Category Archives: Awareness

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Town Mouse/Country Mouse

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A Town Mouse once visited a relative who lived in the country. For lunch the Country Mouse served wheat stalks, roots, and acorns, with a dash of cold water for drink. The Town Mouse ate very sparingly, nibbling a little of this and a little of that, and by her manner making it very plain that she ate the simple food only to be polite.

After the meal the friends had a long talk, or rather the Town Mouse talked about her life in the city while the Country Mouse listened. They then went to bed in a cozy nest in the hedgerow and slept in quiet and comfort until morning. In her sleep the Country Mouse dreamed she was a Town Mouse with all the luxuries and delights of city life that her friend had described for her. So the next day when the Town Mouse asked the Country Mouse to go home with her to the city, she gladly said yes.

When they reached the mansion in which the Town Mouse lived, they found on the table in the dining room the leavings of a very fine banquet. There were sweetmeats and jellies, pastries, delicious cheeses – indeed, the most tempting foods that a Mouse can imagine. 

But just as the Country Mouse was about to nibble a dainty bit of pastry, she heard a Cat mew loudly and scratch at the door. In great fear the Mice scurried to a hiding place, where they lay quite still for a long time, hardly daring to breathe. When at last they ventured back to the feast, the door opened suddenly and in came the servants to clear the table, followed by the House Dog.

The Country Mouse stopped in the Town Mouse’s den only long enough to pick up her carpet bag and umbrella. “You may have luxuries and dainties that I have not,” she said as she hurried away, “but I prefer my plain food and simple life in the country with the peace and security that go with it.”

Poverty with security is better than plenty in the midst of fear and uncertainty. – The Aesop for Children, Library of Congress

Thanks to Tina for suggesting this whimsical and wise tale for our weekly challenge! Do visit HER SITE for a broader interpretation of contrasting City/Country photographs.

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Stormy

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“The storm is out there and every one of us must eventually face the storm. When the storm comes, pray that it will shake you to your roots and break you wide-open. Being broken open by the storm is your only hope. When you are broken open you get to discover for the first time what is inside you. Some people never get to see what is inside them; what beauty, what strength, what truth and love. They were never broken open by the storm. So, don’t run from your pain — run into your pain. Let life’s storm shatter you.”
― Bryant McGill, Simple Reminders: Inspiration for Living Your Best Life

Have you ever been on a road trip and discovered that you were heading into a storm? Have you felt time hanging around you while your brain rifled through options? Do I change course…stop here…or go on? How bad could it be? How bad will it be? Do I trust myself to adapt to what I find and keep myself safe? Can I keep my car safe? What if I find others on the road who are not safe?

I have been parked under an overpass crowded with cars while a hailstorm ran over us. I have been parked at the side of the road while hail buried the windshield wipers and made them completely ineffective. I was not the one behind the wheel then. I once drove through a blizzard in Utah, talking the whole time to the passenger beside me. And on a perfectly calm summer day, I was in a car accident that killed my sister. I know myself when I’m worried, when I’m scared, when I’m braving through, and when I’m completely overwhelmed and having a panic attack. I’ve encountered myself on road trips. And I’ve encountered others. I am grateful to have learned some very important lessons about life, and safety, and kindness, and what is really important.

The storm is here. I am leaning into the lessons I’ve learned and keeping my hands steady on the wheel, my eyes locked on the horizon. I trust in a rainbow future.

Thank you, Beth of Wandering Dawgs, for joining the Lens-Artists host team. Your first challenge is inspiring! I look forward to more.

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Abandoned

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“Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it.”
― Ann Landers

“Abandoned“. Now there is a word that conjures such heartbreak. And yet…
In some cases, it is the healthiest thing you can do. To let go of that which no longer serves you or anyone else – bad habits, bad ways of thinking, falsehoods – those things are better abandoned. And those places where you don’t really belong, even though you enjoyed or learned something there, are better abandoned as well: stretches of beach, or campsites, or wilderness…or sometimes, relationships.

It can be frightfully hard to let go and move on. And it can be the most joyful, brave, and salvific thing you do.

Thanks to Anne for a truly rich theme. Visit her challenge post HERE.

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Complementary Colors

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“All colors are the friends of their neighbors and the lovers of their opposites.”

