Karis Waters's Blog, page 6

10 Tips for a Healthy Creative Business

Business. Ugh.

It’s practically a dirty word in creative circles, and I would be the first to agree. I never had the slightest interest in business–or making money, for that matter.

Then I grew up (a little) and realized that I like to eat, and therefore money did occasionally come in handy. Furthermore, I came to realize that if I had to earn money for essentials like food and books, I might as well get paid to do what I love.

However, creative-based businesses are an unusual animal. They tend to dislike playing by the rules as much as their owners/creators. So how can you start off on the right foot in your creative business, so you can keep creating what you love?

I’m no expert, but since co-founding an independent press two years ago I’ve picked up a few tips along the way. Have a seat at my kitchen table, sip a cup of tea, and let’s have a chat.

It’s not just about the product. You are selling more than a product. You are selling an experience–the way a person felt when they read your stories, hung your painting on the wall of their dream home, or tucked their child’s handpicked daisies into your pottery jug on the kitchen table. Make it an experience they’ll want to revisit over and over.

Your business should look different. Healthy creative businesses operate in a completely different way than standard corporate environments. There is an ebb and flow to creative work that may not be conducive to a 9-5 routine. That’s okay. Find what works for you, a creative workflow that balances productivity and creative space. (More on that in a later blog post).

Passion is everything. Unlike corporate business, where the product is not often directly influenced by the paper-pushers and bean counters, you will not succeed in creative business without passion. Whether you’re selling organic coffee, jewelry, art, music, or great books, you are sharing what you love with the world–and helping them fall in love with it too.

Whether you’re selling organic coffee, jewelry, art, music, or great books, you are sharing what you love with the world–and helping them fall in love with it too.

Passion isn’t everything. Passion will keep the train steaming along, but it won’t get far without the rails. Many creatives fail in business not because they lack potential, but because they go full steam ahead without laying the groundwork that will support the business and keep it running smoothly. Do your research and your paperwork, exchange favors with an accountant friend, and make sure your business has a solid foundation.

Remember, your product isn’t your product. Your product is you. Your authentic creative voice is what makes your art unique and sets you apart from the crowd.  Your customers or audience buy your products because they’ve connected with your or your art in some way. Don’t be afraid to show what makes you special and unique.

Your authentic creative voice is what makes your art unique and sets you apart from the crowd.

Know what you do–and what you don’t. It’s better to have a very specific audience or customer base. Focusing your efforts helps you stand out from the crowd and appeal to those with shared passions. Don’t be afraid to say “No” to good opportunities so you have the capacity to say “Yes” to the best options.

Never stop learning. Many creatives get caught up in the business side and productivity and forget to take time to keep improving their craft. Collaborating with other professionals, taking on new creative projects or mastering new skills makes sure you stay inspired and your work remains fresh.

Pursue excellence. Notice I didn’t say pursue perfection. Strive for excellence in your craft, but don’t let perfectionism stop you from taking risks or trying new concepts. Many creatives struggle with the desire to make their work perfect before sharing it with the world, a tendency which, ironically, keeps them from reaching their full potential.

Network. A popular catch phrase among business elites, “networking” is a big, scary, ambiguous word for most introverted creatives. It brings to mind visions of cocktail hour and stilted small talk with strangers. Relax. Think of it in terms of connecting with communities of individuals who share your passion. Everyone has their tribe–you just have to find yours!

I firmly believe every person, every creative, has something beautiful and unique and wonderful to bring to the world.

Be you. Believe you have something to contribute, because you do. I firmly believe every person, every creative, has something beautiful and unique and wonderful to bring to the world. You are no exception. Learn from others, but don’t fall into the trap of comparison. There’s truly no one around “who’s you-er than you.”

See? That wasn’t so bad. You can do this. What small steps can you take in the right direction today? This week?

Leave your action point down in the comments and let me cheer you on!

Explore: Northern England and Scotland

In my opinion, one of the most beautiful and fascinating regions in all of the U.K. is the “Border Country,” a colloquial term for northern England and southern Scotland. I had the immense privilege of living for almost three years in this rugged, yet picture-postcard region.

