Help-Portrait 2009 … T minus 36 hours! :)
You know what I love about life today? :) Waking up knowing that in less than 36 hours I will have the opportunity to stand alongside a team of 40 amazingly talented individuals — with one goal in mind — bringing happiness to 130 strangers.
It’s a funny thing…self worth. I’ve learned that one of the easiest ways to give that gift to another…is through giving it to yourself (and vice-versa). It is possible for certain acts to be both selfish and selfless at the same time — maybe neither can fully exist without the other? That debate, we can save for another day…but what I know to be true today…is that (this coming Saturday) strangers will turn into friends, gifts will be shared, and individuals will learn more about themselves and others than they have the opportunity to on any other average day. Certain outcomes are inevitable when you give a part of yourself to another.
As I was sharing with a few select Help-Portrait members at our first meeting — 6 months ago I was completely frustrated with work. I had hit a wall. Don’t get me wrong…I will be the first to stand up and give a thousand thanks for all of the amazing opportunities that have fallen into my lap over the last year and a half (most of which, I still couldn’t fully explain)…but still, something was missing. There was a part of me that couldn’t help but wonder…with all that I have been given, shouldn’t I be giving part of that to others? As a creative minded person…is there a purpose to my current path? Sure, I’ve gotten to a point where I feel that I can take pretty photos…but is “pretty” where it ends for me? — There are obvious personal implications & situational aspects to each one of those questions, but maybe you understand that too…wanting more in life…wanting to live a life that has meaning.
A funny thing happened after that. “Meaning” found me. –maybe all we have to do is learn to ask the right questions? — Regardless of the why’s….the point is…it started happening. The Salvation Army // Homelessness Bites campaign fell into my lap…bringing with it Vagrant Voice (a grass roots campaign to positively impact the lives of the homeless)…”The Disaster at the Royal American Hotel” (book project) …. around the same time, I was off again to another foreign land, foreign customs, and foreign faces (bringing more personal & professional growth) … then came Help-Portrait. — All of which come with their own background & stories to one day share with friends…but today (in my little corner of the world) I have to say…I am most thankful for the self-worth that comes through the opportunity to give to others.
Maybe one day we’ll sit around a table (or firepit) sharing stories about our ‘personal legend’ & the path from here to there (maybe we won’t) — but today, it’s truly not about that. What inspires me on a random Friday morning…isn’t details…but an amazing gratitude and thankfulness for the personal gift(s) that every person is/are given. — and by gifts, I don’t mean a shiny object wrapped in pretty paper & presented below a tree — by gifts, I mean the acknowledgement that each person is born with specific talents that make them unique and valuable. I am thankful that such things exist and that they bring meaning, not only to the bearer of the gift(s), but to others as well.
In lieu of running a tangent on a wild goose chase…what I want to say is this….
I am thankful for days like today. I am thankful that life has brought me to a place where I not only recognize, but also appreciate the individuality of others (regardless & regarding race, creed, religion, social/economic status, etc). I am thankful that “give-back” still means more in our current society than merely clicking a button on FB. I am thankful that the barrier between a homeless woman & child seeking shelter and safe haven from stalking abuse is not so far from a twenties-something middle class creative still trying to find her own path & way through life. I am thankful that whether or not each person sees the worth that they have or bring to the life of another…their worth will continue to be shared and will inevitably inspire/impact others in return.
Above all else, I am thankful that I can say to you with 100% conviction….We all have something to offer to the world…”Tis the Season… (but isn’t it always)”. I am thankful for you.
