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We wonder why black and white pictures capture the soul. I think it’s because without color, we aren't drawn to the makeup, or the color of our eyes, or how tan our skin is. Black and white captures the innocence on one's face and the hurt they've gone through to feel vulnerable. The glow we see comes from inside, brightening our eyes, our skin, and our smile

A picture only captures certain outward images of a person's life, but it is within the heart and soul that their life story is written and revealed, capturing the true emotions, feelings, and characteristics that make them so beautiful and special.

"Relationships are like snapshots; some you remember and some you forget, but some you never develop and you never get to see how they would have turned out."

The Invitation:

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare dream of meeting your hearts longing. It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking the fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive. It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your sorrow, If you have been opened up by life's betrayals or have been shriveled and closed from fear of further pain. I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let ecstasy fill you to the top of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human. It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can betray another to be true to yourself; If you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul. I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore be trustworthy. I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not a pretty day, and if you can source your life from Gods presence. I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and stand and shout to the silver light of a full moon. It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after a night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the children. It doesn't matter who you are, or how you came to be here. I want to know will you stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back. It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself, and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

~Oriah Mountain Dreamer
A Native American Elder