A series of small accomplishments is often difficult for one person to see when faced in with such adversary. Most of the time it is easier to give up, then to face it. For me this is one chapter that I related to on a personal level. When I was faced with divorce and left with three children to look after I rarely had the ability to acknowledge the small accomplishments being made around me. An example would be, my middle son learning to ride a 2 wheeler or my oldest playing soccer. My mind was distracted with clouds and I needed to find a happy place for both my boys and me.
This came to me in my art and photography, as I turned to this media to find a contribution that I could give to my sons and myself that was rewarding. Instantly my family and friends admired my works and from there I started sharing this happiness with them. I would take pictures for weddings and family portraits for free, just because it made me feel good and alive. I looked at my art as a way of contributing to me friends and families happiness. So when reading this chapter I could relate to the woman throwing starfish back into the sea. Although I was not getting paid for the service of taking pictures the smile that I received or the gratitude I was given was worth more to me, it brought me back.
Photo by: Dennis Keegan in photo youngest son.
Wow, I can relate to what you wrote about having a devastating occurrence in your life and allowing the clouds of that devastation to block out everything else. The first year of my daughter's life, I was also going through a divorce. There was so much I didn't care about in life, but for me, this small life that was so dependent on me alone was a ray of sunshine in such a dark time. She taught me how easy it was to find joy in little things, like a smile or even a funny face from a gas bubble! Plus, in the first year of life they go through so many changes and their every little accomplishment is recorded and celebrated, the distraction is constant.
ReplyDeleteLike you and photography, I don't really consider myself a great picture taker, but man, I can put together a mean scrapbook page! In my daughter's second year of life I discovered the joys of this art form and became forever hooked. Taking the pictures and adding embellishments to help bring out the emotions and events being captured, as well as journaling about the event, well, as you know, pictures capture so much more than physical objects. And as such, I have made a contribution that can be handed down to my daughter, then to her children, and their children, etc. to help explain where they all came from, their history, a legacy that will last.