With the perspective of personal responsibility to lessen resource and emotional stress upon the medical profession, to protect those I love as well as those unknown to me, and to lessen the burden upon those whose actions ensure continuation of my basic needs, I have chosen to comply with the state’s “Stay-at-Home and Safer at Home” orders.

Six months ago, one well-being behavior was to engage in early morning mediative walks; yet, as the days have flowed into each other there has been a lessening of motivation to engage in any “masked” walks as my attention has been drawn towards managing the anxiety that arises with an awareness that only a few cyclist, walkers, and runners choose to wear masks and it seems as though any attempt to engage in social distancing is a one personal endeavor.

This morning as I pondered how to connect the many sources of inspiration with images, I found that Tina’s (Travels and Trifles) Lens Artist challenge: inspiration inspired me to gather up the courage to pick up my camera and walk…Thank you Tina.

Over the years, haiku has been an inspiration:

Walking along

My shadow beside me

Watching the moon. ~Sodō

(Jonathan Clements, The Moon in the Pines)

The words of Thich Nhat Hanh inspire me as I become aware of my in-breath and out-breath and the suffering that may arise from actions, speech, and thoughts.

When conditions are sufficient, a cloud transforms into rain, snow, or hail. The cloud has never been born and will never die. The insight of signlessness and interbeing helps us recognize that all lives continue in different forms. Nothing is created, nothing is destroyed, everything is in transformation ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Nature inspires me to embrace impermanence and eases my anxiety through her amazing beauty.

Photography inspires me to open my eyes to the wondrous gifts life offers within each moment.