If you’ve been reading my posts lately you know that I’ve found this New Year to be really meaningful. I’ve been learning new things about myself, and what happiness and fulfillment really mean to me. I was chatting with a group of friends last week and we got to talking about life’s rhythms and living more simply. At first the idea of “simple living” was a bit of a turn-off for me, as it almost sounds unattainable. Let’s face it – life is complicated and the devil is often in the details. But as one of my friends explained, it can be more about prioritizing those things in your life that are the most important and structuring your life in such a way that you’re really taking care of your most important needs.

That I can sign up for, and it’s really what I’m all about these days, so it totally clicked with me. This last week I’ve been trying to build more structure in to my every day life through scheduling that is a bit more detailed, but still allows for some flexibility and breathing room. So far I’m finding it to be a very nurturing practice.

We live in an interesting time – perhaps unlike any other. For many of us, we work facing computers day in and day out. For some, upon arriving home, more hours are spent in front of a computer, socializing, shopping and reading…. While I love my computer as much as the next person (and perhaps sometimes more) there is something about how our work and play is structured these days that may not always be ideal or even totally satisfying.

I think that is why nature photography resonates so strongly with me. It is always a reminder to me of where true beauty is, and lately it’s been helping me to consider the many ways nature can inform us. Fruits and trees and flowers have their predictable patterns and seasons, and they need to nurtured, as do we.

Throughout this post I’ve shared the beautiful work of Lupen Grainne, whose work I found on Cargoh. Lupen is a self taught photographer from Portland, Oregon who now lives in Sonoma County, California.