Photo by @brookeshaden — Every once in while I get to pretend I am a mermaid. For this shoot, I collaborated with two of my favorite @sonyalpha photographers: @paulnicklen playing the part of the handsome sailor who saves the mermaid, and my dear friend @brookeshaden who is the artist, mastermind and creative genius behind these photographs. We envisioned a mermaid trapped between two worlds and Brooke casted her unique spell on the elements to make something moody and beautiful. Thank you @michaelaion for bringing us all together. #fortheocean
Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island, Canada
📷 @sonyalpha #A7CR
This week, someone I love said to me, “There are two types of people: sails and anchors. You have to figure out fast if the person in front of you is one or the other and act accordingly.”
I’ve mistaken anchors for sails many times. In some cases with devastating consequences. Here are some things I’ve learned:
- Once you decide to be a sail, you start assuming others are too. Don’t. Let them show you first.
- An anchor seems light until it’s tied around your leg and dragging you under. Don't underestimate its weight. Sharpen your knife in advance so that you're ready to cut the rope.
- Some anchors dream of being sails. That doesn’t mean they can. Don’t confuse potential for capacity.
- Anchors raise big red flags from the start. Don’t mistake them for sails, they're not made from the same cloth.
- A sail feels calm in your body. An anchor fills you with tension. Learn the difference between oxytocin (peace) and dopamine (chaos).
- Get enough sails around you, and they’ll pull you out before an anchor drowns you. There’s power in numbers.
Be a sail. The world has too many anchors.
Location: New York City
Graffiti: "Your Love Is A Gift To The World" -- @thebrooklynpoet
📸 @kateogg with #Sony #RX1RIII
Last year I landed on love as a strategy for life.
After many trips over the years down massive existential rabbit holes, I reached the simplest truth there is:
1️⃣ If you don't let yourself love, you lose even when it looks like you're winning.
Love your imperfect self.
Love your messy life.
Love others even when they don't deserve it. And love them fiercely when they do.
Love with all your being even when you know it will not save you. Even when you know it will destroy you and you'll have to rebuild yourself after. Because you'll be rebuilding on fresh ground with new tools.
Does it hurt when you love fully? Always, guaranteed. But after the joy.
Does it hurt if you don't? Always, guaranteed. With no upside. Plus, the longer you stay on that cold avoidance train, the longer and harder the trek back to yourself when the pain becomes too unbearable to ignore. Pull the emergency brake now, get off, and start your journey back.
My second simple truth:
2️⃣ The act of loving isn't about feeling good, it's about feeling at peace.
Loving will give you the peace that hate and fear, by definition, cannot provide.
Because there is nothing beyond love--that's the final level.
But beyond hate there's an endless field of emotional debris guarded by scary demons who have learned how to say your name seductively. Peace is not their goal.
My third simple truth:
3️⃣ Love is not a feeling, it's an action.
You can't both love something or someone and act unloving toward them.
You can't love anyone before you love yourself.
Whoever or whatever you love, you must also be ready to let them go. Love doesn't seek ownership, it's a vehicle to freedom.
Finally:
⚓ The opposite of love isn't hate, it's fear.
Stop holding yourself back from loving just because you're afraid of pain.
Pain is guaranteed whether you love or not.
But one pain is abject misery during your descent into hell on a golden escalator.
The other burns a clean path to your liberation.
Let yourself love. It's your gift to yourself, not just the world.
Capped off half a year of prep ending in an incredible #sonykandotrip filled with love, laughter, and unlimited joy, with a creative session under the stars with @yyangcheng@callanpaolabarrett and @drewgiggity . Gratitude is the word of the month.
Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. - Brene Brown
Thanks for all the inspiration @nahyel.e !
#sonyalpha #mexico
Happy New Year everyone! Whether you swim with the current or against it, may you revel in the journey, and may you be joyful, peaceful, and surrounded by like-minded, thoughtful, brave beings who support you wholeheartedly when you need it and whom you support lovingly when they need you. ❤️
#HappyNewYear #loveistheanswer
