The winter light in the Oregon woods this morning was unexpectedly stunning. Intoxicating, even. The stresses of life can be difficult, but stepping into that quiet cocoon of trees offered me a perfect refuge from any worries that had been on my mind. Silver beams spun across leaves and ferns. Sunshine dripped from fir boughs like honey. Time ceased to matter as I walked the trails, utterly consumed by the beauty around me.

In a TED Talk Radio episode that came on while driving home, violinist Robert Gupta described art as a form of emotion and a force for healing. His words were a perfect fit for how I felt while walking and taking photographs, surrounded by beauty and inspired to create.

“….we take something that exists within all of us at our very fundamental core, our emotions, and through our artistic lens, through our creativity, we’re able to shape those emotions into reality. And the reality of that expression reaches all of us and moves us, inspires and unites us.”
–On art and beauty by musician Robert Gupta

I agree that art is a uniting and healing force.

An older woman on the trail stopped me to ask questions about my camera and said she missed photography. “I don’t have a digital camera,” she said. I told her she could pick one up used for a good price. “Don’t wait,” I said. “If you enjoy it, get back into it.”

“Okay, girl,” she said, with a big smile. “I will.”

May your New Year be filled with inspiration, peace, creativity and light — and many, many fulfilling moments doing what you love.