I photographed the above photo last Thursday as a part of my 2018 Monthly Photo Challenge. I'm not sure I came up with the idea for the above photo before we started the diet or after. I'm guessing after. But what you see above is almost EXACTLY what I envisioned.
I knew I wanted to integrate this exact photo for a while now. One night I was in bed and I was wondering how I could take it to the next level. Just sitting in his living room will be okay, but what would make it cooler?
That's when I came up with him dumping out his drink.
I LOVE Whiskey. I love whiskey so much that several years ago I decided to no longer keep it in the house. I'm like a pathetic druggie when it's around. I can't help myself. I'll have a little every day. Or I'll knock out the bottle in record time. To save myself, I had to remove it from my house.
The model is a friend of mine, and I look up to him like a mentor. His name is Jeff. He's an architect and he also owns a fabric company. Jeff is the kind of guy who will hear about a friend who might be going through something like the flu or a rough time and he cooks them a big dinner to bring over in a casserole. Damn, I wish I did that. There's some weird fear that keeps me from doing it.
The persona of a creative person pouring out not only alcohol but his FAVORITE drink is the headspace I'm in.
We can assume this guy is bored. That he's pensive. And he's come to the point in life where he might just dump out something that is, in fact, poisonous to the body. Especially in quantity and especially if not moderated. I feel absolutely stupid pointing out the obvious or painting the metaphor on this image. Yes, even the fire means what you think it means. But I just wanted to talk about it for a second.
Jeff is also one of the most giving people I've ever met. This image doesn't reflect his personality at all (that I know of). He's crazy creative. He drafts his work by hand. Colors them with markers.
He dresses tiptop. He drives amazing cars. He lives in a mind-mind-blowingly cool house. His husband is as kind as he is.
I'm sure my description is well into hyperbole. And I understand that. But I feel like having people like Jeff in my life influence me so well into a positive headspace.
I don't think this day of clarity arrived on accident. There was this moment about five years ago (or more) when I decided that it's essential to balance out my life with friends and influencers who can somewhat inadvertently shape my headspace. I started hanging out more with creative people in their field. I started making it a point to look to them for their good habits and made goals to integrate their good qualities into my repertoire of behaviors.
And I'm fully aware that the struggle is likely not over. I might be in a good place now, but I'm sure I'll fall off the wagon or have moments of weakness. I am human.
I could have titled this post "Surround yourself with talent and creativity" because that's what I feel like I've been doing. And that's a positive piece of advice to take away.