Happy New Year! When we moved back to Canada seven years ago, we had to get rid of a lot of “stuff.” I had a garage sale and let go of many pictures and photographs, but I still had a lot left over that we moved. Even after filling my new walls, I still have several boxes of framed pictures in a storage space under my stairs. Maybe you can relate! Some are just fine as they are but need a new home. For some, the picture is fine but they need a new frame. For others, the frame is fine but the picture needs replacing.
I’ve been thinking about reframing as a metaphor for life, where the picture is the reality of the moment and the frame is how you see it. To reframe means to look at something differently.
Keep the picture. Get a new frame.
Maybe your reality is perfectly fine or not likely to change any time soon. If you’re feeling a little stuck or bored with the way things are, maybe you just need a new frame – a new way of seeing your reality.
“Often, the way to get unstuck isn’t to change whatever it is you’re looking at—but instead to change how you’re looking at it.” ~ You Don’t Need New Ideas, You Need a New Perspective, Oliver Burkeman, 99U
This article plays on Marcel Proust’s famous quote about seeing the familiar with new eyes. And, it introduced me to a new term, “vuja dé,” coined by comedian George Carlin. It means “a strange sense of unfamiliarity in the familiar, thereby revealing opportunities or solutions you hadn’t previously noticed.” How do you see the unfamiliar in the familiar? The article suggests a couple of ways – putting physical distance between you and the problem – take a break and do something different – or write about it to see what emerges from the unconscious mind. Using “vuja de” opens up new possibilities.
You can do this by paying closer attention to your everyday life, seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary, or seeing beauty where others might not. Or, by seeing in terms of relationships, rather than objects. Once you begin to see relationally – in terms of interactions, encounters – your world looks different, more dynamic and exciting. There’s a half of life that often goes unnoticed or unappreciated. A good life depends on a relational way of seeing.
Sometimes you just need a bigger frame; to widen your horizons. Maybe you need to create more space for yourself or to try something new.
Keep the frame. Get a new picture.
On the flip side, maybe your frame, the way you see your reality, is just fine but that reality no longer serves you or the people around you. In that case, you might need to change the picture. This happens when you decide to leave a relationship or a place or a job that has run it’s course or is harmful in some way. You need a new picture in order to grow.
On the less extreme side, maybe you just need to let go of some things that no longer serve you or suck up your time. Then you can make space for something new in the picture. I do this with the courses that I offer. It’s not that the older ones are no longer useful, it’s more that I’ve moved in a new direction.
I’ve spent the last month looking back at the picture I’ve created by will, chance, and luck over the last ten years in my business (and life).
Looking Back
This year marks ten years since I started my blog and business. So, I decided to look back at the decade using Marie Forleo’s Decade in Review as a guide. With the frame of a decade, what’s the picture look like?
”People overestimate what can be done in one year, and underestimate what can be done in ten.” ~ J. C. R. Licklider via Marie Forleo
It was on November 1, 2010 that I published my first blog post on a site called Be Inspired. I never considered myself a writer or a teacher. I just loved photography and was inspired by many things. In 2011, I took a life-changing online course with Tara Mohr called Playing Big. Several people I met through that course have remained friends and collaborators. Later that year, encouraged by Playing Big, I launched my first online workshop, Photo By Design.
9 courses, 750 blog posts, several in-person retreats, and one book later, my work has evolved from visual design for photography to contemplative photography to the deep exploration of perception and place. And, to the hundreds of you that have read my blog posts and participated in workshops and retreats, I’m deeply grateful.
12 Lessons Learned Along the Way
1. I don’t teach photography. I facilitate experiences for those who want to live a contemplative life. The camera is one of our tools.
2. Chance plays a HUGE part in life. Pay attention to it. How you respond to chance events makes all the difference.
3. The richness in life comes from interactions, encounters, relationships – not things. Savour your relationships and learn to see relationally.
4. Put yourself out there and you will make priceless connections.
5. Say yes to things that scare you in a good way. See: Tara Mohr on “yirah.”
6. You can do what you never thought possible. I never thought I would publish a book.
7. Get inspiration from many sources – writers, painters, poets, activists, or the guy next door.
8. Let your purpose reveal itself to you, one step at a time.
9. Consistency and persistence pays off.
10. Regularly challenge your way of seeing. It’s always limited. Just noticing the way your mind works leads to transformation.
11. It’s okay to pause, to sit and stare, to slow down, even to do nothing occasionally.
12. See the beauty and wonder around you every day. It’s hiding in plain sight.
Moving Forward
For 2020, much of my picture will remain the same, yet much will be left to chance. I’ll be on the move quite a bit, visiting friends and family for multiple weddings, among other things. In the midst of it, I’ll be working on writing and photography projects revolving around perception and place, as well as visual poetry in photography. I’m not yet clear on where they’ll go. But, I’ll share what I discover along the way.
- I’ll offer 30 Days of Perception again in April.
- There are several on-demand workshops available through my newly updated workshops page. A new one on visual journalling is available now and an option for the Place workshop will be available soon.
- Deirdre Walsh and I may return to Ireland in spring of 2021, so if you’ve wanted to join us, please save the date!
I wish you continued growth and happiness moving forward. Happy New Year.