I find many foreigners labor under the conviction that London covers approximately 99 percent of the English land mass. Thankfully, this is not the case. I actually prefer the scenic countryside of northern England and Scotland to the hustle and bustle of the city, though London has its own unique charms (more on that in another post).

If you’re planning a trip across the pond and don’t mind going off the beaten track for stunning views and a taste of the real United Kingdom, you’ll want to schedule a few days into your itinerary to explore the Border Country. Here’s a few places you won’t want to miss!

The Lake District

One of the most popular places for backpackers and vacationers alike, the Lake District boasts jaw-dropping scenery of the fells and lakes, a multitude of shops and boutiques for him and her, hiking and walking trails for every ambition, and delicious food for every palette. Quaint inns and houses converted into bed-and-breakfasts house visitors.

Be aware that most locations in the Lake District are only accessible by bus or by car via narrow, winding roads. Be prepared to rent a car and/or do a lot of walking! Bring comfortable shoes, a warm rain jacket (for all seasons) and more money than you think you’ll need. Food and lodging are expensive and often need to be booked in advance.

Jewels in the Lake District are Keswick, a perfect town for the less adventurous who are more interested in shops and scenery than hardcore hiking, and Chesters-by-the-River, a cafe/bakery/gift shop known for its delicious food and unique ingredients.

Hadrian’s Wall

For you history buffs, Hadrian’s Wall is a not-to-be-missed landmark. Built by the Romans during their occupation of Britain, the wall marked the end of the civilized south and a barrier against the barbarian Celtic tribes in the north.

Though it once was several feet tall, only 3-4 feet remain. Visitors can follow well-marked trails along the wall to Roman-era forts and enjoy epic views of the English and Scottish countryside. There’s also a small but informative museum featuring artifacts and the history of the region during that time period. The best section of the wall to visit is Steel Rigg (pictured above), with its dramatic cliffs and intact wall and fort ruins.

A Country Pub

There is nothing quite so British as the country pub experience, and it must be indulged in at least once. A seamless mix of bar, home-style family restaurant and social gathering place, British pubs offer a chance to get in out of the weather (which will likely live up to its damp, cold reputation) and warm up a bit.

Traditional pub favorites are steak and ale pie (of the savoury variety), bangers (sausages) and mash(ed potatoes), and a curry of the day. Every Sunday noon most pubs will feature all-you-can-eat Sunday roast dinner, with several kinds of meat, roast potatoes and vegetables, and Yorkshire puddings.

You have to finish everything off with the region’s trademark dessert, a generous helping of sticky toffee pudding (the sweet kind) covered in ice cream or custard.

Edinburgh Castle

A favourite of the queen’s, who has a residence in the area, Edinburgh is the crown of Scotland’s cities and her jewel is Edinburgh Castle. The castle has tremendous historical significance and houses the Stone of Scone (also known as the Coronation Stone), on which every king has been crowned for hundreds of years, as well as the Scottish crown jewels (including the crown, sceptre and sword of state).

The castle is perhaps most well-known because Scottish legendary hero William Wallace and his revolutionary forces stormed the castle by scaling the supposedly-impregnable wall you see on the right-hand side of the photo.

For non-history buffs, the castle boasts incredible views of the city and the historic Royal Mile road that leads down from the castle features a multitude of stores selling handwoven plaid tartans and other traditional Scottish items.

Border country might lack the excitement of its big-city neighbors to the south, but it carries a rugged, peaceful beauty all its own. If you’re looking for incredible scenery and quaint little towns steeped in old-world charm, your next trip might just have to be to Border Country. Enjoy some sticky toffee pudding for me!

 

Photo Essay: Spring at Botanica

Botanica: The Wichita Gardens is known for their extensive tulip beds and flowering trees that put on a real show on the odd lucky springs when the Kansas winds don’t blow the blossoms away.

For the first time in several years, I had the chance to grab my camera and take a stroll around the grounds. It was every bit as beautiful as I remembered!

