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One would think that after my bout with the operating rooms over the past two years there would be so much down time to do things like this. The point of the matter is that I was flat on my back. As I slowly regained my strength, there were other problems that popped up as a result of those surgeries. Another set back. Walking with a cane is actually better than taking another fall. However, everything has its down side and downsides has never been in my vocabulary.
Having said all that, it's been rather comforting to find that my readership is up. My picture download royalties have come up a tad and my eyes have reviewed my archive file of more that 100,000 images looking for textures that have been missed on the original edits. While I have about 10,000 on line at any given time, keeping the web page and the daily blog running with fresh water over still water has had its problems too. I'm finding after 19 years of doing this that there are those that wish to see you fail.
As in any problems that come from human minds, some just can't seem to be nice at all. Over the years, I have noted with journals and record keeping that you cannot let those things hold you back. You must keep moving forward and doing what you can do day-by-day and not worry about the rest. After all, worry is interest paid twice. If you think you know where I am going with this, you just might be right. Then, there again, you just might be wrong. Does it matter? No! Because I've already had a successful career and have seen the views from the castle. On my way down the stairs to retirement, I took my passionate hobby over the years with me with hopes of turning it into something that might give people some joy, happiness and hope.
That passion while the bedrock of itself, has been swayed and twisted and worn down to something not even recognizable to me much anymore. Copy cats have raced in and tried to do all sorts of things to it. It---you say---yes, it. It being photography from a point that isn't focused on monetary gain. Yet, there is some. You need that just to maintain you equipment and do simple upgrades. I've seen some guys already 40 years my junior buy $3000 lenses like there were throwaways. Having that kind of mentality defies anything that makes the hobby worthwhile. I'm still using a camera that has upgraded software but the body is still working better than mine. Go figure.
So, the short of the longer story of rambling thoughts focused on this point of time is that as long as I can continue to take pictures, I am going to do that. As long as I can walk or scoot or move in some motorized way, I will do that. And most of all, at my diamond birthday, I still search for things that I have missed along the way, but most of all, I try to understand what caused me to miss those things---what ever they are. Learning from what your mind is trying to tell you is that first, you have to listen to it. Secondly, you must be willing to make the changes necessary with the intention of always being better along the way. My hobby has taught me more than a college education. It has taught me to see things that others miss when looking at the same view. It has taught me that life to very very complex but we are all designed to navigate through it with some reasonable degree of success. Hope still lives.
Being thankful for the blessings that have come my way is something that does not go unnoticed by myself. Hopefully, my current state of health will hold and life will grace me with not only another day, but a month, a year or many more. I love life. I cherish it. The images that I post on the headers of the web site and the blog are chosen with care and with my gratitude to those that posed along the way. God bless their sweet spirits.
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