Snowy morning, December 19, 2013, 16*F. Leica M8
…and a few days later, December 22. 68*F. Very weird. Leica M8
Christmas is here and all through the house it is very quiet. The cat plays with her tail, my mother sits in the living room reading the New York Times. Tonight is Christmas Eve and we are having a Mexican dinner–pork quesadillas, guacamole, salad and a candied pumpkin dessert. The tree is up, decorated and there are presents beneath its bangled branches.
The best gifts this year have not been material. They have been the deep changes I have felt within myself and how I perceive the world. This, in turn, gives me the opportunity to respond in new ways. I am not always familiar with these aspects, nor am I always comfortable, but they are for the best and I feel have improved as a human as a result. Here are some off the top of my head…
— My role as a teacher is not to reward or punish via the archaic system of “grades” so common today. I am there to guide, lift up and hopefully inspire.
— My own work is a testament to long labor, arduous and fulfilling. I am grateful to have been able to have an exhibition of my photography this year. I am also grateful to have been allowed to exhibit it in a place I love–Paros and The Aegean Center for the Fine Arts.
— My future is unknown and uncertain. The best I can do is show up and be part of life’s rich pageant.
— That’s OK most of the time.
Merry Christmas and have a lovely New Year!
JDCM