gratitude

I am a big fan of living with intention. Resolutions not so much, however this year an ambitious intention of mine is to commit to one blog post per week. Minimum. Words, pictures, anything. I must admit this is a little intimidating, and it may sound simple and easy - but some days I just don't have that much to be chatty about, or not sure what to share.I welcome any encouragement from anyone who reads my blog. SOAR Sisters are you out there? :)

It's interesting looking back on my last post, it seems so long ago. I have weekly blog ideas, will scribble them down to work on them and a few days later think, oh THAT wasn't important enough to blog about, who would want to hear about THAT, and does anyone REALLY want to see Luke making his first peanut butter & jelly sandwich? So I end up keeping these to myself, along with images to go along with the story. So maybe it is not so much that I don't have anything to say or share, the issue is being afraid or hesitant to. And yes, sometimes it is about prioritizing hanging out with little guy instead of the computer.

I do want to share a recent experience, that keeps me on my toes about gratitude. This was originally written on Feb 3rd, after my last shoot.

GRATITUDE

It is hard to describe or put into words the feelings that come up when you see
an injured child. As a mother; pure empathy and love, mixed with sadness, hope and strength.

I took portraits today that made me feel awkward. Portraits with purpose, that made me feel a little embarrassed. Portraits of a little girl from Haiti who was injured in the earthquake, with thousands of other children. She was beautiful, sad, lost, confused and scared. I don't think she liked me very much for pointing a camera at her. I wish I could have told her "good luck" and that she will be in amazing hands of talented doctors and surgeons. I am just documenting and capturing "what is" and that things will get better. I wish I could have said many things to this little girl, but because of the language barrier we pretty much communicated through gestures and eye contact.

Maybe in a strange way I related to her. I was the same age when I arrived at LAX with my mom (as she with hers) flying for the first time, across oceans, not speaking the language, feeling lost, confused and scared. She will be going home, or what is left of her home after 3 months of surgeries, healing, and the generous hospitality of her "host family".

I have the privilege of staying here and living my life, being a mom to an amazing little guy, and using my talents to help other people in need. All I can say is GRATITUDE.

We are so removed from the Haiti tragedy, and many other similar situations around the world. It is easy to walk away from the television or internet, and choose to "forget" about real people in need. It is an indescribable experience meeting a mother and child face-to-face, with hopes and dreams, knowing that a tragic event will effect their lives forever. That is not so easy to walk away from.

The organization responsible for bringing this little girl and her mom here, along with providing the medical care (and setting her up with a host-family) is http://www.mendingkids.org/ I have been offered the amazing opportunity to help document the stories of numerous children they will be bringing here, by photographing them.

The pages of my gratitude journal are filling up with daily thanks, big and small since January 1st. This journal keeps me grounded, reminds me to live with intention, to be mindful & to give daily thanks.