Shutter Sisters

To Stop, To Breathe, To Listen

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Spring is passing as quickly as it came and everyday I panic that I’m missing it, that I’m not paying close enough attention, that this is the last time there will ever be this spring, this flower, this sky, this particular green grass thriving once again through the cracks in the sidewalk, the little bits of ground between the bricks on the patio and my back door.

I worry about all this and then I worry about the worrying and then spring is gone, gone, gone away, just like the moment calling me to stop, to breathe, to listen.  The only thing that helps is grabbing my camera on my way out the door and taking time to notice the flowers, to lean in to this very second, before it’s too late.

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What lovely bit of new life are you noticing this spring?  Let’s gather up the goodness of this season before it passes.  Show us what’s blooming wherever you live and your images will remind us that everything we need is always right here, right now, in this one perfect moment.

Listen

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Most of the time no one hears her. 

Most of the time people assume that to be poor is to uninterested in all the things that interest her more–politics, real estate, the governance of nations, the rise of fashion, the plight of kings.  Few imagine the dreams she has about her school on the field, her children in her arms, her thoughts gathered in books, her expertise the wisdom of a strong and sustainable circle.

Don’t be fooled by her smile.  Lean in.  Listen.  And then lean in closer. 

She is telling you the secret of happiness.  She is telling you to know what you know.  She is asking you to erase from your mind this idea that to be poor is to be simple, that to sweep the counter in the coffee shop is her American dream.  She is asking you to listen to the sound of her ambition rising as tells the manager she’ll need more money.  Now.  Or this job is toast.

She knows better than anyone you’ve ever met what it means to survive.  She has memorized in exquisite detail, the sound of success.  She is ready to speak her power now.  She is ready to learn from yours.  She will show you what it means now to own your voice, to speak your truth, to refuse to be put under.  She will teach you all this and more, if you will do this:

Listen.  And then listen some more.

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Who do you need to lean in to today with your lens like a magnifying glass showing the way?  Get up close and personal and show us your sage, your guide, your inspiration–the one who makes you want to shut up and listen to everything wise and good.

 

 

To Have and To Hold

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After all this time, she still did not know exactly what his hands looked like.  She had never studied them or noticed them really, taking for granted they would always be available for further examination, should she ever decide to be curious.

Now that time seemed to be running out, she regretted neglecting the privilege of holding them.  She could see now for the first time how young they seemed and in some strange way how fragile.  She marveled that they had no lines, no resistance, no sign of struggle or defiance.

No one could say really why any of this was so, and if they could, she understood this would mostly be a made up story to make her feel better, to distract her from everything she knew now she would not have, of everything she understood now, she would not hold. 

In lieu of a story she would have this picture.  In lieu of his hands, she would have this memory: how he sat on the bench with a child on each side and without malice or pride, folded his hands together and let her go.

The Most Powerful Thing You Can Do

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Go ahead.

Say it outloud.

Write it down.

Say thank you.

And then let it float away.

What do you need to let go of today?  What one shot can you take today to say goodbye?  What one view can you capture to usher in the start of something new?

Show us what’s in your lens today.  Sometimes it’s the most powerful thing you can do.

 

If Anyone Will See

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Stacks of paper, simple lines, tiny bowls of paint.  Plowing through an impossible task, wondering if the end will be nearly as satisfying as the brush in water, the color unfurled.  Wondering if anyone else will see the beauty in the details or the careful lines drawn from the outline of my deepening heart.  Picking up the camera, holding it to my chest and shooting out to the desk, just to see what the lens will choose.

You are beautiful, the story reads.  And I want it to be true.  For my paintings, for my soul, for our hopeful world.

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What words are peaking out in the picture book of your lens today?  Your pictures are our delight in the comments below.

44

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waited:now:change:finally:new:hope:courage:peace:joy:fresh:unexpected:truth:character:progress:

breakthrough:inclusive:start:different:excitement:rush:open:community:organized:optimistic:

unprecedented:historic:believable:young:ready:clear:service:dedication:humility:

family:now:euphoric:wise:challenging:more:engaged:level-headed:reasonable:mature:good.

Forty-four words for the forty-fourth president.  No matter what your political ideals, your eye today through the lens turns on history.  Whatever you shoot is whatever your kids will see, ten, fifteen, twenty years from now when the idea of this man at this time in this White House will be considered a matter of course.

As I write, at least forty-four dishes are being washed in my kitchen as all day long friends and family called from as far away as Massachussetts to say they couldn’t let this celebration go without being able to say, We were there.  So we threw more rice in the pot, put another can of black beans on the stove and feasted all night as the house filled with the happiness of change, a new day and the hope that in the morning it really will be a brand new world.

