It's the Pause

A good friend and photography mentor/teacher for a number of years teasingly told me that I was doing a good job of going into career fields where I wasn't going to find any work. 

He's right! I have to be EXCEPTIONAL to sell pretty pictures and get paid to write good stories. 

In a world where five year old kids have cell phones and only generations before me are really reading the newspaper, I even have to wonder what in Hades I'm doing. 

And I know.

I'm pausing.

We've become a spontaneous society of instant gratification greedy people. Everything happens in the now, and its always good enough, even when its not. 

So why do I keep trying? 

Because I still believe in the element of surprise. Because I like the moments in between doing the work and seeing the work done. Because in our busy, busy world, I like to stop for a minute, a calculated period of time, and pause. 

©CherieElaine2018

Little kids are really good at pausing. We are constantly telling them to hurry, come on, do it now! But when they pause, they can see flowers in the weeds. They experience great satisfaction in carefully pausing to pick one ready dandelion to be given flight, and then blowing the seeds into the next realm. When did we quit picking dandelions? 

So many people (I am not exempt) are so focused on instant gratification, and thus, self-indulgence, that if a text message isn't answered immediately, they are on the rampage, and often will assume something is wrong. Maybe, just maybe, like mine often is, the recipient's phone is just silenced, and turned upside down until they feel like looking at the blasted thing. 

Why do I write with a pen? Why do I lug 35 pounds of camera equipment around with me every day? So that I can pause, so that I can intentionally vacate the busy world around me and just breathe in the moment. 

What makes you pause? A pretty woman? A familiar voice? A piece of cake? A beautiful painting? A good book? The ideas for pausing are endless. You just have to find your pause. 

I'm very selfish with my mornings. I have a hard time waking up but I LOVE morning quiet, so I get up a couple extra hours earlier than I need to so that I can meditate, listen to soft music and write in my journal. The day gets away from me so fast that I sometimes do all of my pausing first thing in the day. I've learned that I NEED that and the sacrifice of sleep has made me a better, stronger, gentler woman than I used to be. 

Today I just want to encourage you to pause. The rat race won't leave you behind, it will just lap you and come around again to trap you in it. Take a minute. Just pause..... 

©CherieElaine2018