Flowering trees are gorgeous in “real life” but nearly impossible to capture on film due to their shape and scope. The key, I’ve found, is to focus on a particular aspect of the tree (such as a blossom or stem) or to make sure you contrast the tree against a dark background to bring out the colorful shapes of the flowering branches.

Keep an eye out for unusual varieties of trees or unique aspects of familiar trees, like the weeping redbud (below) that has been “trained” to form interesting shapes.

A helpful trick is to set your camera (mine is a Canon t3i Rebel) to AV mode or a “Flower/Close-Up” setting to create a short depth-of-field. This creates the effect above where the section closest to the camera is in focus and the background gradually fades out of focus. This keeps subjects that could otherwise be very visually “busy” from becoming overwhelming and tells the viewer’s eye where to look.

You can also use lines that naturally occur in the landscape to direct the viewer’s eye and draw them into the scene, as in the photo below.

Photography by Katie Morford (Karis Waters). All rights reserved. 

To schedule your own portrait session or workshop, or to purchase prints of any photos featured on my website, check out my photography services. 

 

 

Portrait Session: The Italian Southern Boy

What do you get when you combine a passionate Italian woman with a down-home country boy from Mississippi?

Answer: A gourmet-cooking, ballet-dancing man’s man who loves fishing, hunting, building things and hiking out to remote areas to camp.

Answer: One of my favorite people in the world.

Being the romantic he is, my boyfriend took me to Botanica: The Wichita Gardens recently to see all the tulips and flowering trees in bloom. What a treat! Of course, I took along my camera (A Canon T3i Rebel, for you techie gurus) hoping to snap some new spring photos of some pretty flowers – and my man.

The trick was taking authentic, candid-style photos of someone who dislikes having his photo taken or posing for pictures. I think I succeeded pretty well. Wouldn’t you agree?

Let’s be real. He can only be the sexy, serious Italian model for so long before the goofball starts to come out. lol

I was fighting with the light most of the time, since we went in the afternoon. It was a typical Kansas spring day, so the clouds kept going back and forth across the sun.

Photography tip: If you’re shooting in bright sunlight during the afternoon, set up the shot and then take the actual portrait during the brief snatches when the sunlight is diffused by clouds covering the sun. This will prevent harsh shadows on the face and produce a more even and natural skin tone. Reflectors are also helpful.

Another tip: Look for the “catch-lights” in the eyes. These highlights are created when the subject is looking into a light source (above, looking toward the cloud-covered sun behind me) and produce that sparkle that brings portraits to life. Be careful the light source isn’t too bright, though. Then you’ll just get squinty eyes!

Oh, look.

I saved the best for last.

Photography by Katie Morford (Karis Waters). All rights reserved. 

To schedule your own portrait session or workshop, check out my photography services. 

 

 

Wallflower: Staying true to yourself in a popularity contest world

I’m a wallflower.

Always have been. Probably always will be. At any given party you’re most likely to find me drifting along the outside wall, making friends with the host’s dog or pondering life, the universe, and whether to make Italian chicken salad or tacos for dinner the next day.

It’s not that I don’t like people (although some days that’s true) or even that I’m shy. It’s just that I naturally have a soft-spoken and introverted personality that abhors competition in general (just ask my sports-loving brother) and competing for people’s attention in particular.

I’m okay with that. As a Creative, I’m happy with a few close friends and long walks in the country, punctuated by bursts of creativity spawned by copious alone time. I love people, but I love being alone to let ideas–those fragile, delicate flowers–fully coalesce before sharing them with the world.

Here’s where the problem hits.

Thanks to social media and the internet, our world has turned into one massive popularity contest – especially for authors and other Creative types.

The irony, of course, is typically most Creative types are introverts, which means interacting with other people (no matter how much you love them) takes emotional energy. Interacting with acquaintances or strangers takes exponentially more energy.

Guess what else takes emotional energy? That’s right. Creativity.

Am I the only Creative to sometimes feel like the “Real Me” is getting sucked down the swirling drain of social media popularity contests and the unspoken pressure to “build a platform,” “connect with your audience,” and create picture-perfect Instagram posts?

