Foreward

150_Misty Water Trees (Anastasia Mily).jpg

Foreward

"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing"

Benjamin Franklin

Bible, Friary of St. Francis, Alnmouth, UK

Winter Moonlight

One Small Step began as a personal project to move simple thoughts out of my mind by putting them down on paper.

Thoughts stem from quotations that have had an impact in my life. I wish to say in a simple sentence how I perceive them. For many this would be an easy task, but I struggle with English, words don’t flow, they get stuck, they don’t say what I want them to say and often come out sounding rather simple. As a child I struggled with English, I’m pretty sure it was dyslexia (but it didn’t exist in my day). I consequently failed English ‘O’ level at school.

"Even the knowledge of my own fallibility cannot keep me from making mistakes. Only when I fall do I get up again."

Vincent Van Gogh

Quotations share pages with my photographs. On most pages I attempt to loosely link an image to one of the quotations on the page to aid memory. I spent twenty-five years working overseas. Images stem from the enchanting chaos of Bangkok to the wonderful serenity of the African safari. Quotations are from times past and include Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, Mark Twain and Theodore Roosevelt. Some are Latin Proverbs. Many are from Scripture. The book has a quotation and brief reflection for every day of the year to stimulate reaffirming thoughts at the beginning or end of each day. Alternatively, each month has a different theme to help the reader find quotations for a particular area of concern.

Interestingly, old quotations reflect modern life and show today’s struggles are nothing new. These quotations serve as a collective reminder to words we often hear - but which tend to go in one ear and out the other.

Recently Google's UK 10th most popular 'how to' question was, "How to accept myself for who I am?" This book was originally written for my own enjoyment - but, I do hope the collective wisdom guides your thoughts and helps answer the question, "How to accept myself for who I am?"

"Verba volant, scripta manent."
Words fly, writings remain.

Latin Proverb

Gulls, South Shields, UK

Thoughts

Thinking about, and trying to understand the wisdom in these quotations has been a delight. Often the struggle to express thoughts has left my head in my hands in despair, each sentence re-written many times - and still not quite expressing the right sentiment. Words don't flow, they stumble and fall in the wrong place. I know what I want to say, but can't. Sentence construction is wrong, but I can't correct it. Words are locked in a prison - they want to escape but remain trapped behind closed doors (and the key is missing). What somebody else can write in minutes takes hours - yet maybe, just maybe the struggle is worth it to build perseverance and gain a battle-worn, 'One Small Step'.

Love You by Emily-Joy Dodd

What is really important?

"A wise man once said, people are never going to remember what you did. But they are always going to remember the way you made them feel."

Anonymous

Last but not least...

Earliest photos are from 2004 when I bought my first digital SLR camera on a New York mission whilst stationed in Ethiopia. I've tried hard not to post-edit images. By and large what you see is what you get. They’re real.