I pause for a moment to reflect.
Eight years of daily practice. Eight years of returning and beginning and meeting each day anew.... of showing up without any sort of expectation. Eight years on this journey without any set destination. Eight years of time spent alone in the early morning quiet and light. Eight years of discipline. Eight years of life.
This particular anniversary on this particular year carries a greater weight and significance....as it coincides with my year of mourning coming to a close.
One year ago - my landscapechanged. The ground on which I walked shifted. The sky will never look quite the same. The weight of my sadness has - too often - found me standing still in my tracks. Asking questions. Seeking answers. Not knowing.
My mother loved the spring flowers. These - I've picked - special for her.
I pause just for a moment to savor one long slow deep breath.
It may be life's greatest gift. We inhale our first in the moment we're born.
We exhale our last when we die. I think about that - these days - often.
In these eight years - I've shown and shared +2700 images....and that doesn't even start to account for the thousands more that have not yet seen the light of day. Still - I remain a mere beginner...beginning each day with a beginner's mind.
Always new.
In these eight years - my children have grown and flown this nest. This past one year has seen two joyous weddings and one very very sad funeral. I began a Conversation with My Father and his art that was abruptly interrupted when my mother died too.
I'm needing to return....to carry on...to continue with where we left off.
Here I am.
My many practices are now deeply embedded in my heart and soul. They ground and root me. This year's practice has been one of letting go. Of digging deep. Of finding strength and peace and joy - in the emptiness. Of showing up - in spite of all.
When I look back at what I've created - I see. The voices of my ancestry...my legacy...my past and present joined as one.
Me.
As I move ever so slowly into this ninth year - I'm grateful. For all of life's teachers. And for this opportunity to return and to begin - again.
Thank-you for allowing me this space and moment's reflective pause.
Thank-you for being here.
Thank-you for listening and sharing and caring.
Thank-you for the light...love...beauty...truth and peace that resides within you.
I honor that.
My head bows deeply. My palms press at heart's center.
Namaste'.