FATHER'S LOVE

This week I had the opportunity to travel to upstate New York.
The reason for my trip was to go and assist and help my friend in anyway that I could.

Six weeks ago my friend suffered the devastating loss of both his wife and newborn son during childbirth.
My friend is now left to pick up the pieces of his life and to father their young twin boys.

All of his friends including myself were saying to each other how is he going to do this.  We could not even begin to understand.

Well this week I got to be there and witness exactly how he is doing it.
I was witness to COURAGE, LOVE, PATIENCE, STRENGTH. They are just a few of the qualities that I got to see at work as my friend tries to work through his grief.

He is completely devastated by the loss of half his family.
But he gets up everyday and tries to create a new normal for he and his boys.

The three days I spent were a roller coaster of emotions as we talked and cried, took the kids to the park went shopping and just worked at getting through another day.

I am not going to lie or sugar coat things my friend has his worked cut out for him.
But he will get through with the HELP and LOVE of friend and family.

LET US FRIENDS NOT FORGET.
PLEASE CHECK IN ON HIM REGULARLY.

Thank God he has his little boys.......They will keep him present and in the NOW.
They will help him find the strength that he is questioning he has right now.

I am very grateful that I was able to be of service to my friend.

I RESPECT AND AM AMAZED BY HIS STRENGTH AND COURAGE.
I AM HONORED TO CALL HIM A FRIEND.
HE HAS A BEAUTIFUL SOUL AND IS SO COMPASSIONATE AND KIND.

LIGHT AND LOVE AS YOU MOVE ORWARD ON YOUR JOURNEY MY FRIEND.
YOU TRULY ARE AN INSPIRATION.

In my thoughts always. CR and the boys C & N.

This is a reminder that sometimes life is dark but the LIGHT will SHINE again.

REINVENTION OF SELF

REINVENTION OF SELF.

Some days I ask myself WHY???????????????????????????????????????

My life in Los Angeles was very comfortable. I carved a life out for myself that people envied.
I lived there for almost twenty-three years and never had to have a full time job to be comfortable.
There were years that were easier than others.

But for the most part I was able to live there the only way I knew how.

I decided that my soul was yearning for territories untouched and adventures  yet explored.

So I decided to take a LEAP of FAITH.

I have been on an  AMAZING journey.

Full of Travel and Adventure.   I decided to live without FEAR and with PASSION.

I am pursuing a new career path in a new town.

HARD WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  But so worth it even though some days I question my decision for a split second about playing small and safe.  NOT FOR ME.

My mom always says things take time.  That is where my frustration comes in.
I have never been a PATIENT PERSON.

A lesson I am now learning.  Things take time...Sometimes A LOT OF TIME.

I need to stop an BREATHE.   I have tended to my crops. I now have to wait for the HARVEST.
I SURE HOPE IT IS A GOOD ONE.

I know it will be.  THE GIFT that I have given myself is the gift of creativity and FREEDOM.

I AM A PHOTOGRAPHER FOR HIRE LOOKING FOR AMAZING PROJECT AND BEAUTY TO CAPTURE.

I Wish everyone can get out of their own way and listen to the VOICES within.

PAY ATTENTION.......THEY CAN SET YOU FREE.

I read a quote today from Anthony Robbins.

When it looks impossible and you are ready to quit.  VICTORY is NEAR.

ROUGH WATERS

Life is filled with UPS & DOWNS. It is part of what makes things exciting.

LIFE IS A GAME. We get to choose how we play it.

Many times in life we are presented with obstacles to see how we will strategize to get to the next phase or over the next hurdle.

Sometimes in life we just feel defeated by the challenges we are presented with. Sometimes we feel victorious on our abilities to manuveaur ourselves through the rough waters.

My mom always says God gives you no more than you can handle........I like to believe that but sometimes question if that is the truth.

It is these challenges and obstacles that allow us to grow into the people we were meant to be.
We must TRUST & have FAITH, that we are in life exactly where we are suppose to be in order to flourish and realize our gift.  Sometimes that means things or people are taken from us.

This is oftentimes very difficult........We must appreciate the gift that they were and our to us and to honor their memory by living our best lives.

We must SHINE OUR LIGHT and SHARE OUR GIFT.

When the waters get rough we need to TRUST......We need to jump in,  go with the flow and know that we will find our way.

Sometime life's lessons are difficult.

Saying Goodbye

GOODBYES

This week I was faced with saying goodbye, some anticipated and some unexpected.
Either way goodbyes are never easy.

Earlier this week Val's time here had come to an end and he needed to head home to Rio.
It has been really great hosting him and having him revisit my family and stay with me over these past four months.  He, I will see again next year. I look forward to his return.

PEOPLE COME AND GO. That is just the way life is. If we are so lucky we all will cross paths again.

The second set of goodbyes was completely unexpected, and very hard to wrap my mind around and understand. The question that I asked over and over again is
WHY???????????? WHY?????????

After my morning walk yesterday on what was a beautiful fall morning.  When I returned home I sat at my computer and received a phone call from a friend in Los Angeles with some very upsetting news.

She had asked me if I had read our mutual friends face book page.  I said I had not. She than preceded to tell me that our friend Charlie's baby died during childbirth.  I was shocked. That was not all. Shortly after the baby died his wife Gia also died.

I said to her what are you talking about.  I than opened his face book page to have this very sad and tragic news confirmed in 2 status updates.

I was crushed to have read this news. It is SENSELESS. My poor friend is devastated as are his friends and family.

LIFE IS PRECIOUS

We never know when our time is up. This is why it is so important to LIVE IN THE MOMENT. LIVE FOR THE NOW.

Yesterday a beautiful, healthy, vibrant young woman and her unborn, full term and healthy son were taken for reasons we will never know.

