Photo-Heart Connection – Keep It Simple – Create for the Joy of Creating!

Quote of the day: 

“Remember to delight yourself first, then others can be truly delighted.”

This was my mantra when I published my first book in 1990, and still holds true. When we focus on the song of our soul and heart, then others will be touched similarly. Sometimes people wonder or worry whether people will like or approve of their creative expression. It’s none of your business. It’s your business to stay present and focused for the work of your deepest dreams. It might look crooked or strange, or be very odd-but if it delights you, then it is yours, and will find it’s way into other hearts.”
— SARK

Surprise! Yarn bomb on tree near Minnehaha Creek

I love the practice of reviewing the previous month’s photos for Kat Sloma’s photo-heart connection! When I reviewed the photos I took in July, it filled me with joy just to see the colors, shapes, textures, and variety my work contained. When I’m working day by day it’s easy to lose sight of the reason I’m doing what I’m doing or to downplay my work. I just marked the first anniversary of starting my business in July 2011. What I’ve learned during the past year cannot be quantified or reflected in a business plan or annual report. Instead, it is written in my heart.

I chose this photo as my heart-connection for July, because whoever created this lovely yarn bomb, made it for the joy of it. Creating beauty and helping people see beauty around themselves and inside themselves is the work of my heart and soul. I never planned it. In fact, I spent many years wishing that I could discover my life purpose. Somehow it snuck up on me when I least expected it. And now I cannot imagine living my life without photography being a big part of it.

Photography brings me such joy and fulfillment, I’d do it whether I was getting paid or not. Hey—that’s right—I’m not getting paid for most of the work I do. I’ve sold some orders from my Etsy shop in the past year, done a few paid portrait gigs, and hosted 3 different exhibits in the past year, but I have yet to break even in my photography business.

Part of that is intentional. It’s not that I don’t want to make money, but more that I’ve been working on building my skills, learning what feeds my heart and soul, and deciding how I want to shape my business. I don’t want to mindlessly create stuff or try to sell stuff that has no meaning. I do want to make a positive difference in the world and to be fully present in the work that I do.

But it’s not easy starting a business or following one’s heart in our culture. Every time I get caught up in wondering what in the #@X# I’m doing or thinking that I need to quit and get a job, some inspiration shows up in my life that reminds me that while this path is not easy, it is what my heart and soul need to do. It’s possible that I will need to get a part-time job to make money so that I can do the work of my heart and soul. That’s ok too. I have chosen to trust and to build the bridge as I walk on it.

I’m working on a new website and business focus that has come out of my learning and discovery during the past year. It’s grounded in my belief that everyone is beautiful and that seeing the beauty in oneself heals the soul. It is also grounded in my experiences making portraits of women. So many are so hard on themselves, seeing only the things they don’t like about themselves and completely missing their own beauty. July has been a month of making lots of portraits of women, creating the vision and structure of the business, as well as starting to design the new website. My plan is to complete the design and launch the new website and business focus by the end of August. Wish me luck!