Today was crazy at our house… Our oldest graduated from Kindergarten (she is so dang awesome), middle-bean had her ballet recital and never stopped dancing from the moment her bright eyes opened till, well she’s not asleep yet, little mister bent his glasses (on day two of having them)… Plus getting teacher gifts, mailing out 6 father’s day/grandpa’s day gifts (late on those), grocery shopping, Costco run and of course making breakfast, lunch and dinner. Okay… I didn’t make lunch. The Deli section at Fred Myers did that one for me. Then tonight, I went canning for my first time ever, which was really cool! And now I’m feeling like a preparation diva (at least for a week or so)!
Which brings me to this moment, I sit down to my office, wanting to inspire. It’s funny. I don’t believe I’m the best or the brightest or the most well written (well, that’s obvious) but I just enjoy my little opportunities to reach out and touch your world. Maybe offer you a smile or help illuminate a concept or spark an idea – that’s what I inJOY. So as I sat here trying to think of what I could share with you… Stop & Create was what came into my mind. Here’s what I mean….
First STOP. As in stop working long enough to enjoy life. You know how most people work Monday to Friday and take the weekend off? Try it, it’s revitalizing! Last weekend I worked two hours of the whole weekend (I had a shoot) and the rest was spent loving my family. I felt so good, so happy, so inspired and it made me realize – I want to do this almost every weekend! And why not? Seriously!! Why the heck not?
The second thing is to CREATE. As in, take time to create. Create what you love, create to refine, create to grow, create to believe. These images below were exactly that… Just being creative for no reason but the love of photography and these three little people. My girl friend called me up and said, ‘you know that field… Well I saw the farmer outside and stopped and asked if I could take pictures in the field. Then I thought, who could I call that would be as excited as me? And I knew it was you.’ So the two of us went one spring evening and just had a ball creating. She’s not professional, she’s just an amazing mom wanting to document and cherish the moments of today and she inspired me in the process!
I sincerely hope you’ll get to Stop long enough to find the love and create for the sake of passion! I’d love to hear how it goes…
This is awesome! I actually wrote a post about this very same idea just the other day. I’m in total agreement with you! It’s so easy to get caught up in taking the shots we think are clients want, taking shots that will sell, that it’s easy to forget to step back and create something fun and unique and truly representative of ourselves!
Awesome post Leah! And thanks for the reminder! 🙂
Thanks Stephanie… I know I’m guilty of it. I’m constantly running on deadlines and I get so caught up in all of that that I forget to just enjoy. …Good reminder for me too!
I’ve only just started… but I’m loving it! And when I am just having fun, being creative and following your passion, I find that the work I produce is so much better! Thanks for this post 😀
I know, right? I feel like you can get caught up in the motions (that actually applies to all things in life) and when it’s just the motions, how on Earth can it be our best work…. It’s so crucial what we slow down sometimes! Thanks for your comment!!