Nothing is so hard for those who abound in riches as to conceive how others can be in want. ~ Jonathan Swift

When I was a little girl and thru my teen years my Dad had a favorite saying or shall we say point that he reiterated over and over again – “we needed to know and be grateful for the world we lived in because many weren’t so lucky”. He would speak about his experiences with poverty in Columbia, Papua, New Guinea and Thailand/Vietnam and wanted us to understand that getting up in the morning and having 5 different cars to choose from wasn’t the norm.

I have always been grateful for that lesson. In 6th grade I did a report on Thailand and rather than focus on all the “storybook” King and I snap shots I chose rather to focus on the pictures of the beggars and the street markets and the refugees fleeing into Thailand from Cambodia and Vietnam. I knew from a very early age about the world and about the cultures that both fostered growth and hindered its people.

Move forward to now.

I tried to raise my kids with the same values and life lessons. When we travelled I would ask them to pay attention to it and to understand. I am not sure how well I did but I think they know, I think they get it.

You also know of my profound love of photography and beautiful places. We are so lucky here but what is beautiful and how do you define it?

K1 has a friend she danced with for a number of years. When they finished High School he went on the cruise ships. He traveled and loved it and as he did, he picked up a camera and his creativity shifted from the stage to the screen. Over time he changed his momentum. He started to focus on something deeper and more pure. He transitioned and then came to a place where he knew what he wanted to do. He gave up dance and went to photography full time.

He took beautiful pictures like this.

And then he found his calling;

http://jeremyfokkens.com/blog/

I love his blog. I love his humanity. I can’t speak enough about a world that has men like this in it. K1 has always had great friends. Jeremy is stellar amongst them. I can’t say enough about his gift of capturing humanity in the most profound ways.

I can’t express enough about my desire to make a difference in the world; I am 50 and still haven’t found my passion or calling. Jeremy, at 28 has a lock on his. Please know how amazed I am at the maturity of it all.

Promotion of this blog and Jeremy’s talent is essential because this guy is not in it for the money. He is in it to bring a light to the state of our world.

Congrats Jeremy for being the strong voice you are becoming and for finding your path, your absolute song!