This past weekend was Easter. A very special time for some and for others, chocolate bunnies. But I took some time and thought about what it really means, resurrection. The return of Jesus after his crucifixion and death. If you are a Christian that is, and if not well, maybe you can read about it so you understand where I am coming from.
I didn’t do anything special for Easter but I did think about what the idea of resurrection means to me. It means a new beginning. Starting over. Another chance at things. No matter what your ideas of religion are I think we can agree that the idea, the concept, the man, my brotha JC is all about each of us getting another chance. Sermon complete.
I’ve not had a very nice past couple of years. My sister-in-law was diagnosed with cancer and has had a brutal battle with it. During the spring of 2010 my father-in-law passed away. I completed a beautiful house which I was the general contractor on and did much of the work and then, for various reasons, handed the keys back to the bank on January 1st, 2011, happy new year right! During that same time my wife explained that we were different people and I was no longer her kind of people. In February of 2011 my grandmother whom I loved very much passed away. I’ve lost friends and family in the divorce which is always tough and finally in February of 2012 I had to put my dog, Kona, down because of stomach cancer. It’s been several years of loss, heartbreak and depression. So now what? Resurrection.
I started an interesting project last year where I would take a photo of myself to document the state I was in. People can tell you that you look good, you look tired, you lost weight or whatever and you may or may not believe them, but the photos don’t lie. When I take a photo I can see into someone. During a race I can tell what someone is made of just by what I see in their eyes. I can tell you if they will do well or if they will crack. But, like most people, I’ve never liked photos of myself so this was a difficult project for me. What it did though is let me see into myself and I could reflect, heal and move on. Try it sometime and see what you can see in yourself. I highly recommend it.
The photos, the races and the people I’ve met have all brought me back to life. Resurrection isn’t always easy. Sometimes you fight to come back, it’s a bloody miracle you do and then you’ve still got people giving you a hard time. Just ask Jesus. But the fact is, is that we have a choice. We have a choice to make things what we want of them. Bad times, sure. Sadness, sure. But do we need to stay that way? Hell no!
I’ve learned that every day can be a resurrection if we let it, a new beginning. Hey that sounds good, why not? Sometimes it can be hard but I say go take a photo. I take photos of my dog Mack because he makes me smile, he can be goofy or super cute. Sometimes I take photos of a beautiful view while I’m out on a motorcycle ride so that I can remember it later. Sometimes its just something cool that I see. Things that I can reflect on later and bring about happiness.
I’ve not written this to whine and moan, for pity or to get flowers in the mail, although chocolate bunnies might be nice. Everyone has things of some sort or another they have to deal with. Nothing special here folks, move along. Go take a photo.
For those interested, send me a photo of yourself and I’ll make a photo wall of all of us! I don’t need a caption or anything. Just send a photo of you, happy, sad or whatever and let people make of it what they will. It’s therapeutic and fun. Jonathan@epicimages.us and in the subject line just put “ME”.
