Expectations Lost, Happiness Found

What is it about photography, that makes me happy? I've noticed lately, that whenever I go out and photograph, even if it's just for a walk around the block in the rain, that I return in a good mood. I am smiling and there is a spring in my step. I feel buoyant. The sheer act of capturing photographs, whether they end up good or not, makes me grin.

Thinking more on why photography makes me happy this morning, I found that photography is one area of my life where I don't have huge expectations or plans. I've learned to embrace the fun of letting myself be surprised. I follow my intuition and interests, as they pull me along in new directions. I find great joy in discovering what catches my eye on any given day. Amazing things have resulted as I follow those internal nudges - in photography, writing and my study of art in general.

Take Saturday's photowalk visit to the Farmer's Market, for example. Of course I photographed the colorful vegetables, but what really interested me were the flowers on the ground as the vendors sorted and tossed and created beautiful bouquets. Normally I would be attracted to the finished bouquets, but at this moment I was captured by the haphazard nature of the flowers scattered on the concrete and in the buckets. To me, on this specific Saturday morning, these images were the most interesting to explore and compose. These were the images that held a story. Next Saturday, in the same place, it will be completely different.

This gets to the "heart and soul" aspects of photography, or any art. Creating has the power to change how we feel. When we let go of expectations or plans, wonderful things can result. There is an interesting parallel here to the rest of my life I've needed to focus on as well: Letting go of control and expectation. It's something that I am slowly, and surely, learning to do. It's been a long road, but I am lucky to have something like photography to show me the way, with a smile on my face. 

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What's going on around Kat Eye Studio... 

• Linking in to the Creative Every Day today. Hello everyone!
• The current Exploring with a Camera theme is The Color Wheel: Part 2. Check out the post and join in the exploration.
• Registration is open for Digital Photography Basics! Class starts October 16. Visit here for the details.
• Want to know what's going on in the studio? You can subscribe to the biweekly Kat Eye News to stay up-to-date on all the activities and have more great information, delivered right to your email inbox.

Reminiscent of Casanova

Have you ever heard of Casanova? You probably know the name, in relation to someone who is good at attracting and seducing women. Giacomo Casanova was a real person, a Venetian living in the 18th century, the height of Venice's glory days. For some reason, this photo brought him to my mind. Can't you just see it? The cool Venetian noble, surveying the scene, looking for his next partner.

Even though you know the truth about Carnevale, it's still fun to imagine, isn't it? I find that I can hold the "real" and the "imaginary" Carnevale in my mind at the same time through my images. This guy picked a perfect spot to just hang out and be photographed. Even though there is a pedestrian walkway behind him, no one lingered and I could get a wonderful full-length shot to show his costume with a truly Venetian background.

I want to share something completely unrelated with you today too. Have you ever heard of Brave Girls Club?  They have a daily inspirational email called "The Daily Truth" you can sign up for, and some days the words just click for me, arriving at a perfect time. Today's email was one of those times, I and I want to share them with you too. You can sign up for the daily email at the link above.

Dear Joyful Girl,

Joy is good. Did you know there's a difference between happiness and joy?

"Joy is untouched by circumstance."

You see, happiness is sometimes fleeting. Joy is a state of mind; that no matter what happens, no matter how much we had planned on a different outcome, that we will always center our lives on what is RIGHT rather than what is WRONG. We will trust the moment and the unexpected gifts that every moment holds. We will trust the moment and the unexpected gifts that every moment holds, even the scary, strange, and unexpectedly difficult moments. Especially those moments, actually.

Even Oprah said it perfectly:

"What I know for sure is that you feel real JOY in direct proportion to how connected you are to living your truth."

Living your truth means listening very closely to the very quiet voice that is constantly trying to get your attention. Living your truth means being very very still and seeking truth and beauty and goodness and small miracles all the days of your life. Living your truth means being exactly who YOU are, in spite of who and what others around you are. Living your truth is a joyful life, a path that no circumstances can every rip you off of.

Joy can be felt anywhere, at any time, in any situation. This is the truth.

Go forward in JOY, Brave Girl!

Here's to finding joy and living your truth! Happy Friday!

Don't Worry, Be Happy

 

Do you have a song running through your head now? :) The catchy song by Bobby McFerrin espouses such a simple philosophy - "Don't worry, be happy" - but it is often so difficult to put into practice.

 

I read in Simple Abundance today:

Worry is a future-tense emotion. Worry is a projection of a possible - not necessarily probable - scenario. Will there be enough? Where will it come from? How long will it last?

Worry is part of the habit of brooding I mentioned in Monday's post. Worry does us no good, it just keeps us mired in an unproductive place. Unless we can use our worry to create an action plan to move forward, away from it, through it - it's just wasted energy. I know from experience, I've wasted a lot of energy on worry in the past. It got me no where.

A counter action to worry is to be happy. Find moments of joy and beauty around you, and notice them. Intentionally dwell on them. Find things like these little wooden toys, smiling out at you from a souveneir kiosk in Venice. Painted on smiles, but do you smile back at them? I do, I can't help it.

Happiness can be found, it is a choice to look for it. So don't worry, be happy.

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A couple of random things...

• I'm on twitter! Come follow me @kateyeview so that I can find you and follow you back.  Let's take this conversation further!
• Does anyone know of a charity that supports or promotes art and creativity? I'm looking for one! Even better if it has an international presence and focuses on women or children. Post any ideas here or email me kat [at] kateyeview.com. Thanks!

Abundance

As I was going through more photos from Split, Croatia yesterday, I came across this one from the market. It gave me such a feeling of abundance. Maybe it's the color, such rich deep reds punctuated with the lighter colors. Maybe it's the fact that they are laying there in a pile. I mean, how often do you just see a pile of flowers? A pile of roses? Roses are far too noble and revered a flower to just pile up, unless you have too many of them.

Isn't it amazing and wonderful that such a simple thing, an image of a pile of flowers, can give a feeling of abundance? That means, it's all in our outlook. Feelings of abundance are all in what we choose to see in our world, not just what we have. We can see the abundance in life around us, or the lack.

And think of all of the flower images I have, that I've shared here. Look at me, I'm rich! And I'm so happy to share my riches with you.