Over the last month and a half since starting this blog, my Weekly Wisdom posts have been chalk full of bullet points highlighting tips and tricks that I’d learned on a particular photography subject. I can honestly say that I’ve learned a lot in the past weeks. Having a weekly post devoted to a new subject makes me explore topics that I’ve yet to understand and holds me accountable to learning something new each week.
But sometimes I feel like wisdom doesn’t have to come from a book or a website or from playing around with my camera. Bear with me here because I’m going to get a little sappy.
Sometimes the best wisdom in life comes from within.
This past week has been a crazy and busy one—one that I’ll admit to me not picking my camera up but a handful of times. Work was extra hectic and long. R and I signed a lease on a house out in the ‘burbs and started the process of packing up our little apartment. And over the weekend I attended a summit on another passion of mine—healthy living.
The summit was a get-together of sorts of approximately 200 bloggers and readers of healthy living blogs from across the country (I fall into the reader category by the way). It was amazing to be surrounded by so many inspirational individuals, most of whom were young women around my age, pursuing their passions and changing their lives and the lives of others along the way.
The summit inspired me to do a lot of self reflection, even more than I’ve been doing lately (which I feel is a lot). You could say in some ways that I’m trying to “find myself” in the world, because what I’ve come to realize recently is that the real world isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. It was nice to see those my age pursuing what they love, not letting the real world compromise their happiness and what they wanted to get out of their time on earth.
Because really, life is short, much too short to be unhappy.
And it’s not that I’m all that unhappy either. I love being married to R—he’s just the best husband ever. And I have great family and a handful of great friends. I spend my free time doing fun things like eating out and exploring Chicago. But I still have this desire within me to better my life, to be happier, and to have a sense of fulfillment in what I do.
So my Weekly Wisdom this week isn’t photography tips or tricks I’ve learned. It’s just that I’ve learned this…
Only I can determine my future. Spending each day as I spent yesterday is not going to get me any closer to my dreams. I have to push forward. Step out of my comfort zones. Not worry about what others think. My future is in my hands, not anyone else’s.
