My Favorite Photos of 2016

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 Thanks to my photography mentors, Shannon Kalahan and David Pasillas, I explored, experimented  and expanded my photography abilities in 2016. I feel I actually captured - less is more, rather than just giving the concept lip service.

Serenity Canon EOS IDS Mark III 90mm T/S 1/640 f11 ISO 100

Mediterranean Blue Canon EOS IDS Mark III 400mm 1/200 f7.1 ISO 100

I chose Serenity as the image of the year, with Mediterranean Blue on the favorite list of 16, all of which you can view at  www.mySCGpriorities.com/photography-best-of-2016. 

I also was able to build on my painterly tendencies with Impressions from Topaz. I feel I am finding my photographic self, and it feels good.

Maine Roadway Hasselblad Stellar 10.4mm 1/250 sec f5.6 ISO 125

Thanks to BCA (Burlington Community Arts), Art Works frame shop and gallery, and Dealer.com, representing my images to their publics - they have been my primary distribution of large printed images (outside of friends and family) to walls in homes and businesses. My desire is to multiply representatives ten-fold. Please consider representing my images or sharing, to solicit those who you know may have such an interest. I have created a page on this web-site called  Representative's for your viewing my favorite images over the last six years and the cost for prints thereof.  My main photography web-site, www.mesipe.com is the best source for a complete viewing of my images, which is organized by my strongest interests of water and trees.

Thank you for your interest and support.

 

 

 

 

 

The Greatest Love of All

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Whitney Houston's The Greatest love of all is one of my favorite songs.....I love the message - "learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all". Take a listen https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-iry-fullyhosted_011&hsimp=yhs-fullyhosted_011&hspart=iry&p=the+song+the+greatest+love#id=1&vid=a142ac48c9cf2a791fd46129f2c956fd&action=click

I call this Self-realization - one of the three Love Priorities (Connecting and Giving are the other two), which is the basis of this blog . 

Self-realizing is the biggest Love of the three Love Priorities - Devine driven, I believe, and harder to grasp, as a principles-based priority, than Connecting and Giving. The words Connecting and Giving are almost synonymous with Love. But, what does Self-realizing mean? You think about Maslow's latter and self-actualization or psychology mambo-jumbo. Maybe there is a better word to use. Let me know if you have one. I know some are turned-off by the term self-realizing, and i would like not to contribute to that.

What is clear to me, though, are the benefits of Self-realizing - Learning, Serving and Mentoring - the three activities of Self-realizing means loving what you do to contribute and make a difference in your world, to the best of your ability - a purpose you love and feel passionate about; your uniqueness ...and the realization of your unique good - your personal feeling of success. Your extent of success with self-realizing is not measured by the money you have, the number of children you have raised, or any other material "thing" that the "public" uses to judge others or, for that matter, we use to judge ourselves - it is a feeling of well-being, that we are doing our unique good, to the best of our ability, in the present, regardless if we are 23 or 103. 

For this 70 year old and my passion of photography, I can report that I feel 2016 was a year of much well-being - Other areas too - I feel good about myself, but let's just stick to photography in this short blog.

Maine Roadway Hasselblad Stellar 10.4mm 1/250 sec f5.6 ISO 125 captured moving 60 mph.

I am learning much about photography. I have started to offer (serve) my best. And, I don't know if I will ever mentor, or teach anyone much about photography. I however, consider this blog my mentoring, using photography as a metaphor, while talking about the Love Priorities, which, I am unknowenly, driven to do. 

For the artist...... maybe for everything we love to do, maintaining a spirit of continual learning, growing, and offering our best, regardless how shity others think our results, is a major component in personal well-being. Keep up the shity work and, if you love it enough to learn, grow and serve, you will find more admirers! And, if you love it enough, maybe it doesn't make any difference what others think anyway.