Somehow whether the words written (or art created) becomes less about the message or workmanship and more about who knows whom, or how many Twitter followers they have. And that makes me sad.

Shouldn’t we care more about crafting the story we were given by God than crafting the wittiest one-liner Tweet? 

I’m not hating on social media, by the way. I actually love blogging (obviously) and have a rather love-hate relationship with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. They can be effective ways to connect with other people who share your passions and interests.

But in such an overwhelming flood of voices clamoring for attention (since attention means followers and followers means sales and sales means food on the table), it can be so easy to lose our voice in the crowd.

And that would be the real loss. Not the loss of social media followers or fans, but the loss of my authentic voice. 

After all, God gave me that voice. Not anyone else’s voice. He didn’t make me funny or witty or quippy. He didn’t give me an out-going personality that attracts followers like wasps to a peanut-butter-honey sandwich.

He made me a nature-loving paradox who loves my people and is happy to be a Creative hermit for  days on end. He made me quiet and thoughtful and filled my head with deep and at times angsty thoughts about life and culture and creativity and how to keep loving God and seeing the beautiful in the hard days.

“Comparison is the thief of joy.” And in perhaps no other field is that more true than the sphere of the Creative businessperson. 

If I focus on what other people are doing – their fan clubs and follower bases and Share counts and street teams – I’ll just get discouraged and wonder what’s wrong with me. Why am I not more like them? How do they get everyone to love them? Why didn’t I take up something less painful – like acupuncture – instead? (Yes. I hate needles.)

But if I focus on who I really am, who God made me to be, then I once again feel the safety I need to be Creative. To experiment and play and try new things. Interestingly enough, this also gives me the confidence to connect with others and share what I’ve been given to say – without worrying who’s Retweeting me.

How have you coped with the “popularity contest” mentality? Tips for overcoming and keeping your authentic voice? Go! 

Photography by Katie Morford (Karis Waters). All rights reserved. To schedule your own shoot, please check out my photography services. 

Standing in their Stilettos

I drive the strip after dark, neon lights flashing through the car window and yellow streetlights spotlighting girls at every bus stop and corner, illuminating stilettos and short skirts.

Looking at these girls, beautiful painted faces clearly visible from only a couple yards away, I do the only thing I can do—I look at them and see them.

I wonder what they were like as little girls, what their dreams were before they turned into a statistic.

I’ve spent my day looking for prostitutes.

I pounded the stained and broken pavement of Mexico City in my dirty Converses, walking sandwiched between my videographer and our local host, keeping an eye out for girls on the corners advertising their bodies.

Most are my age or much younger, but have years ago given up any hope of escape from a hellish life they didn’t choose. Most will never be able to leave.

But a few might, thanks to a little powerhouse Mexican lady named Lety (above, in downtown Mexico City) and her outreach to victims of trafficking and prostitution.

One afternoon during our week-long filming trip in Mexico, Jay, our OMNIvision videographer, and I trail Lety and a couple of volunteers through a maze of market stalls in one of Mexico City’s red light districts. We stay a short distance behind Lety to avoid drawing the attention of ever-vigilant pimps, pretending interest in the contents of nearby stalls.

Lety stops to chat with a prostitute standing outside a shop, a girl whose trust they’ve earned on previous visits. Her name is Jasmine*, and she’s agreed to talk with us.

Only one problem—the pimps are watching.

We move on to avoid arousing suspicion, but Jay walks back to Jasmine and hands her the standard fee—about $11 USD for 15 minutes. They enter the cheap hotel and receive their key and condom at the front desk. Jasmine greets another prostitute, a friend of hers, who is leaving with a man at least twice her age.

“As I was sitting on a broken bed with Jasmine, recording her story on my Iphone, nervousness turned into anger,” Jay said. “Anger turned into shame as people saw me come out of the hotel with her. So many emotions were coming and going.”

