20141003_iphone_004

The first time my husband came to America, he funded his flight ticket in part by selling his beloved old landrover bought from a secondhand car dealer five years before. They’d traveled from one game reserve to the next and when he’d embarked on a new career in tourism, the old jalopy awaited him in between trips. But then things changed. He turned in his notice, guided one last trip where the unpredictable happened: he met me! By the time I’d returned to Johannesburg to see him again, he’d bought a sporty used Toyota, parked the landy on a friend’s farm and sold it to him a few months later on his quest to woo a girl. I leared about this transaction years later, and finally met the landy in October when we hooked up with our friend at the pickup’s new abode having been moved from the farm to the business workshops all these years later.

While scrolling through photos on my phone last night, I came across the landy again and asked my husband if he missed it. “No,” he replied, “It was time to move on.”

Now me? My sentimental nature has me holding onto things when I should probably let them go. Often I’ll fill a box with “priceless” items, store them in the attic for 6 months and if I’ve never brought the box down once to get something out, then I know that I don’t need to see it again. Do you do this too? But there are other things, less tangible things, that aren’t so easy to box up. Take relationships, jobs or emotions for example. How do we know when it is time to move on from one of those?

Four years ago I was inspired by an incredible group of women. They challenged me with themes and concepts to photograph with my camera. As a devoted follower, I pushed my photographic skills with their bi-weekly challenges exploring new ways to shoot or edit my photos. And the thrill, oh the thrill, of being featured alongside them was huge! Imagine my surprise when a year later they asked me to join them! I was ecstatic.

From one site to another, these past three years with Mortal Muses has seen my photography and writing skills grow beyond what I could have conceived. Not only have I become acquainted with an amazing and talented group of women that I am honored to call friends, but I’ve been introduced to new world of photography though Conversations, image features and our community who inspire me on a daily basis. The decision to move on as a collaboration wasn’t easy, but to me felt surprisingly comfortable. Unlike a box stored in the attic, the words and inspiration I’ve gained from Mortal Muses thrives within me. There’s no need to give it away or leave it behind. So even if this space comes to a halt, the concepts and ideas introduced over the past four years as both a community member and contributor have already moved on growing as part of my dreams and as seeds of inspiration. They’re already part of a concrete reality that I am currently living, and I hope you feel this way too.

Thank you friends for being a part of my dreams, a continued source of inspiration and growth as a photographer. I hope you’ll move with us into a new beginning.

Holly ~ Soupatraveler