Blooming Solace
There are days when I feel like I keep circling the same thought pattern over and over in my head. Where I feel like I'm not moving forward but circling around on a carousel, never able to get off the ride. It usually occurs when it happens to be one of those 65/365 days of gloom and heavy cloud cover. Or perhaps the latest rejection wasn't as easy to roll off my back. And I have to remind myself to stop for one second and recognize that the melancholy pouring out of me is merely a feeling. An attitude with a shape that has grabbed at my being, clinging on for dear life. It’s so hard to unhook the grasp for, it too, is a part of me. If it were a color, it would be a bluish gray.
But it is only one pencil, one emotion, in the prismacolor box I call my psyche. How easily I can pull out a green pencil and fill in the soft grass blades of a spring day. Or blend the clouds to wisps of cotton candy.
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I remember walking into the office the one day complaining about the rain. The gloominess had once again destroyed my sunny disposition and painted my frame in a dull mood. My friend looked at me and said – What do you mean? Look outside (we turned to the window), look at the grass. Do you see how green it is? And the trees were so thirsty. Do you see how full they are and swaying in the wind? We needed the rain.
I think of that day often when I'm in a mood or when I see others easily jump into strong and negative reactions to what may seem like a mundane or silly situation. It's a gentle reminder that while I cannot control what happens around me, I can control what happens inside my brain. My attitude about any situation is 100% in my control. So I must choose wisely.
And if today isn't working so well and it's hard to flip that switch from dark to light, then there's always tomorrow.
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For those that are riding the struggle bus and having a hard time finding a direction to take in life…I came across this article. Up for an interesting read with quite a few expletives? Screw Finding Your Passion by Mark Manson.
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Behind the Scenes - Blooming Solace
Like many of my ideas, this one has been taking up space in my head for quite some time now. I’m sure this idea generated originally from a Tori song as most of my thoughts are born from a mental deep dive into her head space. But then I have been pondering the whys, whats and wheres of life as the seasons cycle through once again. My own personal Netflix is on repeat, like clockwork.
This piece was born from a visit to Great Falls Park, with my pals Tom and Kory and Audrey in tow for some vacation modeling. This day was a bit of a bust for me. I had ideas, but they lacked luster and punch. Now that my cup runneth empty (meaning – I need to go shoot!), I dug back into the archives for some hidden treasures. Blowing the occasional dust and cobwebs off the library proves to produce gems…if only sometimes. Sometimes images need a little quiet time before they can present themselves with the true potential. Or maybe, I just need to be in the right state of mind to see it.
For this image, Blooming Solace, I came armed with a single rose. The skies were extremely overcast with such a cloud cover it created a haze…although we’d take that any day over blazing sun and harsh shadows. So we photographed the rose before crossing the rocky terrain, bags and suitcases of props in our grasp. (Kory is notorious for his box of tricks/props and very generous in sharing them with his fellow photogs.)
We all channel our inner billy goat while hiking around this park. And some of us get dressed up, sit in the waterfall with an anchor and produce amazing pieces like this…Hold on Strong.
Days like these make for some very happy days!
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