 

Etna Foothills Canon 1DS Mark III 24mmT/S 1/60 sec f11 ISO 100

2014 and 2015 were years I learned more about black and white and split-toning . I like the results of split-toning, but didn't do much with it in 2016. I moved to what felt right in 2016.  I have always loved a painterly look in my images and, in 2016, I was introduced by Light and Landscape magazine members group mentors David and Shannon, to the Topaz plug-in that gave me the ability to add more of that painterly look I love. I am now spending more time processing  my images, to get the look I love, than I do in capturing them......and I love it!

 

 

Water Wonderland

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All natural living existence depend on water - clean water - unpolluted by harmful waste or land product run-off. Having grown up in Minnesota pristine and moved to much of the same, in the beautiful Champlain Valley of Vermont, I took clean water for granted. I wasn't personally affected by "dirty" water, until recently, when I started to look around, photograph, and ask a few questions. 

Lake Cloud Canon EOS 1DS Mark III 420mm ISO 100

Lake Champlain has become more and more polluted by excessive phosphorous runoff from water flowing across land, from the Adirondack and Green mountains, through the brooks, streams, rivers, valleys and streets to our drinking water, and our fishing, swimming and boating in Lake Champlanin. 

I have always loved to photograph water. Capturing beautiful images in the Lake Champlain Basin (a very large and wonderful watershed) has now become a passion - a passion to capture the beauty of water in it's natural environment. I  photographed Champlain beauty during the floods of 2011, the droughts of 2012 and 2016, and the dramatic clouds of 2013 and 2014. I started shooting tributaries of The Lake in 2015 and I love it - a variable water wonderland..

I am now  challenged to capture the "toxic sublime" of algae. This I do not like. I wouldn't do it,  if it wasn't for the benefits of drawing attention to the problem, for me and others, so we will get educated about EPA (Environmental Personal Accountability). It is important for me "to do my part"; take "personal responsibility" by attracting viewers and readers to OUR BASIN OF RELATIONS: Celebrating a Culture of Clean Water in the Champlain Basin, a forthcoming coffee table book, www.champlainbasinrelations.wordpress.com, which will include informative and interesting writings by many people in the know, and fifty or so of my favorite Lake Champlain Basin images. I desire to impassion your action to clean water, without needing the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) pushed down regulations. We, the users - home owners, farmers, builders, boaters, fishers, pet lovers, and others, can do this, by doing what we need to do as we learn more about what that means.

 

Burlington Bay Bloom PhaseOne IQ 180 35mm 1/4sec f18 ISO 35

Clean water means the world to me - water touches me on all levels - mind, body and soul! Water brought me out of dehydration, twice. My PT, while in-hospital rehabilitation for my Stroke, suggested drinking a glass of water an hour - wow - can't do it, but that says a lot about how important water is to our health. A cold glass of water on a hot summer day beats a cold beer, under the same conditions, anytime......well, maybe not. But, I would hate not to have that cold, clean glass of water available when I want it.

My love and passion for being around water, in nature, and capturing a moment of beauty, to have and hold in site, touches me deeply. I can't explain it, but it "completes" me! Every time I think about the native american reverence of nature I feel the rightness of that. My reverence for water and nature are growing and it is good. I am now going for a walk and listen to Thoreau. 

 

It was The Worst of Times. It was The Best of Times.

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Alzheimer's, Stroke, Cancer and a sprinkling of depression is a  recipe for a bad year.... potentially. This was 2016. Actually, with the bad stuff came good - We are managing the memory issues without outside help. I have 85% recovered from the June 10th stroke. And, the lucky catch on Patty's malignant melanoma was eradicated with a single surgery.

Mostly, for me, it was a year filled with love and growth.....maybe, partly, as a result of the bad stuff presented. I am delighted with my increased sensitivity and feelings of love. I repeatedly, daily, express my love to Patty - not because I desperately need to be heard, but the wonderful delight in expressing my love for her - A precious time. 

Patty Stellar Christmas Eve 2016

My sister Elizabeth and daughter Bridget each spent about two months in Vermont,  far from their normal surroundings, Italy and Seattle respectively, helping during struggles as a result of my stroke. I really felt the love and am so grateful. Other family members and friends too, in varies ways, continue to express love and support. I am changed forever by the touch of your  love.

