livlane.com

Man sitting by sea in deep thought

I have a confession.

If I see you in a moment of reflection, taking time to just be, lost in your own gratitude…I might take your picture.

I think it’s so beautiful, to see a person not being a person but a spiritual being, disconnected from the world around him in order to connect to the world within him.

Yoga by the Ocean

When you’re there, in that sacred space, it shows on your face…in your posture…in your demeanor. You are just gorgeous. And it touches me. It gives me hope for humankind. It reminds me to go there, too.

Seeing someone deep in their own glory leaves an imprint on my heart – especially when I take their picture. They stay with me – not just on a memory card, but in my own memory. I remember them for months and years – like I would a deep and unexpected conversation with a total stranger. We are connected.

girl looking at reflection in water

Kids do it best of all – stopping everything to be full of themselves and full of life. No inhibitions, no worries about who’s watching, no sense of time. I have countless photos of them – joy personified, stillness mastered.

For grown-ups, I think it’s an act of bravery to quiet the voices, to shut out the distractions, to ignore the busyness and choose – even for a few precious moments – to just be, to get grounded, to soak up the light. Catching you being a human being is sacred to me. There is nothing more beautiful.

graduation: let’s not forget the parents

(new in the shop: graduation card for parents)

It’s happening again. We’re starting to receive invitations to graduation parties: unofficially required ‘open houses’ with balloons and brownies and photo collages to celebrate neighbor kids, friends’ kids, co-workers’ kids who are graduating from high school. We’ll make an appearance at each, drop off a gift (ahem, check), ask the kids about their plans, watch videos and look at photos of them as babies and preschoolers and Girl Scouts and Little League players.

And I can’t help but think as I stand there that these celebrations should not only focus on the graduating kid, but on the parents who just spent 18 years nurturing, teaching, guiding, advocating, chaperoning, coaching, cheering, carpooling…adoring this child. I want to honor that they’ve done an awesome job. All the things they’ve gone through – sleepless nights, skinned knees, bruised egos, health scares, hellish hormones, bullies and broken hearts – and still stuck around because their love was bigger than all of those things combined. That deserves a celebration.

This year, I finally have a card I can slip to the parents at those open houses – and I’m hoping it might come in handy for you, too.

Just one little thing. The first run from my printer came with the inside message printed above the fold vs. below it. Rats! If you can stand a little imperfection and just write a sweet little note below, I’ll give you a discount! This first run is priced at 25% off my other card prices – so just $3 per card, found here.

Got other occasions you wish there was a good card for? I’d love to know! xoxo