This is post I wrote in 2013 and then left in my drafts, to change the wording a bit, and maybe to add some pictures, and then forgot about. So I’m going to publish it now because it’s important and meaningful to me. I think of these two e-mails often and got teary reading them again just now. 🙂
2013 –
My feelings have evolved over the years about the service I provide to my clients, from giving them something nice to hang on their wall, to capturing their special memories, to something even more profound. Maybe I had already realized what pictures were doing for people. I’m not sure. And then this past spring, one of my clients wrote this:
“So I keep replaying the slideshow of our mini-session and I can’t help but tear up and smile. I got stuck staring at the picture of the three people on the bench, thinking how happy they all looked and what a beautiful family it was- then it clicked that it was my family. I’m so grateful to know you and honored to be blessed enough to benefit from your gift. Thank you for capturing the moments that help me realize what an awesome life I have.”
And I cried, like I did again just now reading it, and it really clicked that this is what I want to do for people. I want to show them how beautiful they are, and what awesome lives they have. Yes, I want them to have special art for their walls, and I want them to look back years from now and remember what life was like, real every day life in their home. Most importantly, I want them to really see the beauty in their lives, and understand that those moments of joy frozen in time happen more than just at a photo shoot. That joy and smiles and time together can be abundant, and enjoyed to the fullest when we are present in the moment.
That same month, it happened again, another e-mail I’ll never forget.
“How do you do that???? That is amazing!!!! I said to my husband, we don’t look like that and he said, I guess we do look like that. I knew my daughter was beautiful but what you captured is amazing!! And, you caught us in our best moments. I don’t feel that pretty… Thanks for showing us our light and our beauty and our happiness!!!! What a gift and a treasure you have given us!!!”
The satisfaction and happiness I feel when I read or think of these messages lets me know that this is absolutely the career for me, and my purpose, and that I am living authentically. And that feels so good.
