Share Six: March 2016: Restore

This is an exciting month for Share Six.  The group has now been running for a year and we have had the beautiful opportunity as a blog group to get to know each other so much better.  Sadly over the year we saw 2 bloggers leave the group for various reasons and we were sad to see them go, 2 new bloggers joined us.   This past month Kim left the group and we were really sorry to see her go.  As a result we made a decision to add 4 more new bloggers to the group.  We are excited about where this new blog group is going.

In addition we have had the opportunity to share on both Facebook and Instagram images submitted to both pages, as well as highlight various artists and guest feature the artist of choice that month.  You can read all about these happenings on the Share Six webpage.

I love this community and am excited to see how 2017 progresses.  Keep following and sharing with us. We love to see your art is in our feed.

This month Tori or Roots and Twigs Photography chose the theme RESTORE.  Mmm, I am all about restore.  Many occasions have called me to restore my body and soul and I typically choose nature, self time and my faith to do that.  So here are some images that will show how I restore harmony back into my life.

I always have to chuckle – it is funny to watch Richard and I restore our energy when we travel.  Richard rides his bike, goes off kayaking or paddle boarding, even flying a kite.  Me – I want to be left alone with my chair and my book or my tanning blanket, my book and my suntan oil.  He exhausts me just watching him restore.

I am a people person, but when I need to restore I need solitude.  I need to huddle on my office couch with music playing softly in the background, a book in my hands and Simba in my lap.  Alternatively, I need to get out and walk in the wetlands, or in the Japanese Gardens.  I need to connect with the peace and beauty of nature.  Of course, in an idle world speedwalkers are not on my nature meander .

I have learned over many years that restoration of my soul is essential.

When my day starts out blurry, and if I can, I will head to the wetlands or the Japanese Gardens to meander in the quiet of the day.  Restoration for me is being in nature, alone with the quiet.  The Japanese Garden is perfect for this if one allows oneself to find the balance in the settings.  The wetland is beautiful if one can ignore the speed walkers or walk in the heat of the day.

My faith has been a strong part of my life from a teenager and I know that I have leaned on my faith during challenging times in my life. During the 17 surgeries that my son had my faith was my rock and my cornerstone, and it is to my faith that I go to restore my troubled mind, especially when I developed shingles as a result of one of the surgeries. My favorite verse in the Bible is “Be Still and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10. Being still is an important part of my life. Over the years I have learned how to carve out those me times.

The beauty of a sunset restores my soul. I love watching the sunset on the closing of the day. And as it closes I hope and pray that I let the troubles of the day go and focus on the starting of a new day. Sunrises are always a joy to me however, they are much harder to find that inner peace. I am not a morning person and getting up to watch the sunrise is more about a desire to get photo’s than to find inner beauty and solitude.

We travel a lot of short weekends away. Spending time on the beach and hearing the waves restores my soul. There is some kind of trance like reaction to the sound of the waves. I recall a friend doing a lesson on relaxing and restoring and she had an instrument that had tiny beads in that made a sound very similar to the waves action on a beach.

Ahh this little man restores my soul. He is our street rescue cat. He came to live with us just on 2 years ago, and he is my shadow. It does not matter where I am, he is there. Unlike our other cat, Moonshine, Simba is a cuddler. The first day we brought him home, he leaned up against my chest and found his way into my heart. We often share my office couch together and throughout my bed bound surgery recovery period he was my constant companion. He can be a bit mean to the other cat though so don’t let that innocent looking face fool you. He seems to have developed a perimeter around me that indicates that this is his turf and Moonshine is not to enter in it. Despite that I do love this little man.

Books and I are favorite friends, until you have to move them all to do flooring. I love my books, we are old friends. I love the smell of a book. I love to hold a book in my hands. Reading is just another way of finding peace and restoring the balance in my day. I very rarely go to sleep before reading for an hour.

Thank you for joining me for this month’s Share Six.  This is a circle blog. Please take time to visit my friend Katherine of Cobert Photography and see what she has for you this month.  Keep following the circle to see what the other photographers have shared this month.  Don’t forget to leave a little love on their page as well.

You can also find me on Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Google+ and Viewbug.

Now it is your turn. Don’t forget to like us on facebook at Share Six and come and share your images on the theme Restore throughout the month of March.  A new theme will come out on April 6.

Remember you can follow us on Instagram at @sharesix  and tag your images #sharesix_restore.

You can also find the Share Six webpage at http://www.sharesix.wordpress.com

We look forward to seeing your images on the theme restore