I feel all the more resolved that the  Love Priorities blog and related book I wrote: ADVOCATE PLANNING: To Do What You Love To Do, is right....right for me, to better SCG - self-realize, connect and give. Purpose. Passion. Contribution.

Great growth this year for me, despite....or maybe due to, the hardships.

I let go of my professional planning career - three years after retirement from private practice. I think it took the stroke for it to happen. I let go of trying to influence the planning community to focus on priorities planning. I ceremoniously tossed a number of books, rather than soliciting professionals to read and apply the precepts. That being said, I would not change a word in ADVOCATE PLANNING; To Do What You Love To Do, except maybe the title - I would now call it THE LOVE PRIORITIES: Your Passion and Purpose. I must have given forty copies away to various care givers  during my PT! I have a few paper copies left. I get great pleasure from giving it away, especially when I hear that it connected, one way or another. I made a PDF, free download of the book on this site, for that purpose. 

My top priority now is Patty....and that feels good. More focused - Less stressed - Purpose and Privilege. I added patience to my mantra, but the affirmation doesn't always work!

My photography, surprising to me, improved this year, even with six months of finding my legs....again, maybe because of the stroke - having to learn to walk again and appreciating the gift of mobility. My sensitivity to natural beauty is heightened.  And, thanks to VCWN (Vermont Clean Water Network), my understanding of the value and beauty of water has advanced. I, more than ever, appreciate  the ability to capture natural beauty and a feeling to hold in sight. Thank you David Pasillas and Shannon Kalahan for your mentoring to help present what I feel.

Merry Christmas to all and to all - my love and gratitude! And, may you live your love priorities in 2017....always.

I hope to see Basin of Relations: celebrating a culture of clean water in the Lake Champlain basin published in 2017. Trevien Stanger, environmentalist, editor and curator, has nearly ten writers to accompany about fifty of my images for the coffee table book. Follow it's progress at www.champlainbasinrelations.wordpress.com

Water is Wonderful - "that's for sure rain-man" Thank You

 

 

 

Even the Smallest Stone makes a Ripple

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It's Hallmark station time-of-the-year again! I love it. The last one I watched was about a lovely young nurse in a small town in 1945 who thought she lost her husband in the war and had no reason to live, as she was reading to a young sick boy, caring for others and returning a lost dog in a snow storm. Of course there was a comet that night that somehow took her 71 years forward - a Wonderful Life type thing - sort of.  Before she left for 2016, a wise, older nurse said to the young nurse in a funk, "even the smallest stone makes a ripple". The rest of the story was about how she made a big difference in peoples lives with the smallest of acts with her obvious love of others.

Ripple Reed Reflection PhaseOne IQ 180 240mm 1/8 sec f16 ISO 35                                   

Everything always turns out well (and good) in a Hallmark movie (her husband actually didn't die). Often the Hallmark messages are powerful, as they relate to SCG - Love of self and love of others - Something one may find solace in, after such damning antics with the elections.

Love is the an.....an...swer!

                                                                                                                                                                            

What If There Was No Water?

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Rhetorical, yes.....but just image. No, you can't - everything living depends on it! Precious - Premium - $5 a bottle, at an airport. I wouldn't be without it. I love it.

I was sad to see Johnny Brook at Fays Corner not running this fall.

Johnny Brook at Fays Corner - dry PhaseOne IQ 180 80mm 1sec f7.1 ISO 35

Johnny Brook at Fays Corner PhaseOne IQ 180 80 mm 120sec f14 ISO 35

Johnny Brook at Fays Corner PhaseOne IQ 180 80 mm 120sec f14 ISO 35

The image, without the falls, is scary - I show it here for affect only. The image has no "flow" without the falls - it's a reject, as a photograph.

