Don't Make Assumptions

The camera club which Peggie and I belong to is holding a Tri-Club Competition. This competition allows each member in each of the three clubs to submit an image in each of twelve categories. One winner of each category is selected from each club and that image is sent to the finals; so twelve chances to be in the finals. Then the three finalists in each category (one from each club) is in head to head competition...and one winner is drawn. In other words, both Peggie and I have the chance to win twelve out of twelve times. Sounds pretty awesome, right? 

Well, we have known about this since last September...yet neither Peggie nor I did anything toward submitting images into the competition...until now. Just yesterday I finally sent in five, I have two more almost ready to go and will work on the others. Peggie, before last night, had not submitted any...but after we spoke at the E-Board meeting, she will be submitting images. The deadline was 3/12 but was extended to 3/19...so there is still time. But the point of this post (which was supposed to be written last night and not this morning...in support of my 30 Day Challenge to post on JOS every day for 30 days....is not that we are submitting images into the competition...it is 'Why didn't we do it earlier' and 'Why didn't we think we had images that could compete'?

I almost didn't bother because the images needed to be taken between Oct 15 and Mar 15 (well now the 19th) and I, as was stated in an earlier post, have been lying low for 3 months. Lying low means I didn't pursue any of my passions to any meaningful degree...so 'assumed' I did not have any images worthy of submitting. When I finally got out of my stupor and looked at my files, I realized that I took a trip to Martha's Vineyard late in October, I took a walk down Duxbury Beach in December, I went into Boston the day after Christmas, went on a lame ghost tour in Newport and I always take my camera to my grandsons' hockey games, etc. In other words, without realizing it, I was pursuing my passion...just not deliberately. I'm sure when Peggie does some research, she will see that she does have images she can submit that fit the criteria and that will be perfect for the competition. 

Sometimes we don't give ourselves enough credit. If we are really passionate about something (as Donna C is about her design, as Donna H is about her baking, Debbie with eBay, Margie with Reiki and Dianne about financial and physical fitness, it is woven into the fabric of our lives, we are living it each and every day. It is a part of our being. We know it is real when we pursue it without consciously thinking about it because now it is not another aspect of our lives (like work and paying bills and cooking and cleaning) it IS our life.