The fact that it's being posted five days into 2012 is complete irrelevant. In fact, I may just recalculate the date on this so that it posts somewhere back at the end of December, which is when I started working all of this through my mind.
My brother always puts these great slideshows together for his kids' birthdays showing all of the pictures that he's taken of them over the past year of their lives. I love watching them and here's why:
They're not about the art of the moment. The images that he captures of his kids and his wife and their life together are just that. Life. They're not posed. They're not created. It's just the day to day business of living.
I have those images of my kids and my beloved, but I tend not to share them because what I want to put out there in the universe is art.
I don't want life to imitate art. I want life to be art.
Meryl Streep said that in a movie once, and I totally believed it. That's why I totally love making images. It's art. But, my life is not about art. As much as I try to shove it and push it and cram it into an artistic space, it always pops back out again like one of those snakes in a peanut brittle can.
So...
What is life all about?
Well, gosh....let's see....
To me, life is about Beauty.
In mind, body and spirit. Living beautifully and being of beautiful heart. Being able to recognize beauty and admire it and accept it. Be gracious for the gift of it in your life and do what you can to preserve it.
Life is about Magic.
Feeling the wonder and excitement in special moments and continuing to create it in your every day life. Being open to all that life has to offer. Welcoming it with open arms and eyes and heart. Jumping into the joy of the adventures that come your way.
Life is about Sharing.
Living your life with those whom you love and with whom you truly share all of yourself. Sinking deep into the experiences of your life together and being present in mind, body and spirit for every single solitary second of it.
Life is about Love.
Loving the people around you. Loving what you bring to each other. Loving yourself most of all. Being available to the feeling of love. From yourself, from others, from the universe, from God, from where ever it comes from into your life.
Above all, be open to life. It's going to happen. Everyday. All around you. There's just no getting around it.
Enjoy it.
Live every moment of it the best way you can.
Give to yourself in the best way you can.
Give to others in the best way you can.
Life is a gift. Let us respond with grace and courtesy.
~ Maya Angelou ~
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