About

About Me.

We get to choose our life perspective. We select the lens through which we see the world, and ourselves. Basically we have two options: we can see it through love, or we can see it through fear.

The heart is one of the most reproduced shapes; it’s everywhere. In every language, and culture, people understand the image of the heart. It is universally binding and connecting. Ducit Amore (Latin for “to lead with love”), a collection of photographs and personal writing, is my opportunity to put a frame around it all. There’s always a frame, and we get to choose it— it’s the only thing we get to choose. We don’t dictate what’s in the frame— anger happens, shit happens, people die. I’d rather have a heart surround it all, instead of constriction and resistance.

My offerings on this site are about giving the heart permission to be vulnerable and have a voice. To embrace empathy, and allow that to be valid, is “leading with love.” Validating the authentic, heartfelt experiences of other people— and ourselves— without arguing, solving, or rationalizing. There is no one “right way” to show up with love, or to lead with love. What’s your way? For me, it’s messy, it’s confusing sometimes, it’s unclear, it’s complex, it’s fraught with angles, it’s not a straight line. It’s feeling my way forward, always navigating. Every moment, I recommit to what love looks like, asking, “How do I present myself as love in this moment, moment by moment?” It changes  constantly. 

Every day is Valentine’s day. These hearts I’ve photographed show up, perhaps, because I’m already looking at the world through this lens. I don’t show up perfectly loving every day, but the hearts remind me what I am aiming for. They remind me of my intention. My heart feels the urge for openness and connection, and yet my mind isn’t always on board; it’s kind of on guard, but it softens when it sees so much evidence of love appearing all around in these images.

I don’t want to purport that I’m perfect at it. I get scared, I freak out, I hide, I cover… I have my barriers. Failures lead to acceptance. I don’t expect perfection, but I highly respect accountability. When I don’t do it well, I can be accountable. I account for the state of my heart; it’s a heartfelt thing. If I say things that have hurt someone, it’s my heart that leads me to make reparations, not my head.

I want to learn every day, from every interaction. I want to learn how to be walking love. It makes other people smile, it makes me smile. It’s connection in a time of so much disconnection. I want to provide real-life images of love, of the journey toward it, of the risks— and the rewards— even though vulnerability can be terrifying.

Here’s what I know: there is no downside to vulnerability, and showing my heart— even though it’s scary, even though my mind resists and tries to protect me. I am a recovering “Type A” who wants to build community around this journey of gorgeous imperfection, building a framework of loving acceptance and accountability as we learn. Thank you, from my heart, for spending some time here with me.

 

Ducit Amore!