Refinement

A lot has changed since I started this blog 5 years ago. I can’t even remember the reason I started writing here, but I think that’s for the best. The thing is, I hardly recognize the person who originally wanted a place to pen her thoughts. I think that’s what I always wanted this to be, a kind of diary that I could look back on to relive adventures and use to help me improve my photography which has always been my true love. But in an effort to thin things out in every category in my life, I want to be more purposeful in what I post here. The ramblings of yesteryear and how busy I always seemed to be are fine in retrospect, but I want to make this a more interesting and useful read. I’m longing for a sense of refinement in all areas of my life.

You can only talk about how busy you are so often before it becomes a bit of a broken record, and I don’t want to bore you, or let’s face it, myself by always repeating the same things that in reality we are all dealing with. I realized that most of the time spent here, writing or otherwise was spent saying a lot of nothing at all. One day as I sat down to type out another similar post, I found I had run out of things to say, and so I buried my head in books. I traveled, I started trying new things and working harder on the things that make me happy. Hopefully to return with something of interest, some tidbit of experience or wisdom to share. Anything different than what had started to turn into a nasty habit.

I want to focus more on shifting the spotlight in my life to the things that make me happy. This is a balancing act that I’m still trying to fine tune. My job is what pays for me to do what I love, so while it may not be the dream place for me, I have to remember that it affords me the luxury of doing the thing that makes me truly happy as long as time can be found for it. Finding my favorite things in life and sticking to them like a trusty hat or your favorite shirt. You know it wasn’t made specifically for you, but that doesn’t change the feeling that it was when you put it on.

The reality is I am at a point in my life where if it serves no purpose, I’d rather take it out of the equation. There is enough clutter and there are enough “things” in life already. Recently, I find myself holding less tightly on to my possessions and more closely to the aspirations and the people that push and inspire me every day.

I have been incredibly lucky in the opportunities given to me by this little place I’ve created and tweaked over the years, and I couldn’t imagine abandoning it. I just want to make it a brighter space for myself and those visiting. This new outlook feels much more sound and I hope, in the long run, rewarding on both sides.