January

January has always been a tricky month for me. For a long time, something about the old year ending and the new year beginning triggered a lot of difficult emotions and old stories for me. And then, of course,  there are the years when it seems as though the sun has gone into the Witness Protection program and will never be heard from again.

I could never see any beauty in January; everything I noticed just seemed to prove my story of doom, gloom, and depression. So I just grit my teeth, pulled out my Happy Lite, and tried to power through.

But then I picked up a camera, which forced me to focus on just what I could see in the viewfinder at that, specific moment. It reminded me to ask myself, “What is in front of me right now?” No jumping ahead into the future. No overwhelming myself by trying to figure out RIGHT THIS SECOND how I was going to survive the entire month without losing my mind.

What piece can I see right now?

What is right in front of me?

And sometimes the answer was beauty, and moments of grace.