{"id":1715,"date":"2018-06-13T14:07:09","date_gmt":"2018-06-13T14:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kgphotoworkshops.com\/blog\/?p=1715"},"modified":"2018-06-13T14:07:25","modified_gmt":"2018-06-13T14:07:25","slug":"gratitude","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kgphotoworkshops.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/13\/gratitude\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on &#8220;Gratitude&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It is so easy to take life for granted. Even when we don\u2019t intend to, we still do.<\/p>\n<p>This life we are experiencing, with all it\u2019s challenges, joys and sorrows is such an amazing gift. While this is a blog about photography, the truth is that <em>photography is about LIFE and how we see the world around us<\/em>. The more we appreciate this life, the more we\u2019ll see the many blessings around us, the abundant blessings around us.<\/p>\n<p>Even in the hardest of life\u2019s experiences, there is something to be thankful for. Gratitude is a practice, a way of life, a way of seeing, a way of appreciating. Gratitude is intentional. Gratitude is a shift of focus away from an expectation of what we might <em>think<\/em> life is \u201csupposed\u201d to be, and instead embracing life for what it is.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gratitude is feeling the rain hit your face, yet looking toward the rainbow.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One person who has influenced my life tremendously is <strong>Eva Cassidy<\/strong>. She was a phenomenal singer who never sought fame or fortune. She simply sang and performed to the best of her ability. Her music touched my heart and my soul.<\/p>\n<p>Eva only used instruments she could afford, and she made wonderful music with her guitar. She never used a pick. Eva always used her fingers for everything. (That&#8217;s relevant to photographers, because we are tempted to think it&#8217;s the camera features that matter the most, but actually it is <em>how we use it<\/em> that matters more.)<\/p>\n<p>Sadly, Eva\u2019s life was cut short by cancer at age 33. The world lost a great artist.<\/p>\n<p>I am grateful for the life of Eva Cassidy. I am grateful for the gift of her musical talent she shared with this world.<\/p>\n<p>Her rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow is so powerful.\u00a0 I just felt like sharing this at a time in my life where I am very much aware of how important it is to embrace this gift of life, each and every day, each moment.<\/p>\n<p><em>Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>I encourage you to watch Eva&#8217;s performance of Over the Rainbow AND I encourage you to spend a little time reflecting on all the things you are grateful for in your life.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2rd8VktT8xY\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It is so easy to take life for granted. Even when we don\u2019t intend to, we still do. This life we are experiencing, with all it\u2019s challenges, joys and sorrows is such an amazing gift. While this is a blog about photography, the truth is that photography is about LIFE and how we see the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kgphotoworkshops.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/13\/gratitude\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Reflections on &#8220;Gratitude&#8221;<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[28],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Gratitude<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It is so easy to take life for granted. Even when we don\u2019t intend to, we still do.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kgphotoworkshops.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/13\/gratitude\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gratitude\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It is so easy to take life for granted. 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