“I believe that if you don’t derive a deep sense of purpose from what you do, if you don’t come radiantly alive several times a day, if you don’t feel deeply grateful at the tremendous good fortune that has been bestowed on you, then you are wasting your life. And life is too short to waste.” ~ Srikumar Rao
This post marks the end of the outhouse’s forth year. That’s 1,459 posts (2012 was leap year). This was supposed to be a one-year project to jumpstart my muse; get my feet back in the art water; sluff off the day-job blues and reignite my right brain. Tomorrow begins my fifth year. That’s almost hard to believe. At this point there’s no question of whether or not to continue. Some people drink. I take pictures. Some people do drugs. I process and post those pictures. Some people smoke, or gamble, or become addicted to sex. I find one thing to be grateful for each day, and I write it down for all the Netizens, as Jimmy Duckworth calls them, to read. This has become my addiction. It has enriched my life beyond measure. It has enriched others as well, and that I did not expect; that’s a blessing in its own right. Not every picture is beautiful. Not every word perfectly placed. But they don’t have to be. What they do have to be is active; marking the positive forward motion of my life. The outhouse is a place for me to center myself, drill down through a day’s detritus, and find that one good thing that happened, that one important word spoken, that one seemingly insignificant moment of the day that actually makes life worth living. Along the way I get to hone my photographic skills, and if I’m lucky, put a smile on somebody’s face. Life is moving, and I’m moving with it, but for a brief period of every day the fence is in focus. I don’t know how much better my life could possibly be than this. To all of you who have walked this journey with me, thank you. I hope you’ve enjoyed it, and I hope you’ll continue to walk with me. 2016 will be the best year yet.
Shirley Terry
Dad and I have loved every picture and wording in every day of every year since the beginning of this project. Your description(s) of the photos is spoken with so much warmth, compassion, tenderness, kindness, love and care that it reaches out to everyone who views these beautiful photos and their captions. There are no words to describe our love and how our hearts fill with pride of this and when someone mentions you and/or your work, whether it be day-job, music art, etc. When it’s all said and done, dad and I always have your back and will always be there.
With so much turmoil going on in our world today, we say “THANK YOU” for the sweet, kind, giving and compassionate love you have shown us. On January 8, 1965, we were blessed with a beautiful 7 lb (almost bald headed) little baby girl with whom I had to use scotch tape to paste a tiny hair bow in a little twig of your blond hair. But look at you now, a wonderful and beautiful lady and whose sense-of-humor is pure happiness and laughter. If I “get down” on myself, I call you and am guaranteed a humorous up-lifting.
With your love and faith in God (from whom all blessings flow), family and friends you will be blessed again in 2016.
We Love You, Baby Girl,
Dad and Mom
January 1, 2016
Kopana
awwwwww I got lucky when you picked me. <3