Let Your Soul Shine......

“Sail beyond the horizon;

 fly higher than you ever thought possible; 

magnify your existence by helping others;

 be kind to people and animals of all shapes and sizes; 

be true to what you value most; shine your light on the world;

 and be the person you were born to be.” 

Blake Beattie

Many times in life we walk along our path, 

never noticing our connection to the greater world.

I have always been inspired by the movie K-Pax, where Kevin Spacey plays an "alien from the planet K-Pax" who is visiting the earth and making great difference in the lives of many humans as he becomes connected to those in the mental institution where he finds himself lodging.  If you haven't watched it.....you have to!!

Sometimes we go through life, 

move along,

taking care of our little family,

our needs that are more important than others

and

in doing so

we can find ourself 

unconnected to the greater world.

Prote makes two pretty strong pronouncements during the movie....

"Let me tell you something, Mark. You humans, most of you, subscribe to this policy of an eye for an eye, a life for a life, which is known throughout the universe for its... stupidity. Even your Buddha and your Christ had quite a different vision, but nobody's paid much attention to them, not even the Buddhists or the Christians. You humans. Sometimes its hard to imagine how you've made it this far."

and

"You know what I've learned about your planet?

 There's enough life on Earth to fill 50 planets. Plants, animals, people, fungi, viruses, all jostling to find their place, bouncing off each other, feeding off each other. Connected....."

it is true you know...we are connected

we bounce and vibrate and run into

and

feed off

we 

also

peck and push and shove

but

still

we are connected.

In wondering

how we begin to live into our life philosophy

of

"paying it forward"

"making a difference"

"acknowledging our connectiveness"

I began to think 

about how different people do just that...

make an impact in a world that is so large

so 

mysterious,

so intangible great that even when we stand in the middle of a huge forest

it is hard to "get it"...get how we are supposed to do what Gandhi says....you know the one, "be the change you want to see in the world...." or something like that....

As I was thinking I ran across a facebook post by Big Daddy's cousin, Amy.  It had a link to a site where she displayed some of her photography which she entitles, 

"Soul Shine" (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Soul-Shine/217353065004302).

I sent her a message and asked if she would like to do a blog post about how she started this particular endeavor---because 

she does change the world....a bit at a time.

Her response at first was just a very humble...

"It's just a hobby. I wouldn't know what to write..."

I pushed a bit more and then she replied that she'd tell me how it got started.....Soul Shine, where she uses her hobby of photography 

as a way to make a difference in the lives of children in the special needs community....and

 little by little...

in her own connected way...

she is changing the lives of the world...

one child at a time...hobby or not..

Here is the response she sent me.....

How Soul Shine came to be:

I have been working with children with special needs all my life. My mom is a pediatric nurse and every year I would help her with the Halloween carnival that the hospital would put on. I remember when I was 7, I dressed up as a clown at the Children's Hospital to visit the kids. When I went to college I worked with a Community Autism Intervention Program through the University of Alabama. I worked for 2 years as a 1:1 aide with a child in the school system and during our summer program. In 2000, I graduated from the University of Alabama, Birmingham with a degree in Occupational Therapy. After graduation I moved to Knoxville and worked with mostly middle class families through an outpatient therapy clinic. I have always enjoyed photography and during my down time I would frequently go to the Smoky Mountains and take rolls and rolls of pictures of anything that caught my eye. 
In 2006, we moved to Southwest Georgia. It is completely different from Knoxville, and anywhere else I have ever lived. It is flat and mostly farm land. I became an independent therapy provider because I quickly learned that there was not an option to work in an outpatient therapy facility because most of the children who needed help lived in a family situation that did not have transportation. The poverty level in the county I served is at 40%. I would travel to these homes and there would be no toys for the children to play with. I asked myself how are these children supposed to learn if they aren’t given the opportunity. Environmental delay was added to my vocabulary to describe this population of children who were grossly delayed in their development due to the circumstances in which they lived. I contacted Toys R Us to see if they had a way of donating items that could be used for therapy services, but they declined stating they already had organizations to which they donated. 
During my time in GA I had 2 daughters. I dove into the world of digital photography in order to capture every memory I could of my children. I met several other women who were interested in photography and we shared tips and ideas. Many of my friends asked me to take pictures of their children which I always obliged because I enjoy photography. I am not a creative person so this helps me develop that skill. I always enjoyed gifting my photography to people and refused payment. 
In the back of my mind I kept trying to think of a way to provide these children with toys that would help with their skills development. In November 2011, I finally came up with the idea of Soul Shine as a way to blend my two passions, photography and working with children with special needs. When someone asked me to take pictures of their family I accepted their offer of payment as a donation toward creating a therapy tool box. The box consisted of basic activities that could be used on various levels of development which included puzzles, books, language flashcards, blocks, crayons, and Mr. Potato head (for body awareness). I was able to put together 3 boxes just before Christmas to give to 3 different families. Two of the children I saw at a daycare and never had the opportunity to actually meet the family. I just prayed that the boxes would be received well and were used for the intended purpose. I never heard from either of those 2 families, but true gifting comes without strings attached, so I just trusted God would take care of it. 
Another component to Soul Shine that I enjoy is photographing children with special needs. I love capturing their features that make them unique. I enjoy gifting this to families as a way to celebrate what God has given them. God deliberately created each of us as individuals so that we can learn to accept each other’s differences and allow the LOVE of Jesus to shine through us all!

Just a hobby?

I don't think so....

Amy let her heart connections be her inspiration to dig deeply...

I've always loved the photography she did of her kids

and

followed it on her facebook and shutterbug page....

Now that I know her story...

well

it has made me

remember 

in the words of 

Prote...

"we are all connected in some weird kind of way..."

I wonder...

just wonder...

how many of us

do little things...

bake bread

or 

create stationary

or 

scrapbook

or shoot

photography

or fix cars...

or something

...

wonder how many of us

might find a passion

to slow down

open our eyes

pour out our heart 

and

risk

....

risk

changing the world..

one photo,

one person,

one family,

one toy...

at at time..

wonder

how each of us

might 

"let our soul shine".

I'm gonna try..

I hope on this Sacred Sunday..

all of us

realize

we are

all here...

moving,

jostling,

bumping

....

We are connected!

So let it Shine!!!

Happy Sunday...

The Radical Rambler