Photo Essay: Welcoming 2011 With The Analogy of The Parade

Two reporters were sent to cover a parade; one standing along the crowded sidewalk, the other hovering ahead in a helicopter. As vividly-decorated float after float came parading down the street, the sidewalk reporter kept radioing back up to the reporter above, excited.

“If you thought that was amazing…,” started the reporter in the chopper. “Wait till you see what’s coming around the corner!”

Truly above time and space, the reporter in the chopper could see the beginning and end of the parade, while the sidewalk reporter was limited to what could be seen within their field of vision…

I heard this adapted version of C.S. Lewis’ original analogy one Sunday morning three years ago in response to God’s omnipotence and omnipresence beyond time and space. To be a sidewalk reporter (which I am) requires complete trust, and complete trust comes with allowing myself to be completely vulnerable and open to opportunities larger than my limited view.

2010 – Transitions and Connections

And it’s with this openness (along with tremendous gratitude) I enter 2011; grateful for God’s grace to see another year and thankful for His infinite blessings in my life, including a rock-solid supportive and amazing husband, an unconditionally loving family, and close inspiring friends who tell me like it is.

A lot of progress was made in the following areas with a healthy dose of discipline and hard work:

Writing: Broke into a couple more magazines, newspapers, and online publications.

Photography: Worked on some exciting projects with some NGOs – view projects.

Travel: Traveled a bit – USA (4 times), UK (twice), Hungary, Austria, Nigeria, Egypt, Italy, Malta, Denmark, Ireland – view galleries.

Swedish: Significantly improved my conversational Swedish, and finally hopped into the ocean of intermediates which I expect to be swimming in for a loooong time.

And in working through these areas, I’ve identified where I need to open up more to grow.

2011 Focus Word – “Growth”

“If we don’t open ourselves up, how can we expect to grow?”…Carlo Alcos (BNT Editor and friend).

I stopped doing resolutions after 2008 and started choosing specific focus words for the year instead, to ironically keep me on track. The last two years were spent focusing (2009) on what exactly I wanted and needed to be doing as well as applying the necessary discipline (2010</a) to start seeing a lot more tangible results.

I pray 2011 will be my year of tremendous growth in many ways: taking work (photography and writing), art (painting & cartooning), passions, love, faith, service, spirituality, Swedish language, purposeful humanitarian travel, health and exercise, giving, gratitude, connections, networks, friendships, and finances to the next level.

I pray 2011 will be the year to grow those offline aspects of my life that, in the long run, matter more than this digital life.

And for you dear readers and friends? May 2011 be your year of unbelievable breakthroughs and blessings!

Photo Essay – Celebrating New Year’s Eve

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