Jasmine was scammed into falling in love with a pimp in disguise at age 15 (she’s now my age, 28). She married him, and after two weeks he “lost his job” and insisted she become a sex worker. When she protested, he turned violent, beating and threatening to kill her infant son if she refused.

Her story is very typical of the way young girls end up in prostitution, Lety said. Girls from poor families go to the city to study and fall in love with pimps, or are even seduced in their home villages. They are desperate for a better life, but end up trapped.

Thanks to an act of incredible bravery on Jasmine’s part, her son is now safely in the care of her family. But she continues to work the streets to provide for him, even as she hopes to escape and build a better life. Lety and her team are working to provide Jasmine with the necessary identity paperwork, which was stolen by her pimp, and options to receive training or return home to work with her family.

As I walked their streets and listened to their stories, I couldn’t help but think that if I’d been born in another place to another family, I could have been standing in their stilettos.

Instead of boarding a plane and flying across a vast country and walking into the arms of a man who loves and cares for me on the other side, I would be spending my days and nights lying in the arms of strangers just to earn enough for me and my kids to eat the next day.

And hoping that maybe, one day, I’d get to walk away from those streets too.

 

*Name changed for security reasons

Special thanks to Jay Schipper for sharing his story and photos of Jasmine.

 

Mexico: A colorful neighbor

I’ve traveled all over the world, but I’d never been to Mexico until a few weeks ago. Though most of the trip I saw the grittier side of the country due to my job filming a ministry to immigrants and trafficked persons, I still had a few opportunities to enjoy the beauty of this historic country.

Plus, I managed to continue my trend of accidentally visiting key Bond movie filming sites. You’ll see the central plaza in Mexico City (below, top) in the latest Bond film, Spectre. 

The highlight for me, however, was not the grand plazas or historic churches built by the conquering Spaniards, but a quaint town over the mountains known as Puebla. We stayed in a hotel just off their central plaza, so my team and I were able to enjoy the Sunday night festivities, which were out full force!

Mexicans subscribe to the Latino time frame, which means that as we were eating supper at a sidewalk cafe on the main plaza at 9 p.m., the plaza was still alive with street entertainers, music, and families. Even parents with small children couldn’t miss out on this lively community atmosphere. It made for countless opportunities for my favorite travel pastime – people-watching.

My experience wasn’t just limited to the cities. I also visited several small, densely populated villages that gave me a taste of the flavor of rural life in Mexico.

The authentic experience came complete with a Mexican cowboy in hat and proper attire riding his gorgeous black horse through the countryside, with mountains and cacti picturesque in the background.

Alas, he must have been Zorro himself, since he vanished before I could take a picture.

Many of the stories told about this country feature its many problems and struggles. And those discussions are valid and have their place.

But it bears remembering that this country also has a long and beautiful cultural heritage we would all be blessed to enjoy. I’m thankful for Mexico, our colorful neighbor!

 

All photography by Katie Morford (Karis Waters). All rights reserved.

If you are interested in personal portraiture, decorative canvases, workshops or commercial photography, please check out my photography services. I’d love to tell your story!

Photo Essay: Spring Blossoms

“The perfect blossom is a rare thing.” – Katsumoto, The Last Samurai

I love the first signs of spring.

Since I live in the Great Plains, it’s usually the vast green carpet of wheat sprouting in the fields, followed by flowering trees. There’s something about the delicate determination of fragile flowers reaching for the sky, undeterred by winter’s lingering chill, that gives my heart a spring-like feeling of hope.

When I first moved into my new home, a big 100-year-old farmhouse I share quite amicably with my best friend and her retired parents, I didn’t know there were so many beautiful flowering flora hanging around.

So I was pleasantly surprised not only by the pretty bushes along the driveway (above), but also by the apricot trees blooming in the orchard. I had to wait until a blue-sky sunshine-y day to snap these shots but it was worth it!

As it turned out, the first gorgeous spring day since the trees began to blossom a mutual friend and her two children came out to visit the farm! (They even wore overalls for the occasion). We all had such fun walking around, playing in the blossom “snow” falling from the trees, and of course petting the farm cats.

