7.20.2009

a bowl of cherries...

that's it.
life is.

i'm seeing so much pain and heartache
going on around me.
loss of loved ones.
need of a break because
of feeling burned out.
sickness and disease.
financial struggle.
job loss.
job stress.
broken relationships.

i'm reminded every day
by visiting blogs and making friends
that there are so many struggles
that we all face on a daily basis.
but i'm also encouraged every day,
by the help and outpouring of support
and encouragement that is right there too––
from complete strangers.
from acquaintances.
from friends.

so i was happy when taking pictures today
of the cherries that cost me a bundle––
cherries i should not have bought,
because we are trying to cut back
on the extras right now.

but i realized,
there are just some things
that i don't want to let go of
no matter how hard it gets.
i don't want to stop eating ice cream.
i don't want to stop buying summer cherries.
i don't want to stop having coffee with a friend,
every once in a while––
even if it costs four or five times more
than what it would cost to make it at home.
i want to keep drinking my favorite lemonade.

in other words, sometimes there is so little
for us to actually really call our own
in this life.
and that's okay.
it's the little things
like coffee.
cherries.
lemonade.
ice cream.
that make a day sweet.
no matter how difficult life gets.

and life is...
sweet.
precious.
full.
wonderful.
too short
to not eat cherries.

i couldn't find more joy
than i do in picking up my camera
and taking some silly pictures.
pictures of color––the brightest green.
pictures of shapes and negative space.
pictures of light and shadow
blending into one.
pictures of abounding sweetness
in just one small cherry.
pictures of wealth––
the kind that comes from
being rich with gratitude
not with dollars.
taking pictures...
one of life's cherries
in its own bowl full of many.

i think cherries were
my dad's favorite fruit.

did you ever notice
how the words cherry and cheery
are so close––just one letter off?

i'm happy today.
life is good.
it's not perfect.
but it's good.
probably one day very soon,
i will find it less easy to say.
but right now,
i feel that my life is good.
and i feel blessed.

i hope you do as well.
if you don't,
then i pray that you will.
when i don't,
please pray that i will, too.
{written july 20th, 2009}

{so i took all kinds of photos of cherries yesterday, because i've been seeing a lot of them around lately––and because they looked so pretty in my green colander that i rinsed them in. i took a bunch of focused shots, but because of the zoom in on the shiny bowl, it often would not focus. {{by the way, does anyone know why that is?––why it is so hard to focus on shinier objects especially while zoomed in?}} anyway, sometimes the camera would focus, and other times it would not. at first i was frustrated, but then i realized i sort of liked the way it looked when the focus was blurred—a fancy word for not-focused. so i just rolled with it. then a few hours later, i visited a new blog that is making a whole series out of these kind of shots. someone else {{alicia}} was thinking the same thing—sometimes they just look cool like that. normally i would put a shot like this on ethereal, but i decided to post it here instead. here are some of the focused shots––and maybe another blurred or two.}

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

gorgeous shots georgia.. i especially loved the blurred one.
your strength and positivity really inspire me... do you have a shop for your photos?.. if not you really should... they are always stunning.
wishing you a happy day,
ginny x

Unknown said...

hi my g,

this post is so uplifting. it reminds me of the simple, yet unmistakable good things that God gifts our lives with.

blessings,
c

suzy said...

I love your post.

This is how I try and live my life with my family.
I always live like today is my last day.
The cherries you put off buying, the movie you will get around to seeing one day, the craft project collecting dust on the shelf.
Do it now. Tomorrow is another day, but you never know what it might bring.

Memories Of Mine said...

I love cherries and you know what, you should make time for the little things like ice cream or coffee with friends because these small comforts in hard times sometime make us feel a little more normal. They reduce stress and what is life if we can't enjoy it.

A said...

Your blurred shot is amazing! The words are divine... Always inspiring. And the green with the dark red is so beautiful (wish I had a green colander!!!)

I love when I find others who are on the same thought wave! What an amazing connection with the blurred photos and thanks for the series link.

Dani said...

keep those good thoughts. keep on living.
read this quote yesterday and thought of you:
Faith is forward motion.
–Karen Maezen Miller

beth said...

cheery and cherry....you are SO right !
and what a great post to remind us all to live !

we just found out a girl my hubby graduated with from high school with, had a double mastectomy this past week, with a rare and fast growing type of cancer and she'll start chemo and radiation in three weeks....

now that put things in perspective for me immediately and so today I will enjoy life...with my camera in my hand and the sun in my eyes...

