Well, here we are, celebrating the beginning of ViewFinders, and I’m showing up without cake. There should be cake, don’t you think? Possibly champagne, though honestly, coffee would be swell too.

I didn’t have enough time to bake, but I brought flowers anyway. Cheery yellow ranunculus to remind us the next season on its way.

As I sat down to write this post, I remembered a meditation class I took in college. The class was an hour long and we met once a week for an entire semester. On the first day, we learned how to physically hold our bodies in a seated position, not too tight, not too loose. I sat cross-legged on my cushion, spine straight yet loose, gaze five feet ahead, breath even and steady.

Our instructor told us when our minds wandered off, we should come back to the breath, the inhale and exhale, with a “fresh start”. He lightly tapped the singing bowl, a soft bell, indicating we should sit and stare at the floor but not think about the floor too long. Or numb ankles, creaky doors, or what we were going to eat for lunch. Or any number of stray thoughts came and went. The class went on and somehow, I made it through.

Years later, I still think about the idea of “fresh start”, particularly with photography. That class taught me to let go of expectations and to return to a basic pattern of breath. To find a way to observe and express the world around me and to practice that observation even when it’s uncomfortable and my ankles go numb. It’s simple, yet effective.

I’m so glad you’re here.

Nikki

p.s. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!