Huntington River Falls 2 Drought PhaseOne IQ 180 30sec f12 ISO 35

Huntington River Falls Hasselblad Stellar10.4mm 1/20sec f4 ISO 100

Water levels, in the Champlain Basin, are low, very low. Lake Champlain hasn't been at these levels since 1941. There is such a delicate balance in nature. I remember, and treasure, my shooting of the floods in 2011 and then, unbelievably, the drought of 2012 - How can it be so drastic from one year to the next?.......and then this, in 2016. One expert commentator said, "it's not the droughts I worry about, it's the floods - since the 60's it's the high water levels that concern me". God only knows - That's for sure rain-man. We deserve to keep every bit of the gift of water we get CLEAN!

Unruly, Enigma

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Some referred to me as the enigma, while us CPA partners at MHA & Co. were struggling with issues in the early 90's. I am proud to be called an enigma - mystery, puzzle, question, .........well, maybe not "problem". (I googled the word). Enigmas are different, unique, aren't they? That is how I interpret enigma - unique. Since the 90's, I have ran with - celebrating uniqueness.  In fact, I made it centerpiece in my mantra - "Love in the Moment .... contribute my uniqueness; accept my uniqueness, as well as that of others, with respect, patience and a sense of humor".

Nurturing and planning to one's uniqueness became a major thrust of my financial planning practice, culminating in my treatise ADVOCATE PLANNING; To Do What You Love To Do (free download from this blog site www.MySCGpriorities.com.) We all should be so lucky to know, nurture, and celebrate our uniqueness!

I was keenly attracted to Sieur de Monts, at Acadia National Park, both, last year and this, while photographing in the park. I didn't really understand why, until recently, when I processed Unruly, with the help of David and Shannon, my mentors at Light and Landscape magazine members group. 

Unruly PhaseOne IQ 180 120mm 1/3 sec f16 ISO 35 Topaz filter

Last year I attended a PhaseOne Photo workshop, with mostly professionals, and everyone walked though the swampy boardwalk area, without capturing an image, accept me. 

Sieur de Monts Boardwalk PhaseOne IQ 180 120mm 1/6 sec f16 ISO 35

I was uniquely attracted to the area - to make sense of the unruly birch and brush. I am attracted to the birch and brush going, uniquely, every which way. Might I be personally identifying with the stubbornness to naturally "fall in line"?

My favorite image of the year may very well be Birch Berries and Brush, captured just yards away from Unruly and Boardwalk. (I presently have 15  candidates for favorites of 2016. I have little over a month to add to the list, before I post my selections. I hope you will view my choices.) I Love it!

Birch Berries and Brush PhaseOne iQ 180 1/3 sec f16 ISO 35

Translucent

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I want to share "Translucent".

Translucent PhaseOne IQ 180 35 mm 1/40 sec f22 ISO 35

I was driving home from "the land" one stormy day last week, fall colors still strong, and the sun peaked through, back-lighting the scene above, I call it Translucent. I braked, turned around, and captured the wonderful light passing through the brilliant Maples, during the five minutes the sun lit up the trees.

It's been a great fall for photography. As I mentioned in a previous post, I tend to favor more muted colors in my images, www.mesipe.com, (see new prints or trees) because they have, for me, more staying power, printed big and hung on the wall. Translucent is no exception, but it caught my attention, for now - present impact. I love it.

A week and the the leaves will be down, ready to receive the beautiful white rain. 

The Best Fall....ever!

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I had a chance to photograph, thank God, a lot this October www.mesipe.com. I do not remember an October more spectacular than this for photography......and I'm 70. Maybe my appreciation is heighten, having lost (and mostly regained) my ability to walk, with my June 10th stroke now in the past..

Field of Dreams PhaseOne IQ 180 120mm 1/25th f12 ISO 35 stitched and filtered

I love to walk the woods and photograph in Fall. I focused on rivers and streams of the  Champlain basin this year, knowing that is a element lacking in my images for Lake Champlain, Our Basin of Relations - a culture of clean water, a forthcoming coffee table book that environmentalist, editor and lead writer, Trevien Stanger will bring real value to. A book website has recently been launched at www.champlainbasinrelations.wordpress.com. I have 50 of so images I have preliminarily identified for the book at www.mesipe.com at the menu - Lake Champlain Project/book fifty?

