While staring at one of my photos of Taurai from my long-term ÅFRÖSWÈ̩DÉ̩ project, it hit me.
A moment of immense gratitude words simply can’t do justice.
My eyes welled up as I stared at the photo in a group exhibition which will be traveling around the world. One of 50 selected out of roughly 1,500 submissions by the Photography Festivals Association.
You see, the previous day, I was promoting my latest book BITTER HONEY in Barcelona’s largest English-language bookstore, Backstory. A book that was named an Audible UK Best of 2025 selection and chosen as a Best Book pick by People Magazine, Essence, Stylist, and Amazon Editors.
And the day before that, I’d zipped over to Andorra to re-experience the pure joy of traveling while not on assignment for any publication, or off to somewhere remote and far flung like I’m used to.
In essence, falling back in love with simple travel, because not every trip has to be the Faroe Islands.
The fact that three of my many loves -> travel, writing, and photography <- were combined over three days in three significant ways across different industries, wasn’t lost on me.
As multipotentialites who create across various platforms, we often move so fast that we never properly stop to reflect on how far we’ve come along our own unique journey. Especially those of us who have gratefully found our purpose and are aligned with those gifts regardless of industry.
This trip back to Barcelona did it for me.
It forced me to stop and reflect on how I’m stewarding my gifts and in which rooms. It enveloped me in gratitude so encompassing that every stumble in my life, every challenge, every disappointment, every rejection, every wait, pales in comparison.
In life, we crave so much that we don’t even tend to what we’ve already been blessed with.
In essence, if we’re rather poor stewards of our current gifts, how can we manage much more with reverence? Even if we wish for it?
I recently chatted with a dear friend who asked how I was feeling these days. Truly feeling. People rarely ask me this. And considering how heavy the world is right now, everyone has their own battles to face and problems to prioritize.
“I’m grateful,” I told her. “So grateful that my spirit feels light and transcendent. I can’t describe it.”
I really can’t because words truly don’t do the feeling justice. The gratitude I am experiencing these days is soul deep.
So my question to you is this: How are you stewarding the gifts you’ve been blessed with during these difficult times? Have you reflected on this lately?