An empty shelf

Oh the symbolism. It is infinite.

At least for tonight I have one empty shelf. Empty from clutter, but full of possibility. The metaphor is not lost on me, nor should it or will it overwhelm me. I have been searching for this empty shelf for quite sometime. It has taken some change, some time and some purging of things from previous life experiences. The purging has not taken away the memories of good and bad, but has cleared the clutter - emotional, physical and mental.

Taken from the pages of a very insightful book, the empty shelf stands clear - ready for the next book, the next letter, the next memory.

It may only last the night, but the empty shelf for the time is giving me great joy.

Toxic

Mistake
toxic
lonely and desire conspiring
easy to move
easy to love
easy to regret

broken?

No

but to live another day
stronger
more understanding of

lonely and desire conspiring
hard to stay
to feel
love, regret

honesty takes over
desire and lonely
dissipate
friendship, unconditional love
respond
respect
reduce hurt and harm

Mistake
healthy

Sojourns

of the many places I have visited in the past few months, here are a few of my favorite captured moments...

All photographs posted herein © 2011 Emily Woodall

Washington Part I

Taking the time to visit my family in Washington this weekend gave me a chance to also visit a place of happiness and relaxation. Spending time on Waldron with my grandmother was like spending a weekend in paradise. The weather was beautiful, the food was amazing, and the coffee on the porch in the morning was perfect.

During my visit I also spent a few hours in Seattle, first visiting Seattle Center and the Experience Music Project, and on the way back visiting my cousins. 

One of many photos taken on this trip is of the Space Needle, a Seattle landmark. 

All photographs posted herein © 2011 Emily Woodall

Relaxation and celebration

I had the opportunity this weekend to spend my time with 15 of the most amazing women in the world. We came together to celebrate our friend Lil who is a beautiful light in all of our lives. The celebration was enchanting, and the relaxation that ensued seemed to cleanse our souls and release our hearts to become radiant beams of light. Everyone seemed to be glowing from the inside out as the weekend came to a close.

I am constantly amazed by all of the beauty that is contained in California. This weekend was spent along the Yuba River. The water was clear and deep, warm and inviting. We spent hours in and out of the water, serenaded by the rushing sounds of the water coming down from the mountains and the musical explorations of friends together.

I am so thankful to be a part of a great community of women who take the time out of their lives to celebrate and truly enjoy each others company and the gifts we have to offer one another. In addition to the relaxation and celebration their was as much love put into the preparation and eating of luxurious food. We were extremely lucky to be camping and eating food better than we could have imagined.

This weekend also helped to remind me of the ways in which my body can relax. Relax into good conversation, relax into eating slowly and enjoying each meal, relax into the water letting it rush over me, relax into the sun beams. Relaxation is an important part of life that I do not take advantage of often enough. I spent time coming to realization that it is not something to take advantage of, but rather something to incorporate into daily life.

I will now take time to cleanse my body, feed my soul and relax into life's daily adventures.

Summer Sunsets

I love sunset, the way the light falls on the earth and brushes everything in gold is amazing. Here are a few of many shots taken during this time when day falls into night.

All photographs posted herein © 2011 Emily Woodall

Views of Chicago

Last week I got the chance to visit Chicago for 5 days to celebrate my sister's graduation. We got the opportunity to tour the city and see the Field Museum, Navy Pier, The Art Institute, Millenium Park and Grant Park.

Here is Chicago through my lens.

All photographs posted herein © 2011 Emily Woodall

Early

It is amazing how good it feels to wake up before your alarm, get out of bed without effort and go for a walk in the early morning. I am attempting to make this a more frequent occurrence because I absolutely love the way I feel right now.

Summer is slowly approaching, but the approach of summer break is fast. Three more days of school this year, and I can hardly believe it. I am really excited to be joining LOUSD again next year, and continuing my work at the youth center. This summer I will get to enjoy a little bit of vacation, a couple of big trips (Chicago in a week and Vegas in July), some awesome music, and lots of good time with friends. I am especially looking forward to summer fruits and veggies. I have to admit this is definitely my favorite time of year for food. How can you resist a summer peach or fresh tomato, or zucchini - YUM!

