Charcoal alley : . . . Looking for home . . .

Posted on: 1.14.2013

As you probably know, I was recently invited by Spell and the Gypsy Collective to be a holiday guest blogger. Here is the full post, but I want to encourage you to visit Spell's Blog, because they have one of the best blogs out there.

The blogging opportunity could not have been better timed, since I had just done a photo shoot on Kauai, rocking their fantastic, Hanalei shell skirt . I wanted to capture the wild, free spirit of Spell, and I think we were successful. In the above photo, I had the idea of creating a kind of halo or headdress out of bleached beach wood, feathers, nuts and other natural elements that were scattered upon the sand. It turned out to be a perfect adornment for an earth angel, and a fitting tribute to the spirit of Spell.

Looking for home . . .

Do you dream of a place called home? Do you long for someplace, somewhere out there? Do you picture yourself on a lush, tropical island, on a quaint, city street in San Francisco, in a hip, ski town, or on a green, hill top in the Mediterranean ? For awhile now, I’ve been telling myself that I need to move; that Salt Lake City, is too small, too conservative, too . . . familiar for me. Last week I was on the island of Kauai. Breathtakingly beautiful. This is it, I told myself, “I need to get back to the islands–I want to live here.” But, by the end of the trip, it also felt small, isolated and limited. I was ready to get back to my real life.

As I travel and experience different parts of the planet (always with an eye that — “this might just be the place”), I find that everywhere seems to have it’s own form of duality. This part feels good, but that aspect feels, not so good. It’s beautiful, but the traffic is horrendous. It’s peaceful, but too hot in the summer. It’s perfect, but, it’s too expensive. You get the picture. SLC, with it’s perceived limitations, is also safe, convenient, and beautiful. So, here I am for now.

The key to life, then, is appreciating and being grateful for wherever you are. We must love what we have, here and now, because things constantly change. If we are always feeling that the “grass is greener” someplace else, we miss the abundance and goodness that surrounds us, now. We can always paint an ideal image of what could be or should be, but, have you noticed, life never works out exactly as we envisioned it? And yet, that’s the beauty of life . . . nothing is written in stone, and it’s always surprising us.

I’m not telling you not to take an adventure, or move somewhere new. In fact, listen to your heart and follow its sage advice. But, wherever you find yourself, take a tip from this line from an old, James Taylor song, “the secret of life is enjoying the passage of time”. So wherever you are, here you are. This is your time. This is your life. Surrender to what is. Even better, trust what is, who and where you are. Then, shine!

xo xo xo // PARIS

Fashion photos by: Tbartonphotography