― Marc Chagall

My thoughts this week have been stirred by images and headlines in the news that illustrate and announce an intolerance for opposites and others. How appropriate to contemplate the word ‘complementary’ with this Challenge. Here’s one definition: “combining in such a way as to enhance or emphasize the qualities of each other or another”. I think of my four adult children who gathered online with me for a virtual celebration of my eldest’s 40th birthday on Friday. Their similarities and differences have always amused and fascinated me. Any delusions that they might be “mini-Me” are long gone. They are themselves, each unique and distinct, offering something invaluable and inimitable into the ripples of Life. Our small family circle is a microcosm of the interconnected web of existence. We need each other, we help each other, we protect each other, we nourish each other, we support each other, we encourage each other to be our best selves. It is not unimaginable that this dynamic could extend to the entire human family.

Our highly evolved brains are wired to notice difference, to compare and contrast. That skill can be used to be aware and appreciative of variety – in texture, color, personality, culture – and to understand nuance. And that skill can be applied to dividing, sorting, separating. It’s important to take care how we use our tools, where we use our tools, and on what we use our tools.

Thank you, Egidio, for reminding me of the beauty of this spectrum and the dynamic of the contrasts in it.

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Zig-zag

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“Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for a change.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Our Challenge host for this week, Patti, writes, “It’s time to take a photographic detour off the straight and narrow path and veer into the territory of unexpected turns, switchbacks, detours, and zigzag lines, much like our journey through life itself!”

When I think of meandering rivers or of trails that switchback up and down a steep grade, I think of the dangers of a straight shot. Without zig-zagging a bit, you pick up too much speed. Too much sediment rushes downstream, you tumble head over heels, or you break down in exhaustion trying to go up against gravity. Slowing down and lengthening your path of travel allows you to see more sights, to savor life along the way.

It seems that in building structures, the zig-zag of diagonal beams builds strength and distributes stress. That sounds like something that could benefit us all.

I think seeking and celebrating all things Zigzag is a worthy Challenge!

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Balconies

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I’m really enjoying seeing balconies from my fellow Lens Artists who are world travelers! They are so diverse and interesting and culturally influenced by weather and social status and other factors. Our host, PR, gives many beautiful examples – visit our inspiration HERE.

When I visited New Orleans in May, I was very impressed with the balconies in the French Quarter. I suppose they function to move air in the upper stories of these city buildings, but they are decorated so lavishly as well.

However, as a performer and a theater nerd, my first thoughts about balconies are about the ones inside a concert hall or theater.

Have you ever stood on a stage and looked into rows of balconies? Have you ever stood on a stage and looked into the faces of people in the balcony, anticipating your performance, eager to be entertained, to be moved, to feel alive? Would you find that exciting…or terrifying? For me, the difference is whether I believe I’m being celebrated…or being judged.

Have you heard the term “balcony people”? Joyce Landorf Heatherly wrote a book about them, saying, “Some people are in the ‘balcony’ of your life, cheering you on, energizing you with their affirmation. Others are in your ‘basement’ doing exactly the opposite. This book is about being a balcony person.”

Jennifer McClure writes in LinkedIn: Balcony people are intentional with their encouragement. Balcony people listen well, and ensure others feel they’ve been heard. Balcony people focus more on facilitating victories that solving problems. Balcony people have the courage to share constructive feedback – even when it’s difficult.

So, I would like to add to our weekly Balcony challenge and invite you to consider how you gaze at others from above. Are you looking on in love and encouragement, benevolently shining your smile in a glow that allows the one in focus to shine? Or do you perhaps gaze in judgement like a magistrate whose frown sparks fear into the hearts of those standing below?

I find the balcony to be an interesting arena, worthy of creative thought.


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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Dramatic

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“The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy.” — John F. Kennedy

The summer sky in New Mexico is strikingly close. I’m not sure why that is, but it took my breath away in an ordinary moment, outside a museum. I had been ambling along at the pace of a typical tourist browsing an exhibit and crossed a courtyard toward another section of the campus. There had been thunder showers off and on all day, and as I emerged from the building, I glanced up to see if I needed to put my hood up. This is what I saw, this dead tree silhouetted against the powerful, changing sky. This image has not been altered by any post-processing except cropping.

