I’ve Been Hiding Out Like the Face in the Flower

“Is it Over?” asked the Lysianthus bud who had wanted to open up and be full and beautiful.

Lisianthus flower - bud at end of broken stem

This bud and flower, with the query, have been sitting on my desktop for several weeks waiting for me to take action and send them to you…simply, sadly waiting.

Pink Lisianthus flowerThen I came across these photos from one of the very early issues of Picture to Ponder in February 2005.

Tropical Bromeliad with Hidden Face

Do you see the almost “hidden” face? When I recently looked at the photo I did not see it initially, even after I read that it was there.  It was in “hiding”.

Hidden Face in Tropical Bromeliad

Then it hit me that I, too, have been “hiding out”… from you my community whom I’ve so appreciated over the years… some who have been here from the beginning 14 years ago coming up in December!  And, I’ve been hiding out from myself.

Going back over the past years, I found comments many readers and people whom I’ve coached had made, often about the differences my photos, stories and queries had sparked in them.

MY STORY AND DISCOVERIES
Some of the story behind this is that I was operating under the assumption that readers expected me to follow the format originally set up – a photo, or photos…description and/or story of it/them….then one, or more, Self-Reflecting Queries.  Added to that was one or more relevant Relationship Tips when I added/converted to Treasure Your Life Now as the title.

Although I’ve continued to take “eye-catcher” photos, they weren’t sparking “Queries” for me, as such, so rather than continue to “struggle” with not living into “readers’ (presumed) expectations”, I stopped writing and publishing “Photos and Queries”.

I forgot that I was the one who had set the “rules”, not you. And  I NEVER checked them out with you or gave you a chance to experience satisfaction with my work however you wished to receive it.

I’ve not followed one of my own persistent themes throughout the Picture to Ponder history, “Always check with those with whom you are communicating exactly what it is they ARE thinking or saying before interacting with the from what you assume it is.”

SELF-REFLECTION QUERIES FOR YOU
I invite you to look into your life… Are there any places where you’ve been stopping/hiding out based on your assumptions of what another person, or other people, are expecting from you?  If so, I invite you to check this out with them.

With that, I’d also like to hear what it is you would like to see from me… how I can be supporting you in fulfilling your life’s desires. See YOUR UPDATES below.

MY STORY – LEADING TO THE FUTURE
RE, my first question, “Is it over?”

No, Treasure Your Life Now Ezine and blog is not over.  With this post I simply want to say, I am back. I will share my “noticings”… sometimes including links to videos I’ve been creating in a variety of ways. I’ve especially been loving the iMovie app on my iPhone.

In the over a year since I’ve communicated here, despite feeling somewhat bored with it, I’ve continued taking photos of wood knots and other images as they caught my eye on my walks.

And then I finally started taking photos again in my home of flowers, cut fruits and vegetables. I began to really feel myself becoming more alive!  Once again I was having fun noticing all kinds of different images in the shapes and textures as I played with pieces and particles.

To get a sense of what I’ve been experiencing, I invite you to “meet me” in “Beauty and Play – Red Onion and Some Hair“. Tap/click on the link or on the image below:
Beauty and Play - Red Onion and Some Hair - VideoAs I explored I continued more noticing and discovering that shriveled up pieces of vegetables became resilient again when I hydrated them. Then I, too, became more resilient, excited and alive.

It’s the wanting to share that with others that had me start doing more videos, experimenting with different ways of creating them. I will include a video with the hydration story in the next post.

I will also be announcing my upcoming expanded course known, in the past, to increase creativity, left brain and right brain activity, as we explore different elements in our worlds using our cameras… shift perspectives, resulting in fun, play and ease in life in general and even more quickly find alternative solutions to everyday challenges that crop up.

YOUR UPDATES
I would love to read what’s happening with you and your responses to what I’ve shared here.  Please comment in the REPLY space below this post.


Comments

I’ve Been Hiding Out Like the Face in the Flower — 4 Comments

    • Thanks so much, Ellen. I appreciate your comments and support. It’s been heartwarming to see so many familiar names who’ve opened the email… some of whom have emailed me directly to say they were glad to see me back, always appreciating my words and photos.

  1. Welcome home, Sheila and thank you for your sensitive words and beautiful photos. Most of all, thank you for revealing your personal struggle and breakthrough,visibility vs hiding out
    .
    I love the moment you realized the faces you frequently see hiding out in your photos was a message to you: no more hiding out.

    As your friend and colleague, I always appreciate your authenticity and welcome you back to your heart, doing what you love and sharing the gift you arewith the public.

    • Thanks so much for your beautiful, encouraging words and response, Shellie. Also, I’m now reflecting on your overall comment on my seeing faces in various images. Usually I see them in the things I photograph, before taking in pictures. It’s the seeing them that “triggers” my taking the photo in the first place. After taking the photo and then looking at in the camera screen or computer, I often see other faces and imagery.

      With all this, I never even had the thought to take them as messages about hiding out. It was only when I could not find the face in this particular flower photographed 12 or 13 years ago. It was only in reading about it in my post that had me do a search for it. It was then that the “hiding out” thought and analogy surfaced. Now you’ve given me something more to consider…

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