Monday, November 10

letting things go








i received these gerber daisies over a month ago, i am usually really good at throwing things like that out once their time has passed but for some reason i didn't, i watched them change and left them where they were. today as i was ready to throw them out i noticed how beautiful the petals had fallen one to another, layered like ballerinas. I also started to think about the things i hold on to, the ones that i can't let go of. Sometimes they are conversation i replay in my head, or things i have lost and still try to look for, sometimes it is people i can't let go of even when i know i should. i started to make a list of things that keep reappearing, things i seem to carry with me, things that show up at the most unexpected times but do me no good and even those objects i can't seem to give away. then i wondered what you carried around with you knowing you should let go of. i thought maybe you could leave them here and i could put them on a paper boat and float them in the canal, or let the air take them in a balloon, or perhaps in a bottle and together we could make room for something new, something more gratifying, more rewarding...

31 comments:

Bonbon Oiseau said...

oh! these photos are so ethereal--so elegant in their passing...
can you take from me, and float down the canal in a paper boat the things i hold on to: anger, resentments, useless guilt and sadness that the world isn't perfect? This way maybe I can hold onto the more productive things that slip away sometimes, like acceptance and compassion and love and make way for a new conversation with myself?

heidi said...

shame, ex-lovers, fears, mistakes.

Anonymous said...

beautiful photos again, I would like to take, anger, jalousy, fear of success.. I hope It doesn't drown!

Esti said...

mistakes, deception, frustration, dreams that will never come true and hurt...

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful idea! Please include memories of ex-boyfriends for me. I don't need to think about them anymore.

Cannelle Et Vanille said...

these remind me so much of ballerinas... the color, the movement, the mood... simply beautiful.

limonana said...

i love this post...you know, every time I have fresh cut flowers in my house, I have a hard time throwing them out...They make me melancholy when they fade, & my husband thinks I'm a nut :o)
please put in the boat for me...attachment to material things.

peachey said...

thank you, kind nadia.

Mrs.French said...

beautifully stated and photographed...xo

kendalee said...

Heartfelt and touching as always - beautiful post!! I'd like to let go of all the guilt and anxiety that weighs me down...

heidi said...

Wow... surprisingly gorgeous shots of the fading flowers! I think many of us can relate to your thoughts and words about letting go.

I learned, the hard way, how to be okay with letting go of material things when all of my favorite belongings were stolen. After being bitter about it for years, I finally see the loss as a good thing.

Stephanie said...

Nadia these photographs are so beautiful. Your words come at a perfect moment in my life when I have been thinking about whats really important to me.
Please take my fear of the unknown. I don't need it anymore.

Linda Sue said...

I let things go too easily. I am the other extreme- there is emptiness- I would like to experience the sublime substance which you have. Hold on to that! The spent flowers are beautiful,too.

Unknown said...

nadia how happy i am to share with you that right now i have nothing that i need to let go of. i am sure that you are aware of that which i am going through because of my posts and i can honestly say that right now where i am, is ok, it is good and i need to be here. your post however will remain with me and when i do need to remove that something, i will.

Charlotte Tollstén said...

Beautiful, beautiful, photos and words Nadia!

Please take my bad self-confidence and a lot of other things. I dont need it anymore!

: )

shill said...

magnificent photos nadi :) and your thoughts on this, makes me think on my own too...thank you!

Anonymous said...

really, these photos are amazing. they just look like they're resting. so peaceful.

edi gardner said...

You have a way with words. I love how quietly you begin then everything rises/swells/bursts into strength... Keep writing!

cara said...

Ballerinas are exactly what I thought of when I looked at these beautiful pictures. i have the hardest time throwing out flowers once they have started to decay. It used to drive my mum mad, my boy is more tolerant although I'm sure he thinks it's pretty odd behaviour.

Unknown said...

Your photos are beautiful,and this post resonates in my heart,I am trying to let go old patterns of my life.
I hope....

etre-soi said...

beautiful faded flowers, beautiful words. Nadia I've trying to let go of sorrow for quite some years but it stucks with me and I guess it will never leave.
Otherwise, I remember when I was 20 and that there was nothing that could have a hold on me. No people, no material things but today I can see that I've changed and that I have too much roots where I am and even this can be reassuring I don't like it when I think about it. I would like to let go of that fear too.

cindy* said...

beautiful photos nadia. and i share your sentiments on letting go. i have the hardest time leaving behind routines and habits that comfort me, but may not always be best for me personally and hold me back from things that are new and different.

ailey said...

lovely.... ballerinas, the lighting, the flowers, letting go.
love, joy

Chris said...

These are beautiful photos. I love your words, and agree with you about letting go. It's also very hard for me, and I think others have it easier because they CAN let go. But I'm just not like that I suppose.

georgia b. said...

what a lovely post.
i have never seen wilted flowers look so beautiful.
i would not want to throw them out either.

i hold on to so many things—good and bad.
this is a great reminder—truly.

shilvia said...

it does look like a ballerina, now that you've mentioned it... these are very lovely!!!!iam a self confessed neurotic who keeps a big amount of excess baggage...i'm with you :)

please sir said...

Lovely images...the first one is just...wow. I love watching as flowers change too...such an interesting site.

Anonymous said...

Old loves are hardest for me to let go of. Once someone enters my heart, I feel, at least on some level, they hold that place in my heart forever. Often I think this is one of my better qualities, but in some cases it can be unhealthy and painful. It's so wounding to love someone that doesn't really even love themself.
On a lighter note, from a former ballerina, I must tell you these picture are so tender and beautiful. And yes, just like a ballerina.
Nadia, if you have a chance, please stop by and read the post on my blog, I would like very much for you to see it.
Thank you, Jennifer
http://blog.jenniferlorton.com

Camille said...

Beautiful ballerinas, gorgeous photos that capture them perfectly. As I've gotten older I realize I've held onto items that are fearfully close to being regrets. I'd like to let those float down the canal.

Anonymous said...

the light is beautiful in these.

Unknown said...

these are so beautiful and thoughtful...I love how you see the world.