Share Six: March 2018: Contrast

The theme {Contrast} was chosen by Tori of Roots and Twigs Photography.  I really struggled this month with with where to go with this blog.  Contrasts come in many aspects of life.  They come in color, in shapes and in sizes.  Contrasts according to definitions are that which is strikingly different.  This past week I changed out my flowers in my office.  Yes I like to treat myself to flowers.  It would help if my office at home was a little tidier but on the drawers next to my sofa there is a vase of flowers.  As I changed out one set of flowers for another I looked at the contrasts of the two.

Every time I thought about contrasts my mind went to life and death.   Changing out dead flowers for new flowers and the contrast of the look of the two. That resonated with me and my emotions.  South Florida has felt the pain of death this past 2 weeks with the traumatic shooting at Margory Stoneman Douglas High School.

A group of vibrant students and teachers vital to the heart of the school were gunned down in cold blood.  The school, the loved ones and the community have felt the pain and the sting of death.

The hurting is palpable.  The pain is raw.  The emotions are high.  Families have lost loved ones.  Spouses have lost their partner.  Children have lost their father.  Parents have lost their children.  Lost seems like a word that would be indicative of something that could be found.  No they are gone, never to physically return.

It is hard to witness that pain.  It is hard to hear the voices speak of the loss.  Each time I find myself tearing up.  Yesterday I was at a function in Fort Lauderdale and the announcer in their opening prayers remembered the students, teachers, children, spouses and parents of Margory Stoneman Douglas High School, those lost and those who grieve.  I could not help the tears that came to my eyes as the emotion built inside of me.

Yet in all of this pain and sorrow, something new and unique has happened, something that has not happened before.  A movement has blossomed and opened up pathways to change.  The students of Margory Stoneman Douglas High School have stood up and become a voice.  And the students across South Florida have stood up in solidarity.  These are the voices of future voters.

What has saddened me, is the platitudes.  You hear the “powers that be” look the students in the face and say we will support change, and then you hear that the Florida Senate found the effects of porn to be more important than that of a mass shooting.  That a bill proposed to curb these kind of horrific happenings was killed before it could even reach discussion.  I struggle with this.  I have to wonder how many more lives are to be lost.  When will it make an impact?  What will it take to make a change in the hearts of these decision makers?  If 20 six-year-old children dying at Sandy Hook could not change the hearts of these decision makers, what will?

What I have learned from this event, is that it only takes one person to stand up, one voice to speak out and one group to start listening.  These young men and women, some of them just juniors in school, have a voice that could make a difference.  I know that I can make a difference.  You too, can make a difference.

Thank you for joining me for this month’s Share Six. Please note that these are my personal views and not the view of the blog group.  This is a circle blog.  From the sneak peak images I have seen, you are going to want to follow the circle.  Please take time to visit my friend Lynne of Lynne Grant 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 {Contrast} 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_contrast.

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

We look forward to seeing your images on the theme {Contrast}