I love the image (above), Field of Dreams, It is where the family photo studio is planned.....and (just to tie it into the river thing) Johnny Brook is just beyond the trees in the foreground. Johnny brook leads to the Winooski River, which is a major tributary for Lake Champlain. 

 

Acadia Fall

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Birch Berries Brush PhaseOne IQ 180 120mm 1/3 sec f16 ISO 35

No, I didn't fall while at Acadia National Park in Maine last weekend - thanks to Bridget, who stayed close to my side and nurtured me over any questionable terrain. Fall, the season, was like last year - I was there at the same time of the year, for a photo workshop - not very much color. However, the color driving home through western Maine, New Hampshire and north eastern Vermont was spectacularly colorful.

River's Edge PhaseOne IQ 180 80mm 1/3 sec f16 ISO 35

Bright fall colors are nice to see, but hard to capture for lasting viewing - at least for me. I tend to like more monochromatic scenes with subtle versus vibrant colors. See www.mesipe.com, New Prints, to see a few more images I like from my first, post stroke, journey back to Acadia National Park.

It was unbelievably special to walk, see and capture natural beauty last weekend, with Bridget, Robin, Melissa and the two Light and Landscape professional mentors - Shannon and David. I got to tell you, if you like to take photos and want to learn more about photography, you need to check out Light and Landscape magazine (free digital magazine) and their member group. I was one of the founding members of the photo group; it is a new group. Being new and early on allows me to have great access to photo help, inexpensively- from basic stuff to detailed how to's with Photoshop, Lightroom and valuable plug-ins. See wwwLightandLandscape.co. It's a real value for beginner hobbyists to professionals. 

The Value of an Argument.

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NONE, as I see it. Oh, there may be value to one or the other to be able to vent anger to a another person, but let's call that expressing anger......and I would think that the other(s) would actually be listening - a place for anger to land is likely to have some value, as the ability to get it off your chest has some value. An argument though is just people yelling at each other, sometimes simultaneously, with no interest in listening to the other side - unlike a debate, where at least you have a third party listening, where maybe, with open minds, someone learns something. When I hear people with opposing sides, yelling at each other, at the same time, I throw up, change the channel or move away...and escape with my photography..

I hate arguments, simultaneous yelling. We must think the louder we yell the more we are heard. Really? It's a turn off to me, maybe stemming from hearing my dad yell a lot. I guess that is a little different then an argument, though - you didn't dare yell back at my dad, with your disagreement, without expecting a major consequence. Yelling is the sign for me to move on....unless it is me yelling: then I want someone to say - "It's ok Mike, you are always right". 

Vase Full View PhaseOne IQ 180 120mm 3 sec f18 Photo Painting 75%

Arguing is a waste of time, making no connection, especially the louder you yell. I am not going to waste anymore  time talking about it. I am up for more and better connecting, though. 

I love to connect with my photography. I took this image a couple hours ago and it connects with me. The vase was a gift from our son Michael. I appreciate it more with this capture. It's beautiful and so are the flowers. I  don't have to go far to find beauty. Although, being able to drive, after having my stroke in June, will be a special treat, I hope to have the privilege to do in October. Here i come, my New England.

Balance

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How long can you stand on one leg?

Black Crested Night Heron Canon EOS IDS Mark III 600mm 1/500 sec f16 ISO 320

I suspect not as long as the Heron above. I was surprised when I googled the subject. I am curious because I am just now finding some, post-stroke, success with standing on one leg or the other. I found that on the average, the ability to stand on one leg or the other diminishes dramatically after your fifties - It goes from about 40 seconds, with eyes open, in your fifties and below 20 seconds, on average, in your 70's. And, with your eyes closed, you can divide those numbers by 3!

Wow. I hear this diminishing result is not necessarily destiny - it is the result of sitting much more, on average, after your fifties. Maybe it is time to take up Yoga......that is, after I get through Rehab. By the way, I am shooting to get to about 20 seconds before the end of Rehab and 40 seconds with much personal challenge after formal rehab.

