© 2009 Marica

100 – Together we are

“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. “Pooh,” he whispered.
“Yes, Piglet?”
“Nothing,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s paw, “I just wanted to be sure of you.””

— Winnie the Pooh

It’s been 100 days. We’ve made it to the triple digits.

For 100 days Lynsey and I have taken photographs, chosen one to share with all of you and written a reflection based on that photo. The writing part was meant to take a maximum of 30 minutes – Yeah Right! Taking a photo every day should be no problem – in theory yes this is true, in reality it can be difficult because you are generally always having to look at the same subject matter. Our ability to “see” has really been challenged. I have been amazed at what has come out of this first 100 days and I can’t wait to see how the next 100 days unfold. We are creating a garden of delights, born of us, and every day we are discovering more about ourselves and our life as we go about living it.

These 100 days have certainly had their ups and downs. Living what you believe is not always easy – sometimes it feels like the world is conspiring against you and it probably is. Doing what we want to be doing is also not always easy. Lynsey and I have certainly been tested over these past 100 days – over and over again in actual fact. We have both fallen asleep at the computer in our attempt to publish before midnight each day. We have set ourselves high expectations and we have been determined to meet them – even exceed them. We are putting pressure on ourselves but we are doing so willingly because this matters to us. Fresh New Day matters to us a great deal.

For me it has been so different doing this project with someone else. I have tried to do it alone and somehow it wasn’t the same. This time Lynsey and I can support one another. Some days Lynsey carries me on his shoulders and other days it is the other way around. Both of us are always looking everywhere all the time and invariably one of us is waiting for the other while a photo is being taken of something that has caught our eye. We are both inseparable from our cameras now.

Seeing each new day in different ways, even when we are doing all the same things, isn’t always easy either. I find I have to focus quite hard some days to find the positives and the beauty of what is. Even with my camera in hand some days I struggle to see what is right in front of me – the extraordinary in the ordinary. But by working on Fresh New Day it has made a difference to me on so many levels – the effort has definitely been worth it.

Receiving feedback from all of you has had a profound impact on me. Every day we receive messages reinforcing that what we are doing is making a difference to others and that makes my heart burst with joy. I also love it when we get to meet people in person who visit our site. The other night when we were out we were chatting with a woman and it suddenly dawned on her who we were – “Oh, so you’re Fresh New Day. I love your work,” she said excitedly.

So, 100 days have passed. Now on to the next 100!

Thank you one and all for sharing this journey with us and please don’t forget to keep in touch. We love hearing from you.

Manifesto
01. Every day is a fresh new day.
17. Every day look through a new lens.
45. Every day you are a different person.

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