Thanksgiving Thoughts

The Crossing
Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, MX

"Our greatest glory in life is not in never falling
but in rising every time we fall."
Confucius

A year ago marked the end of nearly three years of unemployment and the beginning of a new work adventure which led me to Tucson, AZ. While I was happy with the idea of having a job I was saddened by the thought of leaving my comfort zone, home, and family.

Within the first week, my new company was acquired and all the promises made broken. Yet I was required to move and commit to an apartment rental. To say the least, I was bitter, anxious, lonely, and angered by the emotional drama. My journey took a completely different twist and I was reluctant to embrace the change it brought.

Pima Canyon Sunset

The only and best way for me to handle the new job experience and change was to view it as a glorified part time job in a region of the country I longed to be in. After months of emotional struggles with the job, I found refuge within the nearby mountains and in the mornings of the high desert of Tucson and southeast Arizona. The adventure took a completely twist then and I was able to produce some of my best work. Some of it now resides at the Simon Gallery of Fine Art located in Steinway Piano Gallery in Tucson.

For that twist, I am truly grateful. Had it not been for extreme loneliness and the stimulus of mountains and desert, that work never would have happened. Just when I had given up hope that I would be back joining my family and soon to be born triplet grand babies, I discovered that I had landed a new job back home in Dallas/Fort Worth. This happened one week after the birth of beautiful triplets. This job would keep me home and take me back working in Mexico again.

For the second time in less than a year, I am starting over. This time I confess, I am happy about the opportunities, but I truly miss the desert which I grew fond of at the foothills of the Catalina Mountains and the open pastures of Patagonia. There will be different adventures to chronicle from the industrial border towns this time.

In the mean time, all of my work is for sale and I will be actively marketing it this coming year. My financial recovery is beginning but the huge deficits caused by the unemployment seem unsurmountable but I see some glimmer of hope. Now I need those interested in my work to buy or engage me and support my work. You can friend me on FB or reach me via my website or this blog.  My product offerings are all custom and range from 5x7 cards to 24x36 canvas prints. Truly there's more to my prints than meets the eye. There's a complete story. Go back and read my journey starting from March of 2010 to now…see the chronicled ups and downs. I've survived but still am struggling. Would appreciate you getting the word out about my work. Go ahead and share my blog with others.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

Autumn Thoughts

Stroll in the Park
iPhone
Keller, TX
“No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace
as I have seen in one autumnal face.” 
― John Donne

We have had an unusual autumn here in north Texas. The kind I would have expected the likes of New England where I spent my youth. The mornings have been crisp and we've even had some early frost. All of this and I suppose moisture at the appropriate times has brought us an interesting array of yellows, ambers, and oranges that we normally don't receive.

Autumnal Author and Photographer:
Al Hernandez

It's all good and this autumn twist has lifted my spirits given that at this time of year I really get homesick for both my Berkshires and the hilly terrains of nearby Catskills. Although its neither the New England nor upstate New York, this year it will have to suffice.

A few years ago, I grew fond of an expression: "bloom where you are planted". Don't know who said it and for sure I would give them due credit. This I know that it makes perfect sense to enjoy what what you have at hand and can enjoy. It makes no sense wishing today away or wondering what the future would hold if only and only if.

While my mother claimed to have extraordinary insight, I can't say that I have the same vision. Instead Im learning through nature and the nurturing of friends to enjoy and live each day with what I have. Suppose in Texas our twist to the adage is simply "dance with the one who brung ya". Think I will keep enjoying our autumn the one I have and not the one I wish for. Both make me happy, dreaming of one and living the one I've got.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com

Autumn Selfie
iPhone
Keller, TX

We've had a delightful autumn here in North Texas. The temperatures have brought morning chills to the air and the other otherwise humid mornings have turned brisk and almost frosty. A few clouds have rolled in too softening the autumn afternoon lights subduing the contrast we always find in north texas arduous summer heat. Welcome change has hit us refreshing our souls and making us eager for fall festivities prior to the onset of winter.

Although not as obvious there's change going on within me too. As I hit my stride in the early autumn of my life, I am desperately seeking answers to questions about what I value and want. For years I had mastered the art of self flagellation and criticism and now I recognize that it served no purpose other than self mutilation and destruction. I am not this horrible person I once thought but rather a creative kind person who loves and values his friends and family.

Mid-life and the associated mid-life crisis is nothing more than mid-life discovery. My brain requires me to think about what is important to me. While I was in Tucson each day, I valued the strength which the mountain and the surround landscapes offered me. It became my duty to chronicle the changes I witnessed with both my camera and written word.

Life is more than work and even more than family. You can't have one in front of a television or at a desk working all the time. Life is meant to be interactive. You have to go out into it and experience it. To that extent my passion brings me out of my mind and into the reality of the universe itself. Live your life and engage it.

www.photographybyalhernandez.com