoiled by human contact. The entire Island is only forty acres and nature is on full display! Life there is simple by necessity, because it takes great effort to bring anything there from the mainland. Ever since camp as a little girl, I have enjoyed the way people (myself included) settle into a nature experience, and I watched it again on Star. At the first class everyone is a bit self-conscious. They have dressed the way they choose to present themselves; perhaps they have given thought to how they will introduce themselves. They are deciding how much of themselves to reveal - they are still using the mirror.

But as Kim and Patricia led the workshop, the pretense began to drift away. Thankfully, they taught the workshop with much free time. A workshop on contemplation should provide you with time to contemplate! That may seem obvious, but it is so often not. Kim and Patricia toiled as guides - giving us  methods, like "visual listening," and "meditative drawing" -  to help us see and receive our surroundings. And then they released us out into nature, where we were free to discover the earth's message to us. True teachers, they realized that our lessons come to us when they are needed. They refrained from being "the experts," so that we could discover our own expertise.  I am so grateful that they realized their roles as cultivators, rather than pontificators.



I watched, and enjoyed as we all progressed from that first introduction, to that last day when the mirror is not given a thought and you hop out of bed at 5 AM, to wander out into the fog, forgetting to brush your hair or teeth! There will be time for that later - right now I have to watch the show!

And what about photography? Well, when you "keep calm and receive the image," it is an emotional experience. You are a participant in it, and not an observer of it. The message from an image taken like that, transcends the paper the photo is printed on. When you have an emotional attachment to your image's subject - so will the person viewing your photograph - and isn't that our goal as photographers - "true creative expression?" 

Kim and Patricia left us with a traditional Celtic blessing: 

May the stars light your way

And may you find the interior road
Forward!

(p.s. - If you would like to see some images from our group, Kim has published our final slideshow. You can see it here. You will not regret finding Kim's blog. If you want more of this philosophy, I also encourage you to visit Patricia's blog here.
And would you share what called to you today in our Flickr group?)