Things to not be seen.

It’s Horrible, Stupid, and I Hate It: Coping With Criticism
This morning I am sharing a blog that feels so dear to my heart. For all of us who have ever silenced ourselves because of what someone else has said or might say, this is a great read. See what you think. Here is hoping that the link works.

Things to not be seen.

 
I took beautiful pictures of a Sandhill crane  (he let me get so close that I was in awe) and proceeded to try to share it on Facebook. Well, that action totally crashed my new i phone and I lost not only the pictures but all of my contents in my address book. In a panic, we left the art fair and headed to the Apple store - one of the busiest places in America on Sunday afternoon. I kept staring at the phone in utter disbelief that all of my contacts and pictures could not be accessed. My worst fears were realized when the Apple employee advised me that he would replace my phone since something seemed to have fried it, but he could not help with the personal information. BUT, he said "no problem because you can go home and sync your phone with itunes on your computer and you will have your data back". Synced - Never! Oh, I meant to do it - one of these days - but one of these days just never got here and it was really not important until right, this minute.   Feeling lost and somewhat overwhelmed, I got home,  got online and promptly scheduled an early morning appointment with the local Apple store. Luckily, I had saved my old phone and once it was recharged I took it, my laptop and my sheer determination  early Monday morning to the store, planting myself in front of one of the nicest young men you could meet. It doesn't matter to me how he fixed it - all of my contacts through December were intact on the old phone and now entered on my new one as well as old pictures and music. Even better, a lovely young lady working at the store stepped in and synced my phone to my laptop and reminded me how it gets done so that I would never experience this feeling of loss again. It pays off sometimes to look older and clueless.

It seems silly now to have had such anxiety over something like this. And yet, I knew that certain pictures that were really special had now vanished as well as new contacts entered in the last couple of months. It is perhaps a bit melodramatic to compare it to a fire but I could imagine what one must feel like when all has been lost. The contacts were precious to me - lifelines to friends and family which would now have to be recreated.

When I shared this story with a wise friend of mine, I was reminded how some natives in indigenous cultures or less developed  nations do not want their picture taken because they fear that they may lose their soul to the image. She posed the thought that perhaps the crane had allowed me to share the sacred space together but it wanted me to hold the image in my soul and not need to look at a picture to be reminded of it's beauty or how I felt in the moment. I continue to consider how I approach some of the beautiful images of nature and realize that most often when I settle into them, they are etched on my heart and in my mind and I really do not need anything else.

It has been several days since trying to get this posted. I tried to go online and download a picture someone else had taken of a Sandhill Crane to share with you this magnificent bird. The only thing that happened was a near destruction of everything that had been written. I encourage you to find one to see, whether in real life or a picture taken by someone else - they are beautiful.

And, while you are thinking about it - Sync your contacts and save your pictures.