The world is different today.

The world is different today.  It is aware of the hurt, it is aware of repercussions, it is aware of the need for change.  This day is different.   It has the ability to be a day when we take a stand for the injustice and infuse a new level of kindness into our lives. Today is a fresh start, it is an opportunity and today is a blank canvas that the world can write change on.      

When the choice to be strong is taken away from you, an inner revelation begins to occur.  The discovery of an unknown source of strength filters through your thoughts and actions.  It inspires hope and pulls together broken piece in an effort to prove something/someone wrong.

This strength could be seen in the solidarity that was felt on social media yesterday, in an almost tangible way.  The world faces a future that we have the power to change by continuing that solidarity and beginning to change the way we think and react to those around us. The disasters in the world and the overwhelming heartache that occurs daily, but was highlighted yesterday, give us, as members of humanity a choice to respond.  We are in need of new strength.  We are in need of so much more than just kindness but it is a good place to start.

In this world we suffer and we strive for things that bring us purpose, often at the expense of people. But what the world doesn't seem understand is that kindness takes courage but has the potential to change lives, and doesn't cost a thing.


This immense pain that echoes with fear, leaves us feeling broken, but we not destroyed, we are hurt, but we are resilient.  The beautiful thing about people is their ability to find strength in the weakest of places.   

Martin Luther King Jr said it best, " Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."

We on our own strength can't commit to love everyday.   We aren't programmed to be able to do that effortlessly. But, we have the ultimate example of love in Jesus who shows us unending, undeserved love.

Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability but come through continuous struggle. 

Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Power of Focus

I want to address "focus."  It is a term we throw around in life and in photography (I am in charge of the obvious today). It is a word that defines a good photo, or a good work ethic. We focus on the task at hand, focus on driving, focus on our problems, on success, on our families, our friends, our significant others.... focus is a great thing.   It allows what is most important in our lives to take center stage and the other things to fade into the background.  

I realised today as I was sitting in a coffee shop that I live most of my life lately extremely focused.   Much like a camera in "auto focus"  I find the things closest to me to focus on not realising that life is happening in the background. In a very determined manner I grabbed my coffee and sat down on a pale green bench facing the outside world.  It was only after a very sweet looking older gentleman with a walker, mentioned to me that I was "working hard" that I looked up.  I realised in that moment that I was hyper focussed.  I need to learn to widen my focus.  Doing so wouold allow me to become aware of the life that was being lived infront of me, and open me up to possibly blessing those around me, like that older gentlemen, with a kind word or smile.   

I think this realisation has been brewing for a while, because I had inclings of it as I hiked the other day.   When I hike, I power hike.  I put on my determination and b-line it up all the hills.    I waste no time, because in my mind I think a good hill is a hill I'm on top of.  I rarely stop to enjoy the scenery or the viewpoints because my focus takes over and I am determined to overcome this here mountain.  

I focus so much that I live my life looking down, watching my feet, watching my phone, watching my computer....This kind of focus can be so great but it also can become a crutch or a handicap.  It prohibits encounters with the unplanned or the people that enter our lives.   

So here is the challenge:  

Take a second.   Take a deep breath.   And take in all your surroundings...  become aware of the people in your life that you've allowed to slip into the background and adjust your focus for a moment.    This perspective will do nothing but bless you and those around you. 

Lessons about Truth.

I woke up this morning spinning.  The truth is, I should have probably stopped 3 red solo cups of wine earlier.   So as my feet hit the ground I regretted everything instantaneously.  My head was spinning, the lack of food in my stomach made me feel weak, and I felt like everything was moving in slow-mo. "I am pretty sure this is what a zombie feels like", I thought as I forced my feet forward,   nearly dead on the inside and dead-looking on the outside.  It was one of those mornings that you really wished you could sleep through.

I stumbled upon a meme the other day, it was talking about how there should be gold stars for university students... they'd say " Good for you, you finished that paragraph"  or "Good for you, you washed your hair today!"   I feel like there should be gold stars like that for simply being an adult and dealing with adult things.   I have to keep telling myself " Good for you Alexa, you put pants on today..."  Or "You ate half a cookie!  Well done," because life is hard, and sometimes you need all the encouragement you can get.

Fast forward 4 hours, I am sitting a work with washed hair, clean clothes and makeup on.  (That's at least 4 gold stars!)   I'm pondering what this day will look like... and what sort of surprises await me.   I sit with myself and search for that inner peace, and strain to hear for the voice of truth speaking into my life.

I read the First 15 devotional almost everyday, and today it talks about truth.   We believe things to be true about ourselves - things that we filter through our own skewed human perspective.   But I believe that God wants us to believe things to be true about ourselves by solely filtering them through His eyes. With that Godly perspective anything is possible.