What are your forty-four words today?  What’s the shot you’d like to contribute to family history.  Leave your links in the comments, then check out the others who participated with Melissa–the brilliant woman who came up with this idea.  I’ll be looking for my historic shot as my dear ones brave the National Mall, a few Metro stops away.

The Way It Is

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Sometimes you don’t have it in you to smile for the camera.

Sometimes your mind is on other things–like bills and work and kids and the fact that there’s way too much going on and too little time.

Sometimes you are just too tired to do anything at all.

Sometimes it’s just the way it is. You hope against hope that things won’t completely fall apart.

But then.

Sometimes everything changes and you have exactly what you need to keep going. Someone comments on your photo. Someone asks you to document their most important life event. Someone wants to help you build a house. Someone wants to make a difference. Someone says (a few thousand times over) that what you’re doing is important. That you shouldn’t go it alone.

And that’s the way it is, too. At least, that’s the way it is, out here on the wild, wild web. Where friendship and kindness so often translate into tangible, real world support. Aren’t you glad, dear friends, this is where our road together bends?

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dedicated to our friends at JPG Magazine with so much love and hope.  we’re wishing you the best.

This Bright Winter Morning

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The first rays of morning light illuminate their tiny faces as I round the corner of the stairs.

How long have you been holding her like that?  I ask in a scratchy morning voice.

Shhh…she answers.  I think she’s having a bad dream.

I remember when my big girl was a baby herself, when I held her for long hours by moonlight, thinking the dark night would never end.  I remember wondering if my own mother held me the same way, if she stayed awake the way I do now hoping the morning will be happy and bright.

She cries sometimes, wishing for a sister, and I feel guilty, knowing I have three and will not offer her even one.  She cries and then one of her favorite littles comes to spend the night, and she’s in heaven.  The sisterless know better than anyone how desperately we need each other, how everything changes in the company of another whom we dare to call sister, to call friend.

May you wake, dear shutter sisters, on this bright winter morning, knowing how grateful we are for your company, for your eyes, for your lens, for your unique and beautiful way of seeing each other and this beautiful world.  Merry Christmas.

Leave a comment and win the chance to have one more little surprise to top off your holiday season.  Today’s giveaway is the lovely Sisterhood necklace from Blue Poppy Jewelry.

Joy to the World

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All year long I’ve been telling stories on Shutter Sisters about Rwanda and my dear friend Odette who has been separated from these dear girls for three long, excruciating years.  Though no one knows for sure, this morning feels like Christmas as we’re getting little bits of encouraging news about the girls and the future of this amazing family.  If you’ve been following this story and want to spread a little Christmas cheer, stop by here and help us make a little more magic happen as we continue to make a way for the little house that love built.

Our yummy giveaway today is a handmade sterling silver bracelet from the Friends Association.  The bracelet, designed by Portland artist Eliza Saucy has the inscription:  Isn’t it amazing what one woman and her friends can do?  You can see this lovely bit of goodness and read the inspiring story behind it here.

As always, all month long, leave a comment and get a chance to be the winner of this beautiful bracelet.

The Bottom of Everything

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The bottom of everything is love.

That’s what I thought to myself while she cried, while I cried, while we argued about everything without ever touching the real thing. That her heart was hurting from an old wound. That she was counting on me and I was counting on her and that we had let each other down when it mattered the very most.

We won’t talk about this again. Ever. Can we agree on that?

I shrug. Sure. Whatever. We can talk or not talk but the truth is it is still here, this sadness, this fierce love, this beautiful tension between what we hope for and the way it is.

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The bottom of everything is grief.

That’s what I thought to myself when he smiled, when he had tried to explain over Thanksgiving dinner how they met in Beijing without making her sound too much like a mail-order bride. It’s wasn’t like that at all, his eyes told me, but there was no need to explain. He had found her, and something in his heart instantly mended. I could see it all over her face.

How old do you think they are?  Fatou asked, motioning to our guests–the man and his not-a-mail-order-bride, the lovely Chinese woman in the fantastic red jacket.

I have no idea, I told her. But they have that kind of happiness that comes from understanding what it means to be sad. The kind of gratitude that comes after thinking for so long you would always be alone.

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These are the stories I think about later, looking at the shots of everyone’s hands and that red jacket, shining in every picture.

These are the stories I think about when I want to get to the bottom of everything, when I wonder if grief will wreck us, when I wonder if love can truly be more than enough, when I want to know what it is exactly that will make our souls whole.

Leave a comment below and today’s lovely giveaway winner will receive:

a collection of TRUST notes and a donation made to this project in the name of someone you love. We’ll send a lovely card announcing your donation to whomever you choose.

Congratulations to Kristina of Meadowlark Days for winning yesterday’s giveaway–artwork by Amy Ruppel.  Lucky lady.