Winter storm clouds above the Rocky Mountains

It’s December, 2022 (insert your favorite cliche adage of time here). For me it’s the end of an eventful year filled with adventures, photos, obstructions, successes, and a realization that seemed to change my world. So where do I stand at the end of this year? Taking the lessons I learned in 2022 to apply them to my life in 2023. So what lessons are those? Let’s look at some of them.

I can be successful, but it’s going to take work and boundaries. I love volunteering my time with the Mountaineers and will continue to do so - but on my terms. I come first, then my photography and writing aspirations. Volunteering comes somewhere after that. This past year I have seen an increase in visitors to my YouTube channel plus a growing following on the socials and my dear friends reading this newsletter. In the coming year, I’ll be bringing out my podcast, short photography lessons, and the books I promised this year. Oh and the books I’ve been working on for several years.
I have a voice that people hear and listen to. The classes I taught with the Mountaineers showed me that. Viewers tuned into my YouTube videos. Friends asked for my advice. That’s why I decided to try my hand at a podcast.
Trust my gut. At the end of October, I stopped at one of my favorite birding locations: Billy Frank Jr Nisqually Wildlife Refuge. I was recovering from COVID and decided to only take my one camera and my new lens with me on my walk. Something in me said to take the camera bag, but I didn’t as I only expected to walk a short way. After an hour and a half I came back to my car to find an empty place where the camera bag had been. Trust your gut. But not just the apprehensive messages. I know when things are right and I can’t push myself before I am ready. I thought I wanted to get a few projects done before the end of the year, in reality I just wasn’t ready to take any of those tasks on. (In case you are wondering, between insurance and donations, I’ve been able to recover most of what I lost in the theft.)
As for trust, this past year I wanted to get my backpacking gear lighter. The most vivid memory of when I fell last year was the weight of my pack shifting and pulling me over the cliff. My thought was to lighten my gear and hopefully stay stable on the trail. Some of the new lightweight gear worked perfectly. Some did not. I never learned to trust my tent and when it broke during the 11 day trip through the Olympics, I was done with ultra-light tents.
I like me. I have lived with depression for much of my life. After years of therapy, I learned to look in the mirror and remind myself that I love me. But I still suffered from horrifying bouts of disgust towards myself and often became lost in a world where I believed I had messed up my life beyond repair. I loved me, but I didn’t like me. While working on a video, I realized that I actually do like me and want to be my friend. That is the realization that changed my world. You can love someone without liking them, but if you love them AND like them - it makes all the difference. It made all the difference for me. Since that realization I have not had a single despondent moment - even after my camera bag was stolen. This is not a cure-all for everyone and I’m not recommending to anyone with depression that they should throw away their treatments, but so far it has worked for me. My plan is to move forward because I want the friend I have in myself to be a success.

Those are the biggest lessons I have learned over the past year. Because the end of the year is a time for reflection, I invite you to join me on my Instagram as I look back on some of my favorite photos of 2022 and the stories of how they came about.

If my crazy idea wall is any indication, 2023 is going to be amazing so stay tuned for the adventure.

My last parting thought. My holiday wish for you is that you are able to see yourself the way those who love you see you.