What I've learned from....... Ratatouille?

Who would have guessed that vacations (typically a time of gluttony, obscene relaxation, laughter and laziness) would actually be a time to teach me something! I think what was different for me this last week was that I totally let go of everything going on and just vacated.... completely vacated from a lot of things. This move from Prince George to Calgary was a lot harder than I expected and my family is still making our way through the change.... mostly with success I must add.

Moving my photography has been one of the most stressful aspects of this move. Starting my business all over in a new city has been daunting and sometimes discouraging. Things don't pick up like I expected and I quickly try to think of different things and new marketing ideas pop into my head at random moments. It has become somewhat consuming wondering if my photography is a viable option for us right now. Don't get me wrong here.... I absolutely love LOVE what I do. The passion and excitement that I experience when shooting photos is indescribable for me. There is somewhat of a completion (if I can use that word) when I'm behind the lens, things feel right and I know I'm in the right spot. But I do question whether now is the right time. But anyways, I digress (sort of). The point I was getting at was that my photography had/has become a consuming thought for me. I would wake in the morning and consistently something photography related would pop into my head, I'd be showering, eating, reading, running, playing Sorry or Trouble, watching a movie, falling asleep and no matter what, I'd be thinking photography.

So I was pleasantly surprised, or rather shocked when I'd made it through a week and really hadn't given much thought at all to the business side of things. I didn't check emails for messages , I didn't look at facebook or my blog for over a whole week! It was great!

I think vacating life for a week gave me an opportunity to connect with a character from the movie Ratatouille. Anton Ego, the food critic that came in for dinner put it best for me....when asked what he'd like to order for dinner he replied, "I'd like a little perspective." Hhmmmm... perspective? Huh? Oohhhhh... perspective! Sure enough that week of vacating brought me back to life, back to what I needed to be focusing my time and energy on.

That vacating gave me an opportunity to enjoy God's creation, spend time in His Word and soak up the wisdom, challenges and encouragement I needed and gave me ample time to hang out with Garth and my boys. Perspective was definitely what I needed........now to remember that and not let other things fill up my mind all the time.