ELK said...

your words are very inspiring ... we experience many feelings in life...wish we did not have to, but attitude helps...i linked this post today

Anonymous said...

ooh georgia, i love cherries too! i've been swallowing heaps of 'em back home! :)

keep hanging in there love! i really do believe that there's a reason to everything that happens around us. i believe in you, you can pull through this tough time! :)

Jesus loves you. and i'm here to shower you with an extra bit of love too, from the other end of the world. :)

take good care love. you're in my prayers.

x.

~h~ said...

I'm eating cherries as a late breakfast right now. They are a small pleasure that should be enjoyed. & these photographs are pretty what with the red against the green.
And the words...well, the words are just as sweet.

Char said...

ahhh, georgia - always with the wise words when I need them. it is hard struggling and knowing what limited funds are out there. but, sometimes a treat is good when you're down (but not out). I'm glad you're having cherries (and cheeries).

the blur is good, the blur reminds us that if we focus too sharply on the minute and inconceivable that we loose sight of the more important things.

xo

kath said...

I wish I could send you cherries, they are abundant and juicy and inexpensive for me right now. I'm wondering if the reflection would be cut down by a polarizing filter? (It's the only question I didn't get on my exam so don't necessarily trust me!).
Your words are beautiful today. They rang with perfect truth.

Jamie said...

Mmmmmm, cherries are one of my favorite things about summer. On Sunday I shared handfuls of them with my little nephew who also loves them but hasn't figured out the pit part. Each cherry was split in half for each of us which caused red fingers that made me grin.

Lovely pictures. Lovely words.

Have you tried manual focus? The glaring light is probably confusing the auto focus sensor. It can't see what to focus on...but YOU can ;)

joyce said...

I'm glad you are so cheery today..sometimes life is that bowl of cherries, sometimes all you have are the leftover pits. Its amazing how one's perspective & attitude can change one day to another.
And I know exaclty what you mean about focusing.....I have such a hard time with close up shots focusing on the wrong thing or not focusing at all!

Mrs. E said...

Beautiful post. Your words are going to stay with me!

And I am a cherry lover. I'm going to link to your blog because I have an unfocused shot I love, too. I couldn't delete it!!

BonBon Rose Girls Kristin said...

Lovely shots. Cherries are among my favorite thing too. Back when we were trying to cut back I always allowed myself a skinny vanilla latte once a week. Sometimes a little indulgence goes a long way! Here's to hoping that things look up for you and yours very soon!

littlebyrd said...

Beautiful beautiful words and pictures. I needed to read something like this today. Thanks :)

shilvia said...

stunning pictures...even better words...what you wrote on this post, is something that iam treasuring!!! such great reminder of happy moments georgia...

Sandy K. said...

So happy to hear a cheerier you - with cherries:). I love cherry season; it's so cheery:) Bright and shiny. Love the photos. I do think the reason focus on shiny objects is more difficult is because of the reflections. Your camera may think there's more than one thing to focus on. Does that make sense?

I, too, feel like I can't give up some things, even when money is tight. Which is now. Oh well. Eat cherries and go to the movies (matinees).

By the way...there's a box here ready to go in the mail tomorrow:).

georgia b. said...

thank you, everyone.

ginny, to answer your question, yes i will be selling some of my photos in my etsy shop.

thank you for your encouragement which helps affirm my decision to do so.

FEDERICA said...

Your blog is great and your pics are gorgeous!
Greetings from Italy!

Lisa said...

love this post. i am so sorry for the rough times you are experiencing. and i am so encouraged to hear your positive attitude in spite of it all! it makes me feel silly for ever complaining.

thank you for this. :)

frenchie said...

Lovely post. Stop on!
xxx

GailO said...

I love the out of focus shots...I tend to delete all the out of focus shots as I upload them to the computer but now I see that things aren't always as bad as they seem at first look:)

Hey, cherries are on sale for $1.69 here this week...will be getting sick on them!

Miss Red said...

what a beautiful, inspiring post!

georgia b. said...

thank you, miss red. i hope you happened to click on "Email follow-up comments to..." when you left your comment so that you will see this one. i have visited your blog since you first stopped by mine, and i enjoy it very much. i am not able to comment on it, because i have a dumb computer that won't let me {long story}. and i can not reply to your comments via e-mail, because you do not have your e-mail set up as part of your profile. :(

so i can not tell you thank you for stopping by or tell you that i enjoy your blog. so i hope you somehow read this.