Change

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I hate change. I love change. Which is it? It depends.....on my mood at the moment! Maybe it is about attitude, and with a little help, I can decide on the attitude I have. I know this to be true.

Thunderbirds 2 Canon EOS 1DS Mark III 400mm 1/1600 sec f16 ISO 400 

On August 14th I had my first, post-stroke, photo outing, assisted by my sister Elizabeth. It was an air-show over Lake Champlain. The clouds were great. The Thunderbirds were impressive. I scared everyone around me, including myself, when my excitement got the best of me as the Thunderbirds flew directly over head, and I wobbled crazily when I stood without aid and panned the camera, with a 400mm lens attached, trying to catch the expert flyers with a great back-drop. I could have sat in my "stroller" and watched the show, but I loved the moment by "going for it", instead of being perfectly safe, as some of my OT's would have suggested. Elizabeth was great, allowing me to risk a fall to capture an image I could get excited about. She did keep me clear of the nearby rocks and water though, and I know she had a sigh of relief when the show was over. She said more than once, while here to help over the last two months, "not on my watch" - an obvious statement of responsibility for my well-being.

In the last few years I lost my planning position, moved twice, had a stroke and Patty's presence  is passing. Expressed differently - I received a nice severance from a good acquirer of my practice, with a great four year employee contract. I had time to write of book of appreciation to clients, about thoughts over a long career, dedicating the book to my great life-time advocate - Patty. I have more time for family and fine-art photography in my new wonderful New England surroundings. I can now love each moment I have with Patty with what is, while I recover completely from a short-term inconvenient stroke! 

I choose the love priorities - self-realizing, connecting and giving - to the extent I am given the ability to do so. Life is good!

 

 

Trust is Tricky

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I had a saying with associates - Without Trust there is Nothing - Meaning mostly - why would anyone what to allow us to handle their money without total trust in us? In client surveys Trust always popped to the top as our most important attribute that attracted Clients to us. Trust is a value of character near the top of the list of values for me. 

Fair Trade. Cantania Fish Market. Trust.

The tricky part of trust is - how do you balance trust with reasonable risk, worthy of your taking, to advance your interests. One doesn't want to 'Howard Hughes it' and trust nothing, while sitting  naked in a sanitized room, with nothing but "clean x" to connect with. 

I don't want to mention names, but I am beginning to believe that politicians and the media are the antithesis of trust - saying whatever their particular listeners want to hear, or whatever is necessary to get votes/readership! I think I am changed forever.....I am only looking at collective positions on issues now. knowing that in the long-run people (collectively) will solve the obvious problems  (debt, social security, medicare, social justice, legalities....oh, so many), one way or another. I trust in people - in the long-run, like I trust that stocks will have the highest returns - in the long run. And, I believe we are all dead in the long run and, mostly, I Trust in God.

I asked Nick (the name I gave the imaged person above) if I could take his picture, while at the Catania, Sicily Fish market. I loved the face, the character. He agreed to 2 euro - a fair exchange, I thought, for the second I took to snap the image with my compact. I pulled out all the change I had in my pocket and he said I'll take it all. I said 2 euro - we agreed. He didn't kill me....maybe too many people around for the 15 or so euro I had in my hand - A reasonable risk of trust?

Ripples and Patience

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All ripples matter - regardless how small each seems, seen alone, by oneself....or another. 

Ripples Canon EOS IDS Mark III 420mm 1/60 sec f14 Topaz Painterly

Together, with repetition, in the same direction, ripples chisel stone, and reshape mountains over time. Unbelievable. Wind turns ripples to waves, even hard to navigate sometimes.....but a powerful source, generating energy quicker than one imagines.

I can take this analogy in many directions that come to my mind....and you take it where ever you wish. However, it came to mind, for me, after listening to my great PT person, Jason, talk about repeating and pushing my balancing activities "thousands" of times to be able to walk well again. 

