a consistently beautiful thing
from just about any angle.
what must it be like to be
a natural cherry?
Suzzallo and Allan Libraries at the University of Washington, Seattle.
peace
This restless heart found quiet purchase
in the middle of millions of thoughts, words, and ideas..
Humanity published, quiet, patiently waiting.
the good juice
the good juice is realizing it’s ok to be a part of a thing, and not the entire thing.
a single entire thing, is a lonely thing. but a thing made up of millions of parts
that’s where the magic lies.
—streams of consciousness while editing photos, listening to Coltrane 😆
for truth-telling
Sometimes a place is visceral. It touches you in a way you can’t quite describe, and you leave changed.
You shed tears at a place like this, the silence a weight you’ve never experienced.
The Memorial for Peace and Justice is one such place. A six acre permanent installation in Montgomery, AL, dedicated to the victims of lynching in the United States. This memorial is pure, devastating art. An acknowledgement of the worst of humanity’s actions in this country, and all that was done to brush aside the atrocities.
A collaboration between MASS and the Equal Justice Initiative, the installation walks visitors through 800 steel structures, each with a record of the county and individuals murdered there.
As you exit the memorial, the tone changes. The idea of freedom, and the responsibility it brings, is the focal point. We know better, we do better. We don’t give up hope.
Despite what seem like insurmountable problems, community leaders at ground zero of the civil rights movement are still working, pushing the boundaries, and fighting rising tides of racism within our nation. And the men and women behind this memorial are doing it in the most rebellious way, through art.
These photographs don’t do it properly. And to some extent, I’m glad. Everyone should visit this memorial, confront the history, and act upon the findings themselves.
This place is resistance.
inscrutable
the Galvanized woman
who sees it all, spread before her,
the necessary intuition,
the overwhelm that comes from being
unable to compartmentalize.
Galvanized woman
who moves to find her heart beat in anything,
in ultrasound focus.
oh the inconsistencies, oh the insecurities.
Inscrutable nothing.
Inscrutable everything.
a point of view
Perspective from the lens of a tourist in British Columbia.
a living
The heart needs another outlet,
but it can’t pour everything out to every thing.
Necessary is space for the business of this existence,
one wants a life, but needs a living.
reflections in the lake, in Bellingham, WA.
CYH No.4
…Fallen pines to shape the skyline
Take me there
Beneath the barren colored moonQuit all that looking back
I quit all of that..- Gregory Alan Isakov, Berth
Trees at Lake Padden, Bellingham WA
CYH No. 3
It was as if I beheld Queens,
in robes of dappled sunlight
through the January clouds.
Lake Padden, Washington, via iPhone 15
CYH No. 1
The blue heron makes a sound like the world is ending.
Ripping like doomsday through the air.
a regal beak, a torrential sound.
I thought life might be over, if you’d heard it too, you’d know.
Winter Morning
Softly, softly.
your mind, ready
“What is one to do with such moments, such memories, but cherish them? Who knows what is beyond the known? And if you think that any day the secret of light might come, would you not keep the house of your mind ready? Would you not cleanse your study of all that is cheap, or trivial? Would you not live in continual hope, and pleasure, and excitement?”
― Mary Oliver, Winter Hours
🕸️
Webs on a trail in Washington State
Quiet & Alive
I’m learning something about the trees in January,
So quiet, yet so alive.
a million tiny movements, imperceptible but important.
Acceptance in all stages,
Purpose, no matter how small.
illusionary
Feels like you’ve been here before,
illusionary doors,
unsettled stagnant scores.
the gateway
the feeling that you might end up somewhere else entirely,
depending on where you step,
to veer off trail is to find yourself losing yourself,
which, depending on who you ask,
can be lovely
or alarming.
superfluous facts
Rhythms
resolve
There are some very large letting goes to do:
people, places, honeyed and battered phases of life
there are some even larger letting goes to do:
anger, tears, parts of yourself that leave with no return.
have a past.
Everything that’s happened cannot be held today- Cleo Wade
Hello Again
October was a gloriously beautiful month. The fall colors lingered, in no rush, despite the winds, rains, and ramping up to the holiday season. I didn’t photograph it to the extent I wanted. My camera wasn’t pulled out for much other than client work.. but somehow, despite the many faces I saw, print orders processed, extracurriculars attended, I felt engaged this last month.
I didn’t blog. One day missed turned to two, and so on, but here I am again. Not coming up for air, but coming out to share success. My hope was to enjoy and be present, nourish what was around me, and what came to me. I wanted to do the best I could in a crazy season. I did that. And it was accomplished by letting go some of the things that once felt necessary for mindfulness.
Obviously there moments of stress, or overwhelm.. it wasn’t all pumpkin spice and brown sugar. I didn’t sleep enough for one. AND, I was pretty short tempered with schedules at times. But I’m proud of the lack of dissociating. Hoping to carry this into my next season, the season of thanks!
So, Gratitude for being here, friends!