One thing that I do know is that Charlie and his sons will be forever guided by the spirits of both
GIA and SAMSON.

Better know now as CHARLIE'S ANGELS

BE KIND, HELP ONE ANOTHER, SHARE YOUR GIFT, SHINE YOUR LIGHT AND LOVE

R.I.P  GIA & BABY SAMSON

LIGHT AND LOVE TO CHARLIE TO FIND THE STRENGTH IN THESE DARK DAYS.

Just say what you mean

This is a situation that I have been dealing with this month.  I do not understand why people just don't
SAY WHAT THEY MEAN. Why play games? I posted this on my face book page to ask anyone to answer the question for me if they felt inclined to do so.

FEAR was the word that came back over and over.

FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL

It just is so uncalled for playing games with people. WHY?
I have always been intrigued by the human mind, and why people do what they do.  I am still trying to figure it out.

I have struggled my whole life with the issue of having expectations......I know that if one has no expectations one cannot be disappointed. This is a theme that has recurred throughout my whole life.
My mother would always say " Actions speak louder than words"  Which is the TRUTH.

Still naively I listen to what people say and am constantly disappointed and hurt.  One of these days I will get it. I HOPE.

Wishing everyone HONEST Relationships in their lives.

JUST SAY WHAT YOU MEAN. COMMUNICATE.

PEACE

Reflections of 9/11 A dark day in American History.

Ten year Anniversary of 9/11.
 An attack on America and the World. It is hard to believe that ten years have gone by.  I sat here in my home Sunday September 11, 2011 and watched all of the coverage. I sat and listened to every single name being read. I figured that is the least I could do to show my respect. I sat and cried for 5 hours.

It seems like the events of 9/11 just happened when you see the images and the amount of pain that people are still in.  Seeing all of the images and hearing the stories so painful. Nearly 3000 lives lost in a senseless act of violence. It is still hard to wrap my mind around that the World Trade Center is no longer a symbol of strength and freedom standing tall in the NYC skyline.
Ground Zero is the final resting place for so many lives lost. Nearly 1000 families still have no closure seeing their loved ones remains have never been recovered. Death toll rising everyday as we are ten years into fighting a war in retaliation for the events or 9/11.  We are losing young innocent children everyday in foreign lands.  Also the number of first responders that have fallen ill and died. So tragic.

Watching the ceremony as sad as it was. The Memorial is a sign of HOPE.
They have planted the Survivor Tree which survived the attack as well as a storm last year. Seeing life return to the area is a beautiful testament to the strength of human beings and especially New Yorkers.

God Bless America.

Ask yourselves how you can make someones day better.  Help those in need. It is our responsibility.

PEACE PEACE PEACE PEACE

joeburnsphotography - Wedding Photographer - Ocean Grove, New Jersey

joeburnsphotography - Wedding Photographer - Ocean Grove, New Jersey

After the Storm

It truly is amazing the wonder of the world. We just experienced Hurricane Irene.
My FIRST Hurricane.
A many of you know, I live in Ocean Grove @ The Jersey Shore. My place is four houses from the ocean. I just returned after a mandatory evacuation luckily to find my home in tact  and the town relatively untouched.
These are a few of the photos that I took walking around town today to checkout the aftermath.

We dodged what possibly could have been catastrophic findings to find that Mother Nature continues to share her beauty.  The photo of the benches reminds me that I must remember to be sure to take the time to appreciate everything that is so freely given to us, that could be taken away in an instant.

Irene was a reminder to me to not forget to show my gratitude at the gifts that show up in my life everyday.

Just to be THANKFUL.

Thinking of all of those suffering.

Peace.

Mother Nature @ Work

This is what feeds my soul.

I feel very blessed to have taken my life into my own hands and follow my passions which are TRAVEL and PHOTOGRAPHY.  I love capturing all of the beauty that Mother Nature so precisely creates.

What is your soul food? If you do not know, or are  afraid to go in search of. DON'T.

It is so worth your investigation.  We are all here to live the life we dream of. Sometimes life take us on a long detour.   That is okay.

Remember to find the joy in the journey. It really is the best part.

I am so grateful for my journey.

Be kind to you and be kind to others.    We are here to contribute.
Find out what your gift is and GIVE.

Peace.

Mother's Day

Today is not actually mother's day, but it is my mother's day. Today she celebrates 69 years of life.
I just wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY. I know that you are on vacation with the family and I hope you are having a wonderful day.

I do not say it enough but wanted to say thank you, for all of your love and support throughout the years.

Just wanted to say I LOVE YOU

This picture represents for me the ROCK and ANCHOR that you are.

Precious Life

I am sitting here processing the loss of yet another friend/former co-worker, who suddenly last week passed away shortly after celebrating his 50th birthday. I was shocked and saddened to get the news of Steve's passing. 50 IS SO YOUNG.

I am less than five years away from that magical number myself.

Steve was such a kind and loving human being who worked tirelessly to create a better world for the many men, women and children living with HIV and AIDS. We worked together in the early 90's when there was not a lot of hope and people were losing loved ones practically weekly.

The loss of Steve has me reflecting on my life.  I missed so many moments due to fear.
I am trying to live my life now with passion and no regrets. I am human so mistakes have been and will be made along the way.

One of the many memories that I will remember Steve for was his kindness.

Please remember to be kind to people. Remember to include yourself as well.

LIFE IS PRECIOUS-LIFE IS FLEETING

REMEMBER THERE IS NO GUARANTEE OF A TOMORROW.

LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE.


PEACE & HAPPINESS AS YOU MOVE FORWARD.

TAKE CARE STEVE.

YOU WERE A GIFT.