I loved what you wrote - sometimes the "moment" can be boring, stressful, or just "the moment" - having wonderful memories or events to look forward to can transform the moment into a happy place. People seem to get too caught up in the "how to" of being happy with all of it's rules and regs. Kids don't think about being in the moment but they are the masters at it.

You're great and your blog probably improves the moment for many!

Carry on.

I loved what you wrote - sometimes the "moment" can be boring, stressful, or just "the moment" - having wonderful memories or events to look forward to can transform the moment into a happy place. People seem to get too caught up in the "how to" of being happy with all of it's rules and regs. Kids don't think about being in the moment but they are the masters at it.

You're great and your blog probably improves the moment for many!

Carry on.

It was a GREAT post, the post from a few days ago. (This one is, too.)

now , then, there, here ~
all i know is that you had a great evening with women who inspired you and we are all doing the best we can...
my future plans and dreams make some of these tough days
a little more manageable. and im okay with that ~ now or not.
love this photo a,
so good...
xo
jen gray

I too find taking photos grounds me in the present. I also jhhve an incredibly wild imagination which does everything except stay right here. I've been ill today and allowing the unwellness without beating myself about what I should be doing is the real hard part about being ill.

IT seems that we live in the present, now, always, without effort. And yet I hear you, about the way it can be presented, as if it something we are "failing" at.
I also think that the stories are important, vital, that we are all writing the story of our lives and telling our stories, whether through words or photographs, is part of what connects us to one another and our own hearts.
Your words reminded me of Rachel Naomi Remen, one of my favorite authors. She writes, "To know our own story and tell it. To listen to other people's stories. To remember that the real world is made of just such stories.Until we stop ourselves or, more often, have been stopped, we hope to put certain of life's events "behind us" and get on with our living. After we stop we see that certain of life's issues will be with us for as long as we live. We will pass through them again and again, each time with a new story, each time with a greater understanding, until they become indistinguishable from our blessings and our wisdom. It's the way life teaches us how to live.So many of us do not know our own story. A story about who we are, not what we have done. About what we have faced to build what we have built, what we have drawn upon and risked to do it, what we have felt, thought, feared, and discovered through the events of our lives. The real story that belongs to us alone."
Your photos offer glimpses into your own story, which only you can tell.
And it is lovely.

Love your blog! Very uplifting and inspiring. I had the chance to see Anne Lamott in Dallas a few weeks ago. It was amazing. What an awesome lady. Thanks for putting yourself out there with each post. I get so much from you and love your pictures. Thanks again!

So it was Fear who wrote that post?
She did a great job. :)
Thank you for that.

I've read Eat, Pray, Love too and to be honest, sometimes I thought Gilbert wasn't very honest. She's babbling herself out of her fears sometimes, not wanting to lose her identity. That's okay, I do too (oh, I'm so good in doing that!), but the "danger" is that people tend to think that's the way to do it, that's the way "how to be spiritual": the way she sees it.
So, always find out for yourself. If you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha. And you can, Andrea, because you're perfectly able to see. The beautiful picture of the tulip proves that. And every moment there's another chance. So, no need to worry. :)
Have a wonderful day.

I loved what you wrote, and always love knowing what resonates with you and inspires you. I did not see any implication that you thought you were right and another kind of belief would therefore be wrong. I enjoy reading about ideas and philosophies that are different from mine...how boring it would be if we all agreed on everything.

I forgot I was going to mention John O'Donohue's books (Anam Cara; Beauty- the Invisible Embrace; Eternal Echoes, and others) because he says some lovely things about memory.

You're great, Andrea. Don't feel badly about what you wrote. I love those moments where I feel really present in right now - just love them. There is such a depth of awareness to explore within us. But I also loved what you wrote the other day - it challenged me. It challenged me to get out into life more, take more photos, and make more exciting plans. For me, right now, this is greater engagement. There are so many aspects to the truth. Being in the now is great, but what's happening now is important, too!

love all of your pics. this comment doesn't have anything to do with your current post but i just wanted to say thanks for your posts about your "media diet". i gave our t.v. away on tuesday. my husband was thrilled. i finally had enough when my daughter walked in the room one morning and put her hands on her hips and said "i need to watch cartoons" (did i mention she's only 2!!!). i gave the t.v. away that afternoon. i am discovering that we have some beautiful cello music on the ipod! anyway, i could go on and on, but i just had to say thanks for the inspiration!
danielle (fellow shutter sister too!)

I just love your words. And your thoughts and your photos. Thank you for sharing them with us.

Telling our stories is essential. And I love looking at the world through someone else's eyes.
Thanks for all the honest sharing that you do.

What an amazing photo!