On the eve of this brand new chapter, I’ve been pondering…
These past few years have been challenging, even if our struggles varied. There has been increased loss - loss of life, income, opportunities, friendships, and - for some - faith + optimism. BUT there has also been unexpected joy: new life, new income streams, new opportunities, new friendships formed, and - hopefully - renewed faith in humanity and a re-burgeoning of optimism.
Thich Naht Hanh, Buddhist monk, teacher, and author, wrote,
“Most people are afraid of suffering. But suffering is a kind of mud to help the lotus flower of happiness grow. There can be no lotus flower without the mud.”
In fact, this philosophy was the inspiration for a tattoo that we - my amazing girlfriends and I - had inked this past Fall… intended as both a reminder of our steadfast friendships and to invite each of us to contemplate this powerful teaching as we navigate the ups and downs in life. Each time I see it I smile, and I remember.
Then, in a recent yoga class the instructor shared a reading with us that resonated… one which I wanted to share, as we enter this new year:
“Have you ever noticed you pick up little habits and phrases from the people you love? It’s no wonder our hearts are so easily broken when people leave. We become a reflection of the people that we care about and those personality traits stick with us even if the people don’t.
I make my ramen the way a friend taught me in eleventh grade. Every fall, I listen to a playlist made for me by a boy I drove across a border to hook up with. I eat sushi because a girl who won’t talk to me anymore made me try it, and Indian food because my best friend’s parents ordered for me before I knew what I liked. There are movies I love because someone I loved loved them first. I am a mosaic of everyone I’ve ever loved, even for a heartbeat. ”
Sidenote: In ensuring I credited the above appropriately I found where the author wrote that - if she could have a ‘re-do’ on this viral piece - she would have made it less about food. 😂
Isn’t it so true though? It makes me nostalgic thinking about all the ways we’re impacted + forever changed by the people + events of our lives… the music they introduce us to, their guiding principles that inspire us, their ability for humour during heartache that we try to emulate, the passed-down recipes shared that compel us to carry on traditions, the turns of phrase that stick with us and become part of our own vernacular, the books + ideas debated, the photos of that one moment in time, and experiences - good + bad - shared. To think of each as part of our very own unique mosaic is such a profound lesson, and maybe even a reckoning when we are in a time of sorrow or loss.
From an afternoon walk through Oaxaca de Juarez, in July 2022, with our new friends, the Jimenez brothers.
By nature I’m nostalgic and - if I’m being honest - sometimes too nostalgic. I often feel an almost melancholic mourning for the people, places, and times from my past. My goal for this year is to be more mindful of the time I spend ‘in the past’… that I can love + honour ‘what has been’ for a moment, but then must remind myself to come back to the present; taking in all the gifts that it holds: the mud and the mosaic alike. It’s actually funny as I am also a person who revels in a ‘Michelangelo’ sky, notices the warm smile of the person on the elevator with me, and who actually stops to smell the rose… alas, we are all a jumble of beautiful contradictions, aren’t we. ⭕️ (definitely getting closer to feeling confident in my enneagram number, but I digress 😉)
I’m grateful for my role in women’s portraiture, one that allows me the opportunity to meet and be inspired by women from all walks of life, in the different seasons of their lives…each of whom brings their own mosaic to their session: the woman who just got engaged or the newly divorced; she who has just heard ‘You have cancer.’ or ‘You are in remission.’; the woman who has traveled the world and the one who hasn’t ever been on an airplane; the woman contemplating her next ‘move’ in life; or she who is on a crusade to reclaim her own voice after maybe succumbing to society’s asinine stipulations of what she ‘should or shouldn’t be’…
Somehow, while we share these myriad paths, there is a knowing amongst us, a shared humanity. I feel blessed to participate in women celebrating their own mosaics through portraiture… it can feel vulnerable and yet there they stand, in their truth and strength and beauty, enabling us to capture their here and now… benefitting all who bear witness. 💫
As we embark on this new adventure - called 2023 🦋 - may we remember:
to keep loving,
to remain open to the possibilities,
to be steadfast in our authenticity,
to lean ALL IN during the joyful + challenging moments alike,
and to remember that the hard times are what will forge us into people who are able to wholeheartedly rejoice in life’s pleasures.
For the past few years I have chosen one word for the coming year…one word that I will hold close in the coming year to help me cultivate a trait that I think will hopefully better me as a mom, wife, entrepreneur, friend, sister... human being.
For 2023 I am choosing: LOTUS.
I will endeavour to remember that I sometimes focus too heavily on what ‘has been’ and will instead turn my attention to what ‘is’, and that each struggle I face is my opportunity for growth, increased compassion toward others and myself, and that so much of what I consider ‘beautiful’ had to endure hardship on the way there… which (in this already quote heavy post! 🤦🏼♀️) reminds me of one of my fave quotes EVER from Liz Gilbert:
“The women I love and admire for their strength and grace did not get that way because shit worked out. They got that way because shit went wrong and they handled it. They handled it a thousand different ways on a thousand different days, but they handled it. Those women are my superheroes.”
Do you choose a word for the year? If so I’d love to hear what you are choosing.
Our family grew by two this month when we welcomed sibling pups, Stevie + Lenny… it’s been busy (and we’re a tad exhausted 😉) but the joy-ometer is at ^♾ ❤️).
From my home to yours, may 2023 be exactly what you need: joy in simple pleasures, adventures big and small, and only enough mud to keep you blooming. ☯️
Thank you for your continued support, business + goodwill. 🙏🏼
Here’s to another 365 days of adding to our rich mosaics! ✨ Happy New Year!
With love + gratitude,
xoxo Lori
PS: The studio will re-open to regular hours again on February 1/23; please do reach out if there is a time sensitive nature to your portrait needs and I will do my very best to accommodate. xo
PPS: a few books I’ve loved this year:
The Book of Longings, Sue Monk Kidd
The Midnight Library, Matt Haig
The Art of Possibility, by Benjamin Zander + Rosamund Stone Zander
Lost Connections, by Johann Hari
and one of the best movies I’ve ever seen:
CODA.
Please share any favourites of yours in the comments! ☺️