I Really See You Upside Down

PuddleReflectionWhen I was little, Babushka let me play with things from the vanity in her bedroom. I loved the round handheld mirror. When you held it under your nose, mirror-side facing up and looked down into it as you walked, it made you feel like you were walking on the ceiling. How curiously different everything felt.

Interaction

Interaction“Hello?”

Noir #9

Noir9Today my wonderful partner and I are celebrating nine years together. How time flies! As he does most years, he has proudly grown out his beard for the last 7-8 months of fall and winter. He asked me to take a “Noir” photo of him before he goes for a “spring cleaning” shave.

Here’s to you, handsome. Still the love of my life after nine years.

Happy Anniversary

A Milestone

Hard to believe it’s here…my 100th post. And, coincidentally(?), the one-year anniversary of the tragedy that inspired the creation of this blog. Mourning and death are important, should not be taboo; they have the power to clarify life. This blog is about life. From Andrea Gibson’s poem, Titanic:

Have you ever had the feeling that you owe somebody somewhere
a really good reason to live?
To grow old?
To be ninety-eight-and-a-half
with a laugh like broken glass
so whenever folks walk barefoot
they’ll get hidden pieces embedded in their souls?

In my grief, I’ve selfishly felt that that owed “somebody somewhere” has been me. While I wanted to share this space in the hopes that maybe once in a while it might inspire or brighten someone’s day, I started it more for myself as a form of grief therapy. As a collection of “really good reason[s],” so that I’d always be focused on and hunting for them, and so that whenever I needed to I could come here and be reminded of them. And because for a very long time I said that before I died I would buy my dream camera to capture and share the reasons to “Why did Rumi dance?”

Here’s to 100 posts.

To every day and life that I am so blessed to experience.

And especially to you, Daryl, for the loving encouragement you always gave me to live, and for the many lives you touched, inspired, and continue to influence with your beautiful soul.

BeforeIDie

Live

What will you do before you die?

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Suggested

Before I Die website

Momentum

Momentum“The world is wide, and I will not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum.”
Frances Willard

Very special credit to Daniel Waters. Danny, without your incredible rock skipping skills this shot would not have been possible. Thank you!

The Birds That Choose To Swim

TheBirdsBWI love these birds that tell Mother Nature, “You cannot limit us to only the air. We choose to dive into the unknown.”

Connection

ConnectionThe experiences of living can often be summed up in a single word: connection.