“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray” Rumi

I have been contemplating the journey I have been on both personally and professionally the past few years and I realize how much more wiser I have become, yet how much more I crave to learn and experience. I realize how much I have loved, and yet also realize how much more love I have to give and receive. I realize that all the ups were phenomenal, and the downs in hindsight, I would not have had it happen any other way. I have always been one to follow my heart, a bleeding heart as it may have been, I followed it. I still believe there is no other way to exist but to live believing in the good in this world and the HOPE that dreams may come and the GRACE of being gentle with your own heart and soul, and the courage to live FEARLESS. To be BRAVE and take a step forward into the future WHOLEHEARTEDLY. Not tomorrow, not when everything is perfect, but now… imperfections and all. To dare to have a VISION of what you desire your life to BE. To get up every day and be GRATEFUL for this one more day, this one more CHANCE, to BELIEVE, to IMAGINE, to DARE to follow your heart, to TRANSCEND your fears and SHATTER your LIMITS….

For as long as I can remember I have always been accompanied with pen & paper and a camera of some sort. Documenting tools were my most precious possessions growing up living all over the world. As far back as I can remember there were a few things I held close to my heart… smiling from my heart:

the proof I was holding the old Kodak 110 flash!! I was enamored with cameras and apparently laughing way too much for my Dad to capture a normal picture! But from a very young age I was acutely aware of the beauty of the world around me and the ability I had to find a smile in whatever circumstance, country, or situation I found myself in and along the way the yearn to capture and document it all whether through writing or photography. What I captured and wrote I wanted to share that with the world. Fast forward some twenty-plus years, I am doing just that through my lens and pen and paper.

The key to happy and (giggling as I have since I was 2 apparently) is to see the good and the beauty around us. To FEEL the red of the earth beneath our feet, the rolling of the clouds as they come in pouring stories into our lives watering the land to bloom into unforeseen dreams. To do what you love and love what you do is key. In this day and age life is overturning and advancing at the speed of light… what makes one special and different and sets you apart? It is the ability to pause amidst the chaos, be still, listen to the wind, and the trees as they respond. Feel the red of the earth beneath your feet. Be still. See and feel the story. Wonder, imagine, hope, breathe and close your eyes… then open them and… click goes the shutter…

Sandra Kourah

Do what you love and love what you do, immerse yourself in the beauty of it. And that is what I do. I immerse myself in the moment, teach myself patience as I listen to the stories, the bonds, the whispers on the wind. Never once did I shoot with the intention of an award-winning shot but rather capturing that very moment where I was immersed in the story around me, a part of a way bigger picture than my mind could fathom… then the awards and the amazing feeling of the pure joy of being able to put smiles in the lives of those around me happened …

I truly believe you have to follow what your heart tells you in any situation. That is innate and will never steer you wrong.

“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray” Rumi