I am feeling rather contemplative this morning and wanted to share what I have been thinking about. I recently had the pleasure of doing a workshop with a group of wonderful photographers, and as I see the images shared, that are wowing me and inspiring me and making me FEEL, I am saddened to hear over and over again that these amazing photographer don’t appreciate their gift.

Not really.

Not fully.

And that makes me sad.

And it makes me sad for me too. Because I too am guilty of not appreciating my own talents. And that needs to change.

We all might need to change.

Hopefully, all of us, whether we are photographers or not, have a passion for something. Something that moves us, drives us, makes us want to be better. I have that passion for photography and for being a mother. And because of that passion, I strive to be better. Sometimes, I see my flaws, more than I see my gift. Sometimes, I see what I did wrong, instead of seeing what I did right. And sometimes, I get it.: I see my gift, my talent, my abilities. And THAT, that ability to see where I am now, and appreciate where I am NOW, is a quality that I need.

It’s a quality we all need.

If you can’t appreciate the NOW, where you are RIGHT THIS SECOND, then, in my opinion, you are doing yourself a disservice. You are doing the ones you love a disservice. You are doing a disservice to your fans, to your children, to your parents, to God. Such a simple thing we all need to do: love ourselves.  How sad would you be if you were to discover that your children didn’t love themselves and didn’t appreciate their talents?  Personally, I would be devastated.

I don’t want to be all Stuart Smalley with “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggonit, people like me!” cuz that’s a little too cheeseball for me. But, I do want to recognize and appreciate my journey. Maybe I’m not where I want to be, and truly, I think I will never be where I want to be. When you have passion for something, you’re never where you want to be. And that’s okay.

But embrace your journey. Embrace yourself.  Don’t waste your gift.

I just found this quote, and I totally dig it:

Envy is a symptom of lack of appreciation of our

own uniqueness and self worth.

Each of us has something to give that no one else has.

~Elizabeth O-Connor

So, because I love you and because I can’t stand thinking of all these artists being so down on your work, I ask you to take a moment and appreciate where you are right now.  And smile and hold your head high.

Because you’ve come a long way, baby.

And hey, if you like my images, you should maybe go on over and like my Facebook page. I end up putting pics on there more often than I do on here.