And this is Life in a single, passing moment – triumph and tragedy juxtaposed on a stage that we forget is all around us. There seems to be no greater opportunity to be caught up in the thrill of emotion and beauty than to simply become aware of what IS.

Thank you, Patti, for inviting us to be aware of what is Dramatic through our lenses. Click HERE to see her post.

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: It’s Tricky!

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“Lord, what fools these mortals be.”
– William Shakespeare

Tonight, I’ll be performing in a production called “The Blaming of the Shrew”. It’s an adaptation of Shakespeare’s work. Our director says, “This adaptation, a conflation of the two distinct extant texts of this play, The Taming of the Shrew and The Taming of a Shrew, intends to explore the social and dramatic tension of the idea that this story is ostensibly a comedic one. We hope that this adaptation will spark conversations about patriarchal control (which is, at its core, what restricting abortion access is all about), as well as the prevalence of misogynistic humor in the stories that our society continues to tell.” Proceeds from the ticket donations will go to support women’s reproductive rights.

My character, Grumio, is a servant to Petrucchio, the man who “comes to wive it wealthily” by marrying Katharina and taming her independent nature. Grumio is a kind of comic narrator, but he is also a “Bro” who creeps on Katharina and contributes to breaking her with abuse. I get to deliver a lot of sexual double entendres around lutes and meat and mustard. I do have great fun clowning around in my foolish old man identity for laughs, but I am moved to tears when our lead actor implodes and becomes a shell of herself. It has been interesting hearing audience reaction and noting how poorly the text has stood up over time as a comedy. There are content warnings posted prominently in all our publicity.

Here are some production photos of my character…obviously I didn’t take them. They were taken by our director, Rachel Kohler.

It’s tricky to be an evolving and compassionate human being. Our species has been working on that for a long, long time with mixed results. For my part, I intend to keep on trying and supporting others in their journey to be a little less foolish each day. Thanks, Donna, for your April opening challenge!

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: New Experiences

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“…We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time…

…Through the unknown, unremembered gate
When the last of earth left to discover
Is that which was the beginning;

…At the source of the longest river
The voice of the hidden waterfall…

…And the children in the apple-tree…

…Not known, because not looked for
But heard, half-heard, in the stillness
Between two waves of the sea…” ― from “Little Gidding” by T.S. Eliot

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” ― Roald Dahl

“…Just think—no one has ever seen
inside this peanut before!

It is hard being a person.

I do and don’t love you—isn’t that happiness?”
― from “One Boy Told Me” by Naomi Shihab Nye

New experiences occur with every breath, every heartbeat. Each present moment is new and not repeatable. The gift of being alive can be wrapped up in so many different ways. I love the idea of “Beginner’s Mind” – it makes a new experience of everything, allowing a fresh perspective. It is a worthy challenge to cultivate this break with habit and sameness and taking-for-granted. I really enjoy hanging out with young people and watching them discover and exclaim over so many things that I have been seeing with dull eyes. I look forward to volunteering as a Teaching Naturalist for some school field trips coming up this Spring.

Anne’s challenge this week has inspired a lot of exciting posts about travel and adventure, but it has inspired me to look at the exhilarating experience of finding joy in my local environs. With warming temperatures and emerging life, it’s a whole new world out there!

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Over the Hill

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“The years between fifty and seventy are the hardest. You are always being asked to do things, and yet you are not decrepit enough to turn them down. ” – George Eliot

Donna of Wind Kisses is our host for this week’s challenge. She mentions that she will be turning 60 years old this week and invites us to explore the idea of “over the hill”. Coincidentally, I turned 60 last month, so the topic turns my thoughts to the long view of life’s journey.

“After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.” – Nelson Mandela

“The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time
Any fool can do it
There ain’t nothing to it
Nobody knows how we got to the top of the hill
But since we’re on our way down
We might as well enjoy the ride.” – James Taylor

The journey of my life has definitely been a range of summits and valleys, each with their difficulties and exquisite beauties. I’m not looking to quit any time soon, although my pace has slowed a bit. I strive for the wisdom and grace that will teach me to walk observantly, respectfully, and kindly toward unknown horizons.

Happy Birthday, Donna, and many happy returns of the day!