Sunday Phone Drop - 10.2

This week has been one for the books. I know you are getting access to this on Monday, but when you are up on the top of a mountain in the middle of Utah, the internet is suspect at best. So, today shall suffice. Since a week ago, I have traveled from Wyoming to Idaho to Utah and had a lovely time with my husband hanging out in Jacksonhole, just resting and catching up on work and then spending a few days in Salt Lake City where I headed out to the Salt Flats with my friend and BIBC facilitator, Sara Condie! We had a really good time together and shockingly, it wasn’t super busy so we managed to get some glorious shots! Then it was time to head up to Welton Woods for the Unraveled Academy retreat. This was my first time meeting the Unraveled crew in real life (I have done some online courses for them in the past!) and not only were they super friendly and welcoming, they had rented this massive, gorgeous cabin to help make the weekend incredible for our attendees. Over the past 3 days, we hiked hills, photographed, created, cried, and shared stories and experiences. We had some beautiful meditations that brought up some interesting things. #1: The first meditation we did was to confront our creative obstacles or blocks and what floated to the surface of my subconscious was how folks used to tell me that photography and writing were not “real” jobs. Specifically I saw my Uncle who always makes cutting remarks. #2: The next meditation we did outside, sitting around a fare and this one was a guided one to introduce us to the answers we seek. It started off with us seeing the folks who support us the most and I SOBBED. I saw Madi (my niece), Cori (my sister), Jill, Beth, Stephanie, Jen, Amy, Nancy (my friends) beaming and smiling at me at the end of the path. Then we had to walk down a path with our “safety” being (my husband!) and open a door. The building I pictured was a beautiful tarnished glass greenhouse with wrought iron metal and when I opened the door I saw an older version of myself. The question I had asked myself was “What am I supposed to be doing?” Old me said “Follow th joy, it will get you where you need to go next, but be okay when it changes again.” and then I hugged myself. It was incredibly beautiful and heartfelt. We capped off the weekend with everyone sharing their obstacles and blocks and then burning them in the fire. Of course, throughout the week, there was also a ton of shooting and I taught folks about the intersection of body image + self portraits and encouraged them to get creative!