September 22, 2013

I was just away for weeks in California celebrating my brother’s wedding and seeing all sorts of family.

My partner and I also adventured in LA for a while. There were so many incredible moments and yet for some reason this trip I felt like taking almost no photos.

I felt no desire to document the series of glorious moments in pixels, instead I felt like being with my people, as much as I possibly could.

I felt like soaking in the moments I was having with all the attention that I could possibly muster.

I wanted to connect with the people and place fully and savor it all instead of document it.

We went whale watching and almost everyone on the boat was watching the whales through their camera screens trying furiously to capture that one moment where the whale’s tail broke through the surface of the water.

I imagined I’d get a bad photo and be frustrated, so instead I leaned on the edge of the boat, felt the ocean spray and got mesmerized by watching the movement of the majestic whale and calf rising and falling.

I really had the experience of watching the whales instead of documenting it to show my friends what I had seen.

I prioritized how it felt to have the experience, over capturing how it looked.

This is what I encourage people to do with their experience of their bodies again and again.

The experience of enjoying being in one’s own body can happen best when we focus on how we feel, instead of how we look.

We will never look good enough by some outside measure, but we can feel glorious.

We have dominion over our experience when we begin to focus our attention and be present to how our body feels, the sensual details of our world and the people around us.

Sometimes I find taking photos deepens my experience of a place or moment, other times it interrupts the moment.

It is of course always up to you to determine which moment is which.

Part of being committed to experiencing a sensual and pleasurable life is to first and foremost be present to the moments happening to you, to bring all of yourself to the moments you are in.

It is a practice.

It takes discipline to bring your attention back into the sensations you are feeling instead of day dreaming but its worth it, because you experience more of what life is offering you.

I hope you have a week filled with rich moments.

Love,

Charlotte Mia Rose

June 6, 2013