Spending holidays without family or friends physically present (ignoring Zoom, email and texting for the moment) can be a new and unique experience. I recall as a child feeling sorry for all of the people in the world who celebrated birthdays and holidays alone (were they lone, alone or lonely). My mistake. As a young child, one thinks as a child. But as an adult and given years of experiences and hopefully a smidge of wisdom I no longer feel this way. Projecting my feeling onto others is incredibly unfair and selfish.

Due to circumstances I have found myself in this very situation which has caused me to consider: do I feel alone? do I feel lonely? or do I just feel lone? Frankly, that choice is mine and mine “alone.” I feel eternally grateful to family, friends and mentors who have (unbeknownst to them) shown me that all of this and these feelings are my choice and I choose peace, joy and happiness rather than the darker side of a solo experience. I wish the same for the family, friends and mentors and ALL others who may or may not be in the same situation.

The world is a beautiful place and it is what we create of it. We are given the canvas to create (or in my case the camera and eye)