Dorothy Perry is a mom, grandmom, and artistic photographer of childhood in the Chicagoland area. Lets talk at perryportraitart@gmail.com or through the Contact Page here.
I go online and Google myself sometimes, and saw an 2006 post from a fellow photographer, riffing on the theme of being a psychic photographer based on an ad I had written for my services. (To read the original post, click here.)
It was good-natured, but it stung a little that I had tried so carefully to describe what I did, only to have it be the butt of someone’s joke. And it apparently had still been smouldering, since it had caught my attention during a moment I had not expected.
I think to practice ones’ gift is to know that many times, it will be misunderstood.
The difference is that now I am choosing to see these kinds of situations with a mindset of appreciation for what it teaches – (even though I could not see it while it was happening.)
Some memories arise to a neutral, dispassionate view that acknowledges that yes, something happened, and despite potential for a cautionary tale, yes, it is done.
Others create laughter: I can take a deep breath and smile at challenges to my ego or my vanity. And others can be seen with compassion for a young person’s mis-reading of emotion and information.
When this comes up again in the Slideshow of my Mind,
I will choose to see and feel it differently.
I’ll bring a gentle, open, and curious self to those formative incidents,
especially ones that ‘ring up’ old memories or create unexpected charges of emotion.
I see it in the light of day,
the drama of the story dissolving.
I see it now for the best for everyone involved.
The energy of releasing old stories affects people differently.
Sometimes the act of getting it out happens quickly,
and other times, I have to let it work its way and have its say quietly,
as there is more under the surface that takes time to unfold.
The years since have created someone new:
Someone with a dream, even when another cannot see it (or see it yet.)
With that vision, even the irritations of life are welcomed for the ‘pearl’ created.
Dorothy Perry is a Chicago portrait photographer specializing in custom family portraits, modern headshots, & personal branding for women and executives. Contact her studio for commissioned work here.
