December 28, 2017
“Embrace what is good” a Magnolia Homes ad that has popped up in my facebook feed for the past month. “Embrace what is good” What does that even mean?
Every year I pick a word for the year. This past year I chose the word “real”. What did “real” mean for me? It meant that I wanted everything to be “real” from the photos I shared, to the life that I live. Although I chose the word “real” God chose a “legacy” for me.
I learned that while being “real” I was also capturing and preserving a “legacy”. Something you can’t take away once it’s been recorded, and the sanctity of that is an overwhelming task to hold. For those of us that get to do this photography thing, we are the lucky ones. I truly believe that.
“Real” meant that I let go of my perfect self. I let go of the always wear your makeup self. It meant that I truly understand what it feels like to be free from the word “perfect”, because I can not be, and no one can.
I learned that “real” sometimes isn’t pretty. Sometimes it hurts, but within the hurt of the “real” I’ve found an unbounding love through each of you. Thank you for that.
I’ve learned that I can’t shoot 30 weddings a year and be the “real” person I want to be. I found that its ok to say no even though my pride wants to say yes. Learning that perfection is just a word, and not a way of life was the hardest feat to conquer, and it’s a battle EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
I’ve finally found truth in the words “if your talking about me your giving someone else a rest”, and there’s truth in “I can’t be everything to everyone”. Those are hard truths to own, but I have come to find in this “real” journey that these things don’t define you, or me, they don’t, so don’t let them.
If your year has been hard. I feel you. I’ve been there, currently getting over it. Life is a roller coaster, sometimes it’s a hot mess, but it’s a beautiful one. That’s where the “Embrace what is good” comes in. Life doesn’t have to be perfect friends, sometimes it just needs to be “real”, sometimes it just means we “Embrace what is good”.
So, what is my word for 2018? It’s not a word, it’s a phrase, and that is “Embrace what is good”. There will be times when nothing feels good friends, but if we look a little harder we can “Embrace what is good”.
That is what I’ve learned this year. I’ve learned that perfection will never be anything, “real” is a hard word to devote yourself to, and we all are living a “legacy”. What we do today matters for anyone and everyone we choose to let in our lives to seeĀ it. The “perfection”, the “real”, and the “legacy”. It’s there, those words we live throughout our lives, and if we choose to see how powerful they can be, maybe we might make a change for the better. A change that not only impacts our life, but the ones that love us most.
This may not be the typical 2017 year end post, but that’s not what I wanted to share. I hope we can all embrace a little less “perfection”, a little more “real”, and most of all “Embrace what is good”. Happy New Year friends!
With love,
Michelle
P.S. Here’s a little recap video from Christmas. From my family to yours Happy New Year!
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