Patience is necessary...and I am focusing learning it, to help me with "things" I am facing. The WIND in my analogy is you, giving me great energy for greater impact - you - who have phoned, texted, emailed, sent cards, or have thought well wishes and encouraging sentiments.

And, I can not thank my sister Elizabeth enough, and my other siblings, who helped sponsor Elizabeth to come from Italy, for two months, to help me stand again, and do the necessary things to get around.  The movie - One Flew Over The Cockoo's Nest, has not been mentioned too many times. Patience Mike - you'll get to the Champlain tributaries again, with your camera, before you know it! I love you. You are the wind behind my wings (trite, I know....but well meant)

Letting Go of Planning Passion - My Mind Set

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It makes sense - letting go of what I can't control....and letting go of wishful thinking about possibilities that can't be supported by my present resources - health, wealth and time, anyway. It is going to be helpful for my healthy Mind, Body and Spirit to let-go of my Principle-based Priorities Planning (PPP) Passion. Be honest. Holding on to the possibility of starting a new chapter of my life-wealth planning profession, by influencing how professional planners relate to client priorities, after abruptly and surprisingly, being terminated from the firm I started, was a way for me to continue how I defined myself - a life-wealth planner with a great new idea - SCG, - Love of self and love of others, by Self-realizing, Connecting, and Giving.

I came to the importance of SCG, for me, late in my career - too bad - I did not have enough time to employ in practice what I  now feel is the most important part of personal financial planning. It is only fair, and right, to note, at this time, that I did sell my practice in  2008, had a great four year employee agreement through 2012, and a severance package thereafter. - I wanted three more years, though, and assumed it would be a no-brainer, with what I had to offer. I planned to retire from practice at 70 (now, in fact - I'm 70 August 8th)  - What was I thinking?  Let it go, already.  

Lake Cloud Canon EOS 1DS Mark III 420mm 125 sec f4 ISO 100 Topaz Painterly 1 75%

FFF - I referred to my passions as the 3 F's - Family, Fine-art Photography, and Financial Planning. I made a big deal out of doing passions as a primary theme of the priority planning process. I talk of passions frequently in ADVOCATE PLANNING; To Do What You Love To Do. No wonder I am having a hard time letting go. I suppose it doesn't  help, either, that I am a border-line planaholic! I frequently made my planning practice a top priority - and, accordingly, frequently was out of balance, in my life. How ironic - now at planned retirement age of 70, I am forced to work on balance, to walk again, and do freely my remaining, Family and Fine-Art Photography, passions,  Re-group Mike.. let go.

I pray to God, that I have the patience and strength to be as good an advocate for Patty, as she has been for me. It is her time to have my focus. The light has clearly been on me - out of balance, most of the time, I suspect. All though, who to say what is to be for why? She nurtured me to learn about balance, even write about it, while encouraging me to do my passions, probably at the cost of her doing some of her passions. And, although I no longer have  the time and health to do all 3 F's properly (after all, I want to capture my image of a life-time), I hope I am dropping my Ffinancial Planning passion for love, for better SCG and not just because I no longer have all the resources I need to do all 3F's - It time to let go of my professional planning passion.

I would like to say that during this next, and maybe last, stage of life, I am no longer a professional financial planner, but a Lover, and a photographer of that which I love. I told someone that and they laughed. I laughed. But, I always wanted to be a good lover, and even though I am thinking a little broader than where your mind may go, I am serious. My passion is still SCG and me (no longer a profession aspect) - the words have always been there, in my mantra......"love people, the process, the positive , the pristine and my passions." May I learn, serve, mentor, explore, relate, play, protect, contribute and transfer, in my own way to be,  as well as I am able, over as many years as I am given. And....I wish for your fulfillment, in your own way to be.

I let go, herewith- There is a cloud over the water, and beyond there is sun light.

Scars -Serenity

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I am being dramatic - I guess that is me now - lying in this damn hospital bed, 25 days out from a stroke that has me queazy, light-headed, and worrying about falling left with every step I take with my walker. I am not feeling sorry for myself, I am mad and know I need to act to heal my scars and to get to serenity.. 

