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Hey Monday, Lunes, Lundi!
It’s after the Oscars, boring! Aside from “The Descendants” co-writer Jim Rash making fun of Angelina Jolie and her awkward sexy pose on stage, I found the fashions and show uneventful!
Over the weekend, I watched the documentary of New York’s fashion photographer Bill Cunningham. I found his story to be beautiful and inspiring. At 80+ years of age, he’s un-wavered in his passion to photograph fashion, mostly New York street fashion; it’s remarkable!
Toward the end of the documentary, as he’s awarded the title Officier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture, he chokes up as he says, “He who seeks beauty will find it.” I choked up as well. His words were beautifully said. Personally, I wondered about what it would be like to go out into the world each day seeking beauty? If “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, then what if my eyes beheld 'everything' as beautiful? Finding beauty in the eyes of a stranger, in the randomly scattered trash, in the sky, in the act of washing dishes, in the mirror. Seeing beauty in everyone and everything! How would our lives be different? Would our heart space open? Would we judge less? I believe so.
After all these years, Bill lives humbly in a small studio apartment. With the exception of many fashion books, he maintains very little possessions. Each day and night, he heads out on his bike onto the New York City streets. And on every street corner he finds the beauty he seeks.
The piece here is titled “Paparazzi.” I can’t imagine living a life pursued by paparazzi. While working at the store, I’ve seen it happen and I just don’t get it. The thought of our culture being obsessed with everyone else’s lives, but our own is sad. Bill never photographs celebrities for celebrity sake. He remains true to his passion, to seek beauty in individuality and personal expression. Each snapshot of the camera is a glimpse of his devotion to a life lived with unwavering passion.
May you seek and find beauty, each day, everywhere.
Cheerios!
