I am off to Mexico on Monday for a week. I will have 2 days to do as I please, and then I will be joining a group of like minded spiritual seekers to visit the 3 main Mayan cities. It is planned that I will be atop a pyramid on the evening of 12/21 to welcome the winter solstice, and new beginnings. It will be phenomenal, I’m sure. Now I have been debating whether or not to bring my camera along. Of course I want to document my journey. Of course I want to take photos that will make my heart soar. Of course I want to take photos that I can potentially sell. But I feel I will not ‘be’ if I do so. That is, I would be wearing my photographers hat and miss out on the experiences that may be all around me. Not to worry though – I will have my iPhone 5 with me and will use that to capture whatever shall intuitively call out to me. I want to surrender my control of having to do, and trust that joy will replace it.

I’ve come to realize that my camera has not only become part of me, but has actually started to define who I am. I haven’t sought this out and it’s not intentionally so with my friends, family, and students. But society has it that labeling is part of our standard form. When you meet someone new, how long does it take to ask/be asked what do you  do? We are constantly putting each other in boxes. I’m known as ‘a photographer’ or ‘teacher’. Well, there certainly is more to me than that. I want to jump out of that box and let my soul shine like the sparkly diamond it is! My 3 year old niece said it best when I asked her what she wants to be when she grows up: “I just want to be me.”

This trip is for me. For my heart, for my soul. As much as I love  photography and being a photographer, I have to practice release and trust that my intuition is correct in saying go on an adventure, have fun, and go shine!