Scars

I am going to let go of that which I have no control. I am not going to change my beliefs, I am going to change my expectations. First to go and Big for me is SCG - Self-realizing, Connecting, and Giving - What I call the Love Priorities. I decided to let go of thinking I can change the planning world, or at least my little professional planning world at my former firm, regarding the planning process with clients, to help them do what they love to do, while  making the best next life-wealth decision.

It's over. I'm retired from private practice. I no longer have ownership, control of the practice, influence on the planning process. No matter how strong I feel about the propriety of "my" planning process, I let go of expecting others to jump on board with focusing on Self-realizing -learning, serving, mentoring, Connecting- exploring, relating, playing. And - Giving -protecting, contributing, and transferring. 

My focus will be for me to SCG. Accordingly, I will continue to blog -It feels good, fulfilling -self-realizing. For now, I will continue blogging, while risking expecting others agreeing, with a deliberate effort of self-awareness, self-growth, self-sharing and serenity.

serenity

I know there are other areas of control I will benefit by letting go, For now, letting go of PPPP - Principle-based Priorities Planning Process, for everyone in the world, is all I can deal with - Let go man. It's more important presently letting go of my constipation!

Stroke of Luck ?

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It has been 16 days since my stroke. I would't wish it on my worst enemy . It will be two more weeks of in-hospital rehab.....and who knows how much time after that to get back to 100%, or as the doctor says 99.9%.

In looking for an image to parallel my health issue I turned to fog, because that is how I feel - in a fog, It is clear to me now though - Without health there is nothing. - our most important resource,

I love to shoot images in the fog. The details in the scene are gone - it is easier to focus on a center of interest, ending up with an attractive image, holding attention. 

Sunries Dingle Canon EOS 1DS Mark III 70mm 1/250 sec f9 ISO 200

I feel like I am in a fog; not catching all the details, focusing on my center of interest (balance) - tying to stay upright, not falling off to the left, like the skit on Laugh-In with  the tricycle falling over to the left, after a short ride.

It was just a couple of months ago that I added the word patience to my mantra - ..... "contributing my uniqueness. Accepting the uniqueness in myself, as well as others, with out judgement, with respect, patience, and a sense of humor." Is it possible this stroke is a wake-up call, a lesson for patience? A gift to me and my family connections to be more in the present, loving each precious moment  and enjoying, loving, what is right in front of me.

 

 

 

"I am the Greatest"

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I loved Muhammad Ali - what he stood for for me - pure passion, athletic ability (albeit boxing), entertaining commentary, and a strong committment to his personal convictions. I suspect he will be immortalized, like Elvis Presley, or maybe even Martin Luther King.  

Blue (one of my Greatest), Canon EOS 1DS Mark III 400mm 1/200 sec f7.1 ISO 100 www.mesipe.com

Very few of us, could get away with constantly claiming "I am the greatest", but what a great driving affirmation. I think of the www.values.com video about optimism called The Greatest - we should all delight in such optimism.

Separate and Together

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My heart bleeds for all the people who fought in the Military and lost their lives, or became disabled, for my and others freedom. May they be eternally honored guardian angels of peace and love. 

Separate and Together, from The Devil's Bridge, Chividale, Italy  Canon EOS IDS Mark III 90mm T/S 1/8 sec f6.3 ISO 100 Painterly 1 75%

I don't understand - We are all in this together - life on earth, that is. Right? We are each separate from the next; unique and beautiful pebbles, if you will, going with the flow and making our own way, as best we can - a cause for celebration, I would hope. Why do others want us to be like them or die? Why do we want others to be like us? How boring. Is it deeper connection we thirst for, and alikeness bestows a comfort of belonging? Maybe we should try seeing the beauty in the collective difference and know the comfort of all of us are in this together. 

I herewith affirm, this Memorial day, my mantra, part of which states: I contribute my uniqueness - I love and accept the uniqueness in myself, as well as that of others, without judgement, with respect, patience, and a sense of humor! Now only if I could get it right!