As I cautiously take a turn while driving through the snow-covered mountain roads, my car begins to slide and lose control. Wheels start spinning and the car’s tail-end is inching closer and closer toward the cliff’s edge. My eyes widen and adrenaline fuels every cell in my body while my brain begins to have flashbacks of all the roads I have traveled in life that brought me to that very moment. Before I knew it, a feeling of calmness overtook me, and my muscle memories kicked in. While remaining focused and without panicking, I started to slowly correct the spin with a countermeasure. Battling the forces of nature around me and feeling the weight of the world on every part of my soul, I remembered the feeling of losing control in a blizzard back in Chicago, where I grew up. After regaining control of the car and collecting my thoughts I wondered, “how many others have been in this frozen mind-state before too.” It is rather fascinating to me seeing how all our unique experiences have similarities along the road of life – experiencing individual icy turns while universally intertwined at the same time. Our memories sometimes surface by a near death experience, a feeling or emotion can spark that same sense, and so do pictures in their unique forms as well I’ve found.
The first time I stepped foot on Mt. Hood, I was overwhelmed with a feeling to follow my feet, as I saw the path I needed to take and knew that there would be no turning back. The direction we move toward is an unknown one on our unique journey. I have seen that trusting in yourself and really living in each moment helps us to remember why we are all here today.
Life will continue to test us in ways that are meant to also teach us. The teachers and mentors that have come into my life throughout the years have shown me a way to see the world that will forever resonate with me. I have endured many struggles and hurdles, but staying focused on my goals as the sun rises each new day fills me with energy. I need to test my personal limits on what is or is not possible. It is utterly amazing where the roads of life can take you when you start to believe in yourself! I cannot begin to express how incredibly thankful I am for all the opportunities that life has presented to me. The people I have encountered along my path have helped me evolve and grow in ways I will sincerely appreciate with all my heart and soul. When I look back at moments and memories in pictures, I am transported to that place and time helping me reflect on how much I have experienced through my travels.
I want to leave my mark on the world somehow with my unique gifts. You’ll know when you find that one thing, YOUR one thing, that just “clicks” with your passion for connecting to YOUR higher purpose, everything has a way of just falling into place – that place where we pause to reflect on the experiences we’ve had that brought us to that special moment sparking the beginning of the next chapter.
The ability to freeze a moment in time and share my perspective of the world with others is a powerful gift I genuinely appreciate. Photography has been a passion of mine for most of my life as it is a way for me to channel my passion for art in order to appreciate and share the world as I see it for all its wondrous beauty.