Take To Nature

When you're feeling all over the place, going into nature brings a sense of simplicity, allowing space and time for clarity. Without societal and materialistic pressures, you'll better understand what brings you balance, joy, and calm--- as well as what causes you pain, shakiness, and fear. It all helps you to know yourself, and the world around you, better.

No distractions.
No artificiality.
No pushiness.

Just you, fresh air, nature, and time to gather your thoughts.
Clarity will certainly come.

xx
Liz Strom

Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico: "Las Salinas"- Pastel hypersaline lagoon | August 2017

Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico: "Las Salinas"- Pastel hypersaline lagoon | August 2017

Creating An Amazing Life

There will be difficult times in life, and there will be amazing times. You have to create as many amazing experiences as possible, with others who want to make life as equally as amazing. 

Plug in those things in life that help you feel the way you want to feel, with those who will say "YES!" to the journey.

You will go through difficult times again, but amazing experiences lay on the other side of those downtimes--- especially if you've created your life to feel that way.

Go get it, with those who also want it!

P.S. A huge shoutout to my girlfriends who helped me to create this experience! Life can feel heavy, but it feels lighter with great friends! 💕

"Friends are part of the glue that holds life and faith together. Powerful stuff." -JonKatz

Photography by Virak Chhang | Kimpton Rouge, Washington D.C. | August 2017

Photography by Virak Chhang | Kimpton Rouge, Washington D.C. | August 2017

Self-Worth, Addressed on Facebook

Can we talk about self-worth for a second?

In short, I'd like to say: "Be you, and own who you are, unapologetically". ❤️

1) You're intelligent.
Pease don't feel that you have to "dumb yourself down". We learn from each other, and you've a lot to offer to the world.

Side note: "Dumbing down" a post to keep things short, light, & funny is fine. I'm talking about honoring yourself as a person.

2) You're beautiful. 
Your smile is the most beautiful asset of all. Own that beauty. Please don't post a wonderful picture of yourself and say, "Bad hair, tired AF, no eyeliner, but...". People see through your words (intelligence: see point 1) to the beautiful YOU already, then read your POST and 🙄. Don't do that to yourself. It's not needed. 

If you're feeling a mess, and want to share, that's a different story. You can share how you feel, but there's no need to put yourself down.

3) Be authentically you.
Playful, childlike, outlandish, non-egotistical, creative, loving, compassionate, hopeful, light-filled YOU. At the core of you, you're not (insert negative adjective here). You were created to be a unique individual. Be the gift you bring. BeYOUtiful.

4) There is no such thing as a "perfect" person. Perfection has everything to do with what we think; it doesn't define what "is". There are so many versions of perfect, and what others think of you is none of your business (because you can't change what others think, you can only do what you know is right for you).

As Maya Angelou said, "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attidude". She didn't say "if you don't like someone, change them...", because she knows that's not feasible / possible. Have compassion with yourself, and others. We are all here in this thing called life.

Instead of "good and bad", think in terms of what "is and isn't", followed by an action step. That should take you much further.

You're intelligent, you're beautiful, & the world appreciates the real (authentic) you.
Remember that.

Photography by Kristy Yang | 2017 | The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing ArtsWashington, D.C.

Photography by Kristy Yang | 2017 | The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, D.C.

Finding Work-Life Balance: A Temporary Imbalance

Everything "worth it" in life will create temporary imbalance. Your passion will fuel you. If you're only passionate about earning money, no amount will ever satisfy you. Go for the experiences in life instead. 

Find what moves you, find a place to do that in, & surround yourself with others who share in this joy. 

You have the power to make life a beautiful adventure.

Ponce, Puerto Rico

Ponce, Puerto Rico

Head Full of Dreams

Last night, a sky full of swirling stars fell over me. Music filled my spirit as I danced, laughed, jumped, cried, & became one with a stadium packed with fun, kindred souls. For a few hours, the world was perfect, and it still lingers...

You, the people, have the power
to make this life free
and beautiful
to make this life a wonderful adventure. 
[Coldplay- Intro | Charlie Chaplin Speech] 

Be grateful for whoever comes
Because each has been sent as a guide
[Colplay- Rumi]

#ColdplayDC
#HeadFullofDreams
www.lizstrom.com

Contributing to a Fairytale

Everyone's got a fairytale of their own and, as long as you don't think it's impossible, it's possible.

It is a very beautiful thing when one is able to give you an EXPERIENCE that contributes to one's own fairytale; an encounter, bliss, time spent w/ those who love and care about one another. Today,

I am deeply grateful for the gifts of experience shared with me! 💋

Beaté Nest, Woodbridge, VA! Thank you, Ambi, for this beauteous day of experiences!

Beaté Nest, Woodbridge, VA! Thank you, Ambi, for this beauteous day of experiences!

Things Can Go South, or...

Morrie: Mitchell? Is that what you'd like to be called? 
Mitch: Mitch. Mitch is what my friends call me. 
Morrie: Well, Mitch it is then (Morrie says, as if closing a deal). And Mitch?
Mitch: Yes?
Morrie: I hope that one day you will think of me as your friend.
-Tuesdays With Morrie, Mitch Albom

Enjoying the company of author, Mitch Albom, and Ted Koppel, talking about Tuesdays With Morrie. This discussion made me laugh, cry, laugh, & cry some more. 

Remember that you have a choice; either things can go south, or you can find a positive thing in this deal (life). Look for that one thing. ❤️

Sixth & I Synagogue, Washington D.C., July 25, 2017

Sixth & I Synagogue, Washington D.C., July 25, 2017

Joy

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” -Thomas Merton

Passing through CityCenterDC, replicating a moment in time, made whimsical by the great Kristy Yang, whose photography art is being featured for the FotoDC Style Exhibition (on exhibit through August 2017). 

This particular photo was a result of a no-stress, just for fun, last minute photoshoot I wanted to have. Why? Because I had dresses. That's it! I took the opportunity to do what I believed would bring joy, contacted Kristy Yang in hopes that she would agree to hire her for the afternoon for some fun, and we enjoyed a few hours of sunshine at THE John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, lovingly known as The Kennedy Center, in Washington DC.

Little did we know that a result of our fun afternoon would be recognized by many Washingtonians, via FotoWeek DC's Style Exhibition AND The Kennedy Center's IG page. Her work is stunning, and it absolutely deserves the recognition (and then some).

We did what brings us joy, and it resulted in more joy.

What brings you joy? What will you do to feel the way you want to feel?
Get it on your schedule, and be prepared to enjoy a life full of moments that keep on giving.

This particular moment was captured by my aunt, Xuan, another photographer artist! 

www.lizstrom.com

What Lifts You

We give meaning and emotion to what we see, likewise to the things we hear: art, music, actions...

People's words are *just* words. We are the ones who give them meaning. You can't be offended if you refuse to be offended. You can't be uplifted unless you refuse to be uplifted.

If something/someone makes you feel offended, address what it is that is truly bothering you--- and move through (& past) it.

Look for, and absorb, that which propels you forward and uplifts you.

www.lizstrom.com
Artwork: @kelseymontagueart
#WhatLiftsYou
Mott Street, NYC, 2017