Many years ago, I was introduced to the music of Smith, Funk and Strauss. It’s highly likely that you’ve never heard of them but in our family their songs became standard Saturday morning listening. When our kids were 8 and 10 we went to Disneyland and Smith, Funk and Strauss was the music of choice blasting from the rental car speakers as we roared down I-5.
One song in particular has wriggled its way deep into my brain and is the inspiration for the image included in this post. The song is called Cracked (you can listen to it here) – my favourite line is “I’m cracked – that’s how the love gets out”. To me this speaks of the importance of authenticity and acceptance of our brokenness and “flaws”. I’ve come to understand that it’s in the embracing our own broken pieces that we develop empathy, and when empathy is allowed to root and grow it ultimately flowers into love. And love changes everything.
Unfortunately, far too often I have tried to hide or minimize those parts of me that I saw as weaknesses or failings, in a vain attempt to fit in; to belong. I share with many other introverts a strong sense of not really knowing where I belong or if I belong at all. Of course, we all need to belong, and in me, that deep desire, coupled with a lack of confidence and a pretty shallow, immature outlook, led to a number of poor, self-sabotaging friendship decisions in my teens and into my twenty’s. I created facades, faces that I presented to the world that I believed was what others wanted me to be. To be honest, I was so fixated on fitting in that I sucked as a friend. Paradoxically, my unwillingness to be open, honest and vulnerable kept me from the very thing I wanted most. I’d love to say that I am now an open book when it comes to relationships but it’s a journey and I’m not fully there yet. But I think I’m better than I was and I have a much greater appreciation for this truth - It’s only to the degree that we face our fears and are vulnerable, when we embrace our cracks that “the light gets in … that the love gets out”. This is at the heart of what I want to imbue in the images I create. While I won’t normally go down the path of wildly photoshopping a face to make a point, I do want who you really are to come shining through, because you are pretty amazing just as you are and the world is a better place when we get to see you.
Have a great day
Cheers,
Tris
