FOCUS, CLICK
I’ve been crazily busy the last two weeks with really cool pursuits; entering three of my photos into the local state fair, assisting the professional judging panel for three straight l-o-n-g evenings of judging professional and amateur images, running my dog in our very first agility fun match, putting together my first tile mosaic project. All great stuff. And so demanding of immersion and my attention that I started to lose focus on managing my blood sugars.
What a double-edged sword; such joy in throwing myself into tackling projects and activities that make my heart sing, and make me nearly forget about shouldering the physical and psychological burdens that come with living day to day with diabetes. Yet, in the totally blissful immersion of my mind and body, comes an affront in the shape of creeping blood sugar levels that I can feel in my aching hands. Inattention to the diabetes, I guess, gone unnoticed and maybe even subconsciously tucked aside because I didn’t have time to deal with it while having so much fun, loving life and all I’m doing!
When I had an opportunity to print out some photographic images with my friend Eric, president of our local camera club, he posed an interesting challenge to me: ”To get better and move to the next level, you need to think about choosing a focus, immersing yourself in it, and learning all you can about it; so what topic do you think will be your focus this year?” And of course, immersed in the context of striving to be a skilled photographer worthy of National Geographic stature, I was willing to struggle with that issue. Portraiture? Abstracts? Landscapes? Cultural Photojournalism? Motion photography? My mind spun with delight at the possibilities. All important to learn; each one filled with lessons and opportunities.
And then I thought (a little grudgingly, I’ll admit); Hmmm. Not so different in terms of what I have to do every day and every week of my life with diabetes. Strategize about compositional elements: what makes me strong? Analyze what’s right, and what’s not working for me. Readjust my position. And sometimes, hit delete and be willing to start over and forgive myself for my mistakes. Focus, I realize, is key to everything.
Definitely not easy to do when it’s so personal, but I’m still learning, every day, how life and art are so integrated. CLICK.
Tags: Blood Sugar Swings, feelings about diabetes, life passions
