Jump for Joy! Photo Project
Showcasing the beauty of the human spirit - in mid air - around the world.
NEWSLETTER
Jump for Joy! Photo Project
Showcasing the beauty of the human spirit - in mid air - around the world
Quote of the week:
"What I think is that a good life is one hero journey after another. Over and over again, you are called to the realm of adventure, you are called to new horizons. Each time, there is the same problem: do I dare? And then if you do dare, the dangers are there, and the help also, and the fulfillment or the fiasco. There's always the possibility of a fiasco. But there's also the possibility of bliss." - Joseph Campbell
A few thoughts... endings and beginnings:
*** Today is the last day of 2012! What an incredible year this has been. I am loving my life more everyday, appreciating all the challenges and people that have pushed me to grow and reflect on what is important to me and how I want to live my life. I am excited and looking forward to every experience in the upcoming year. Wishing you a beautiful, love-full and joy filled year ahead!
*** When I look back at my year in review, I feel incredibly happy to be alive. I have met inspiring people, had life changing experiences, and eight months ago began this wonderful Jump for Joy! Photo Project. For the first time in my life, I feel I have found my purpose and am doing exactly what I feel I need to be doing in my life. I have received incredible feedback and support which has been beautiful and heart opening for me.
Of course, at times it has difficult. The past couple of months in particular have proved challenging, as I have been at a bit of a standstill in Vancouver waiting for funding to continue my travels and expand Jump for Joy! around the world. As winter has set in, I have felt my momentum freeze up a little as I push through and continue to maintain, with small steps day by day rather than the grand leaps forward that I would love to take (and will take soon;).
I have felt somewhat like a race horse with the reigns held tightly, eager to race off, to run free, to leap, to travel, to create.. However, it seems the reigns have had other plans for me. The more eager to continue my journey, and attempt to jump forward with my project, the tighter the reigns and more restricted I have felt. The funding to build my project has taken far longer than anticipated, and at times fears and doubts have crept in to challenge my faith and belief in myself and what I want to create in this world.
Rather than give into these fears and doubts I decided to take some time look into myself and see how this can be a possibility for me to grow, to work on my own limitations, and to let go of what is no longer serving me here. I have been offered the people and the opportunities to challenge myself, trust myself, to have faith, to be patient, to know I am loved and cared for and most importantly time to integrate new knowledge and understanding into my body.
This has been a time to focus on Patience.. I am a person who likes movement, the creative process, I like instant gratification and to visually see the growth and change around me. One of my greatest challenges has been maintaining patience, with continued dedication to my dream and holding the space for my growth. I have also had to have Faith, to just chill out and trust that if I do my part everyday, and trust that what I need and want is happening, all is taken care of. Step by step, and jump by jump... everything is happening.
Along the way, I have been continually touched by kindness, generosity, thoughtful comments, support, donations and emails which has encouraged and reminded me of why I am doing the project to begin with. Thank you! And of course a special thank you for all who have taken part and jumped for joy with me. Thanks for your support and for helping me spread the joy :)
*** Here is a sweet and fitting comment I received recently on my blog to wrap up 2012:
"Everyone is wondering how their life will be in 2013. Your photos give all of us an engram to sense in a visual way . . . a way of BEING IN JOY. In other words your photos do for people something that is real by giving them an experience they can take in and own. Very good. Seeing is believing and Joy is a wonderful foundation for believing in a life worth living. Thank you so much." - silvermoondolphin
*** .. and, this is kind of fun ... after 8 months of posting jumping photos and quotes everyday I was sent end of the year blog stats from wordpress :)
Lets continue to play and bring the Jump for joy! experience to as many people as possible around the world. Thank you for your continued support and for helping me spread the JOY! DONATE TO JUMP FOR JOY!!
Featured Jumper of the week: THERESA "TREE" WALSH! 
THERESA "TREE" WALSH ... From: Toronto Ontario Canada Lives: Vancouver BC! Work: Booking agent for Marc Elliot and Dance
Q: What inspires you to want to jump for joy?
A: Dance! Creativity! LOVE OF LIFE! I feel like a big kid a lot of the time so I am totally ok with a little random joy jumping! Sometimes the joy happens first and then the jump follows, but often I find dancing and jumping helps to bring me joy which is why I think I love it so much.
Q. What was your experience like doing the jumping photos?
A: I felt great! It was amazing working with Eyoalha and from the first shot we completely FED off each others energy and had a great time! I didn’t even notice the cold until I got back inside!
Q: What inspires you in life?
A: Working with kids inspires me because it helps me to connect deeply with humanity, to feel like I am making a difference in the world and to help me remember what is most important in life. I earn so much from working with kids!
- Displays of courage inspire me… people who have the courage to express themselves and their essence despite adversity and potentially negative consequences. They are my hero’s and I wish to be more courageous in my own life.
- Learning and growth inspires me… seeing people have new realizations or insights and seeing or hearing about people learning new skills or subjects inspires me want to learn and grow myself!
- Community Leaders inspire me… people who are active in their community and who work hard to inspire change and growth in people. I want to be more like that.
Q: What are your greatest passions in life?
A: My greatest passions in life are dance/the arts, working with kids, building community/relationships and learning/growth/personal development. Each of these have helped to keep me alive during the toughest times of my life and I hope to help others to do the same!
Q: What is your driving force in life?
A: My driving force is to have the most joyful experience of life possible despite the adversity presented by life (actually it is more like BECAUSE of how I chose to handle life’s adversity rather than despite it!) I also want to help others to do the same too if they are interested.
Q: What is your philosophy in life?
A: WOW these questions are INTENSE and I LOVE IT! My philosophy in life is to love and accept yourself fully and completely as you are, while at the same time continually challenging yourself to learn and grow as much as possible. This way, you can express your essence more fully and shine your light brighter on the world!
Q: If you could do anything in the world, what would it be?
A: I would like to help people to see the possibilities that exist beyond what they are already seeing. I think this concept plays a role in so many important areas in life that it is a worthy endeavour to help people to see the reality of their options rather than just continue with potentially limited thinking. I also want to help people to find ways to transcend their limiting patterns/beliefs so that they can truly change and become more consistent with the kind of person they want to be! Focusing on the effects of your problems don’t ever actually solve them! It just keeps you REALLY busy ;)
Q: What work/art/projects are you working on?
A: Booking agent for Marc Elliot - an INCREDIBLE motivational speaker on tolerance, and I am working on some dance related projects in schools: Bring Your Own Beat Dance Competition Series Vancouver and BYOB Facebook by illskillz and the dance education company both of which are based in Toronto and are launching in Vancouver this year. The majority of my life’s work has been working with kids in dance. I have taught kids in lots of other settings and worked in fitness, retail and sales too! V-Day One Billion Rising Vancouver, DanceWalk Vancouver, .
All the photos Theresa were taken in Vancouver, BC Canada.
JOY! WHAT MAKES YOU JUMP FOR JOY?
Please email me at: info@jumpforjoyphotoproject.com if you have feedback and suggestions about the project.. I would love to hear from you.
For more frequent updates and jumping photos, stop by the Jump for Joy! Photo Project web page/blog
Have a great week, with lots of fun and filled with joy!
Much love, Eyoälha
My jumping self-portrait was taken in Kauai, Hawaii. |
