When I sit down to write my autobiography,
I will title it Stumbled Upon.
For it is this unplanned life
that sent me veering onto a path
of unimaginable adventures.
Often, I was catapulted by a lifequake*,
brought on by the death of my husband,
which left me adrift.
And yet, I somehow found my footing.
The steps were heavy amid the grief,
but I kept walking and my steps grew lighter.
Photography became a saving grace,
as a continued bond to my husband,
and kept me in the present moment
when my eye was focused in the viewfinder.
From capturing the beauty of nature to
going to bars, something I hadn’t done since I was in my twenties,
to photograph musicians as they played
opened a forgotten part of my life that brought
me both joy and finding kind people I call friends.
By using my photography email, I ended up
being the photographer for the Phoenix Film Festival.
I’d never done event photography,
but my saying yes to the unknown
opened the world of independent films,
filmmakers, and new friendships
with festival attendees and volunteers.
All these experiences led me to participate in
a storytelling event on how my life had come
full circle with my husband, photography and music.
I stood on a stage where I had spent so many
hours capturing musicians at work,
sharing my story by heart
with a few butterflies stirring in my stomach.
As time goes on, and I adjust
to my body’s capabilities,
I have found new ways to feed the creative beast that lives within.
Now, I spend my days expressing myself with art and improv.
The beauty of letting go of a planned life
is the richness that I never imagined
and the communities that I have become a part of.
*Lifequakes is a term coined by Bruce Feiler in his book Life is in the Transitions: Mastering Change at Any Age
Photo credit: Neil Schwartz
Beautiful Bittersweet Life Poems 