Friends,
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about legacy and gifts, as one does when one moves closer to elder-hood and friends begin to take their leave of this earthly plane. What do I want to leave this world?
My childhood dream of being a National Geographic photographer faded long ago, when I admitted to myself, that I didn’t really want to schlep heavy gear or endure great discomfort in the pursuit of an image or a story. I simply wanted to travel the world making pictures, and, I’ve been blessed to be able to do so. I’ve been to Africa and climbed Kilimanjaro, visited Bali, Hawaii, England, France, Italy, Spain, Japan and most recently Scotland (for the 3rd time) and Ireland. My travels haven’t been so much to gather and tell stories, rather to experience and express beauty.
Leaning into my calling as spiritual counselor, guide and contemplative photographer, my work is to teach people to see, and to share visual beauty as a healing modality. These pandemic years proved a great gateway for this, as I posted photos on Instagram and Facebook almost daily and attracted followers. People started asking me for images to use as backgrounds on their Zoom meetings, screen savers, or to use with their clients, as I do, in therapy or spiritual counseling.
Recently, a friend suggested that I make my photos available on Pexels. Pexels is a global, rights-free photo platform and community. My intention is to upload a bulk of my work from many years of image-making. I have a couple hundred up so far with lots more to come, and, it’s inspiring me to create even more. There are collections of photos I won’t upload that I’m using to create books and a curriculum for visual meditation practices.
Through Pexels you can follow your favorite photographers, give credit when downloading and using photos, and you can support the photographer via Paypal. There are thousands of photographers on the platform, and at least one other Lisa Winston, so if you want to search for me and the images I’m uploading, please use the link provided here. Making my photos available in this way is my legacy offering, embracing the reciprocal gift economy and trusting that good will come from it all. I feel like I’m setting these images free, releasing them all into the world to see how the butterfly effect will unfold.
I invite you to follow my work on Pexels, leave comments, and download photos that resonate with you. You can even choose high resolution downloads for making prints. The more people that view my work, the more visible it becomes globally. And, if you download any images and you are so moved to make a donation, all amounts are welcome with deep gratitude. Use this link to access my work. https://www.pexels.com/@revlisajwinston/.
May your holidays be filled with many blessings!
Lisa 🙏🏻❤️💫🦋
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