One thing I’m learning is that I’m always learning. Funny how we can start to believe that we have it all figured out and then something happens to remind us that well…we just don’t. This weekend I had some really great conversations with other creatives about the temptation to make our lives about our art or our industry. It is easy, after all, since often times your very name is at the center of your business and everything you produce. We can begin to feel that what we create is an extension of ourselves and in many ways it is. It is our eye, our vision, our perspective…our creation. If it fails, we fail. If it succeeds, we succeed. The danger with this is however a serious one and two-fold. The first is the tragedy of losing boundaries and the second is close to it…becoming to self-focused. I have felt the effects of both in my career thus far. The temptation to work too much, talk too much ‘shop,’ burden myself with too much pressure, worry too much about being the best, take criticism to personally and worse…take praise too seriously.
As I said though, I am always learning. This weekend was a gift in that regard. Not only did I get to have a ‘normal’ weekend with friends and off from work, but I got to see the benefit of having boundaries. I’m not perfect at this, actually far from it, but I am learning the freedom that comes from not making my life about photography and my business. Saturday I got to celebrate one of my best friends birthday’s by sharing a table with some of the dearest women in my life. This was followed by something else I LOVE to do…country two-stepping (yes I know that stereotypes me more than I like but I don’t care). Keep in mind this was a SATURDAY!!! Sunday I got to share another table with more amazing women as we shared hearts on the back porch over brunch. We talked about struggles, joys and laughed at things other people may not understand. One of my fellow wedding photographers sat across from me and she, having experienced the very same battle, encouraged me to find balance. Balance between loving what you do and then doing life with people outside of it. It was a sweet reminder to me that there is more than photography. And sometimes, well sometimes it’s better to enjoy the moments rather than capture them. At the end of the day, I want my life to be about more than just my photography. This my friends, I’m learning, is called boundaries.
I’m confident that the days ahead of pursuing ‘balance and boundaries’ won’t be perfect, but as I head in to a new year of business, I am determined to keep it a priority.
So, in the name of tables, friendships, boundaries and balance,
I Say, Take Me Back!
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