Color Therapy

Sometimes life is just a series of snapshots.

“I am not looking for great, award winning images, I am looking for moments that slow me down, make me pause and take a breath.”
— Paul Saunders

Of all of the things that land in my Inbox, the posts from Still by Paul Saunders are consistently those I find most helpful. This week’s newsletter focuses on mental health, and this is truly the most doable list I’ve every come across. This is a plan I want to try. Thank you, Paul!

Here are my five top tips for looking after your mental health:

Do something creative every week - everyday if you can.

Walk barefoot on the grass or sand at least once a week.

Have a real face to face conversation with someone.

Limit your screen time and stay away from online arguments.

Wake up ten minutes earlier, make a cup of tea or coffee and then either sit outside or with the windows open and listen to the birdsong.

Twenty Years Ago Today

Mother’s Day 2006

For many years, this day was about my mother or my mother-in-law. I loved them both and was always happy to celebrate them, but over time, those Mother’s Day visits and gifts and meals began to feel obligatory and often stressful for me. Now that the mothers in my life have passed, I choose to celebrate differently.

“I prefer, where love’s concerned, nonspecific anniversaries
that can be celebrated everyday.”
— Possibilities, by Wislaw Szymborska

I give a handcrafted gift to my friend Lisa’s mother, who treats me as kindly as if I were her own daughter. I send a thoughtful email to both of my sons and thank them for the joy they bring to my life. I plan an activity that I enjoy to honor that I have done my best (this year it’s a short trip to Culpeper to visit a favorite antique mall and nearby garden nursery). However you choose to celebrate (or not), I get it. I really do.

Core Beliefs

“I had this notion of what I called a democratic way of looking around, that nothing was more or less important.” - William Eggleston

This way of seeing the world isn’t about negating the desire or need for a photograph to have a subject, but rather, allowing that anything can be that subject. There is no hierarchy where one subject is deemed more valuable or worthy, and every element in the frame is relevant. Really successful photographs are built on a scaffold of supporting pieces.

How Beauty Shows Up

I asked for permission to walk into the greenhouse to take a few pictures. The bedding plants were just beginning to take root. The park ranger was smoothing cement for a strong support within the greenhouse. I talked with another young ranger about the joys of picture-taking. The morning rain had eased off, so I walked the garden beneath light diffused by soft clouds. The peonies ranged from buds to full blossoms. The irises rose from the gardens like dots connecting one to another, leading the way to a larger picture—it’s own kind of surprise.

Every day I find beauty simply because I look for it. I look for it in the same way I draw air into my lungs. As though I need it to survive. This is not an exaggeration; it feels deeply true.