I started this little blog about ten days ago, after a great deal of thought. I had been thinking for some time about wanting to take my written thoughts and have a special place for them, along with some of the photos that I’ve been taking that I love. It wasn’t an easy decision. A great deal of self-doubt ran through my  mind. What will people think? Is my writing really any good? Are my photos anything special? What am I trying to prove – an older person just rambling on with random thoughts and poetry? Will anyone really read it or look at it? Why bother? I can just stay in my little comfort zone and write my little thoughts on paper with pencil, and put them in my little folder entitled “my writing”, or stick them in a book somewhere on a shelf, as I’ve been doing for decades. Who will care about what I have to say? I’m just setting myself up for scrutiny and failure…

And then, somehow, a little voice in my head began to speak. It spoke to me about how I’ve been writing all of my life. From the time I learned to put two sentences together, I began to write little verses. I’m not sure exactly why, but there was something within me that called me to do this. A lot of children probably do this – a written card for a parent, a little booklet of thoughts… And then I moved on to stories. I don’t know if they were any good, but I wrote them. And again, there was just something that called me to write. Even in college years, I wrote little booklets of free form verse. My wedding gift to my husband was a little book of poetry and thoughts that I had compiled, written over time, during the years we had dated. When my children were small, I wrote some children’s stories that I hoped to make into a series. I spent many hours during their nap times, plunking away at our old typewriter, writing and perfecting. I sent them out to a few publishers, who gave me very complimentary feedback, but reported that my work was not what they were looking for at the time. Life got busy with other demands and I eventually gave up on sending them out. Even in recent years, I had an idea for a novel and worked diligently for a long time, with the dream in my heart of completing it and hopefully publishing it. Unfortunately, it sits half finished. It was, perhaps, too large of an undertaking, and I eventually lost interest in the project. Yet, my interest in writing continues. It is a love of mine – a way of expressing myself. Within the last few years, I have developed a love of photography and have found myself looking for beautiful things to photograph. Of course, ever since I’ve had grandchildren, I’ve taken hundreds of photos of all six of them. And they are by far the most beautiful subjects of all! But they all live far away and so I’ve had to find additional beautiful subjects that are around me on an every day basis. In the last couple of years, I’ve tried to improve my photographic skills. I’m not sure how good they are, but my love for capturing the beauty, especially of nature, in a photograph is a new passion. And so here I am, a woman who loves to write and take photographs! Somehow, it has just made sense to put those two loves together and create! It is my love, my passion! And what could be better for one’s soul than to use these passions, these loves, these callings, to create something?  For me, it is very satisfying. We live in a world today where we’re able to use these interests and put them together and create a website or blog! We couldn’t do that years ago, when I slaved at my typewriter in the early 80’s, hoping to produce something worthy enough to be published!

And so today, while I can still put two sentences together ( at least most of the time), and I can use a photo that I’ve taken myself to help express my ideas, I have chosen to start this little blog/website. I’ve listened to that little voice in my head that said “Go for it! Put your work out there! Don’t worry about what everyone thinks! Do it while you can!” My messages are quite simple. I don’t profess to possess answers to the problems of the world. I simply look for the beauty in life, and it is all around me. I find it every day, in so many ways. I don’t feel that I will run out of material any time soon!  And I just write and take the pictures and put it out there! I am doing it for myself because I love to do it and I can do it! And why shouldn’t I do it? Anyone can do it! And if others want to read and see what I’ve put out there, that is wonderful! Of course, if others like what I’ve written or photographed, it’s certainly nice to know, and it is very encouraging, of course … But if they don’t, I’ll still keep writing what comes into my heart and photographing the beauty I see… And I will put it all in my special little place. And it will be special (at least to me)…  I want to add that there have been a few special people who have encouraged me in my endeavor, and I appreciate their support so very much. With their encouragement, I was able to overcome the fears and the obstacles of beginning this blog.  I’ve also realized that at this point in my life, I don’t want to hide my little scribbles of writing in a book on a shelf somewhere or keep my photos private. It’s time to be able to express myself more freely…

This mission is certainly not just for myself. There’s a voice inside that calls me… to write about the beauty of life and its special blessings and wonders. I feel that we need more positive messages in this world! I am happy and proud to attempt to spread more positive messages… And as I’m writing about this beauty and wonder, my spirit feels alive and my heart feels young.

You’re never too old to do something that you love…  and to follow your heart!

~ Carole Carter – text and photograph