Heading off to work satisfied and ready for the day!

Garden!

For all the years I have lived in Chico, I have not been able to have my own fresh veggies during the summer. It has been something that I have missed so much. Growing up I always was able to go down to the garden before dinner and pick the vegetables that we were going to eat for dinner. Now I have my own mini-garden! Tomatoes, peppers and basil. Can't wait to eat them all summer long!

open air

I sit outside, doors open. Let the fresh, rain scented air waft into the house as I let it drizzle on my feet. A beautiful spring day, turned gorgeous as the light rain turns into a downpour and soaks the ground. It is on days like these that I am grateful to be alive in the world, grateful to appreciate the simple things. Like rain on a spring day.

This warm spring rain came on slowly, creeping in on gray clouds throughout the day. Starting with a few light drops. The rhythm of the rain is always so comforting. How it shifts as the winds change. Drip, drop...drop, drop, drop. Then the familiar shhhhhhhhh - rain on the roof. I love how the light changes when the rain comes, from bright and vibrant hues of blue and green, to shadowed grays and violets.

Take a deep, breath, in. Smell the dirt, warmth, water gushing from the sky. This makes me smile, close my eyes and take in the sounds, smells, touch of rain.

In love with this day.

Spring rain

Outside in strapless
    rain falls light, nicely on me
Spring is amazing

it is

National Poetry Month falls in the month of April every year. I think it is possible that poetry, like many other things runs in my blood. I find myself thinking of words that fit well together, but perchance my vocabulary could be improved to enhance my way with words. Regardless, I am set to the challenge of writing a poem a day for the next 15 days of the month.

No. 1

Yellow, green center
             it blooms without knowing
beauty radiates

Effort to be effortless

Although it took almost 6 hours to de-stress from the week, when I did, the loose movement to the rhythm of friends music made the days melt and life slowly re-enter my body. It takes effort to bring myself to a place of effortless motion. Dancing to the sounds of love exuding from the great men on stage makes my soul sing and my heart happy.

One stress-less night.

Untitled

Actions speak

it is not the words that can build our character

Character is built
Yes
but by the actions

the subtle meaning is found
yes
found in the actions

Actions are loud
move people to change
peace
love
community

actions are

flowers blooming even after they are cut
love blossoming even through pain
friendships growing
turning the corner
recovery

Speak

Speak through the hands, the eyes
the legs running fast to get to...
action

is it fair
is it love
can it be changed
molded
grown, even out of the sidewalk

Actions speak

Rejoice

Photography has been a passion of mine for a long time. When I was in high school I was able to take an independent study photography class and spent hours upon hours in the dark room. Although I don't have access to the equipment that I would like, or a dark room, I still use a film camera.

I love the wait before seeing the final product of my work. 

These are some photos from around California and Washington taken over the past few years. 

All photographs posted herein © 2011 Emily Woodall

Light in Nature

All photographs posted herein © 2011 Emily Woodall

Can every question be answered?

This morning I attended a small church service...maybe 10 people were there. The format of this church service is conducive to my learning style. One of the great things about this morning's service was that the pastor asked a few questions of us and we had a chance to have some small discussions. One of the questions was, "Can every question be answered?". I thought this was an awesome discussion topic, and one that could be debated indefinitely. 


What is the definition of a question?


Definition of QUESTION
1. a (1): an interrogative expression often used to test knowledge (2): an interrogative sentence or clause; b (1): a subject or aspect in dispute or open for discussion (2): a subject or point of debate or a proposition to be voted on in a meeting (3) the specific point at issue


2. a: an act or instance of asking, also: a judicial or official investigation b: torture as part of an examination c: room for doubt or objection


Knowing this, is a question necessarily something that has to have an answer? And if all questions had answers, would the mystery of the world be lost? 


Thoughts abound...

Reminiscing

Today, I opened up my box of letters and found a postcard from 1995 written to me from someone I didn't know, but who lived in the same town.

Looking at it made me remember how small the world is, but also how little we can know about the world in which we live.