My favorite spring flower on the farm is this jewel, though. I have a shot of this bush blooming from two years ago that I made into a canvas print. It hung on my wall in England for a year and a half, a bit of indoor sunshine in my cloudy English life.

Photography by Katie Morford. All rights reserved.

When you don’t have words

“Do you ever feel that way?”

I ask my friend in the Dillons parking lot, shoppers passing by with carts full of riches untold for most of the people in this world.

“Like you don’t have any words left, or maybe that there’s too much to say for words?”

Like you just need to be with the people you love, touch them and bury your face against them and breathe in their familiar scent and reassure yourself that they’re there. That you’re there.

That you’re safe and in the place you belong with the people you belong to. 

You can physically touch the reality that while around you the world keens and lives shatter and people pass from this life to the next – as we all will someday – in this moment, the ones you love are still with you.

Another text comes and a young son has taken his own life and somewhere a mom weeps tears of pain and grief deeper than words can express.

It’s a strange silence that falls when feelings run too deep for words. 

I’m a writer, a story-teller. My gift is expressing through words the images and memories and feelings others experience but cannot articulate.

Yet, even I have learned that at some junctures there are no words. And that’s okay. Some depths cannot be expressed within the confines of letters and sounds and syntax.

Close to a month ago my beloved aunt tried to take her own life. And as I drove that long road to their house to be with their kids, flat wheat fields lying dormant rolling past, I prayed, “God, what do I say? What can I say?”

And He gently replied, “Sometimes words are not what’s needed. Sometimes words are not the answer. Sometimes what is most needed is you.”

My presence. My arms wrapped around a scared 15-year-old girl as we lay on the couch watching Dr. Who and trying to forget the unforgettable.

Words cannot heal that depth of hurt. Not really. Not yet. But my presence can begin the healing.

If you forget every other word I’ve written here today, remember  this: People don’t need your words as much as they need you.

They need to touch you and know you’re real. That you’re still there, with them, living and breathing. They need to know that maybe they don’t have words to express what they’re feeling and maybe you don’t have words to take away their pain, but they have you.

Set your phone down. Put your computer away. Go into the other room and hug your son goodnight, because there’s another mom kind of like you who wants nothing more than to hug her son again and never will.

Kiss the chubby cheek of your friend’s baby boy and watch her daughter dance in the snow of spring blossoms falling down and give those you love the gift of you.

Saying Goodbye is Never Easy

I’ve said so many goodbyes this past year. I keep thinking it’ll get easier.

I’ve said goodbye to friends and colleagues as I moved back to the United States. To the father of a long-time family friend who passed away suddenly from heart failure this past summer. To a young woman I discipled in my Bible study all through my college years, who died after a long battle with brain cancer.

To a sweet little old lady and dear friend who wrote me the most beautiful letters and prayed me through many a tough season before she lost her own battle with cancer. To yet another prayer warrior who finished her race well.

And then, today, I had to say goodbye to one of my most faithful friends over the last 14 years.

Buddy (right) and Kiera on a sunset country walk. 

I cried on him after a tough break-up and he snuggled in close and listened to my deepest soul-searching moments.

He ran with me down dirt country roads under the stars and helped me do chores on frosty winter mornings and celebrated with abandon lawn chair summer nights with cicadas singing in the trees.

Every time I came home from visiting friends in high school he’d run out to meet me with unashamed enthusiasm.

Years passed and I moved away to college and then moved across an ocean and still, no matter how long I’d been away, when I walked up the driveway and heard him announce my arrival and saw him run to welcome me, I knew I was finally home.

Buddy (2002) as a ball of fluff puppy.

I remember when he first came to our family, a little ball of fluff smarter than he looked and eager to please and participate in every farm adventure.

We taught him to fetch a ball, leaping high in the air to catch it and sliding to a stop, sending up sprays of snow. He had an unparalleled passion for the sport. Even in his last year of life, when he’d slowed down to quiet old age, he’d transform into a (slightly slower) version of his younger self, waving his tail with a happy grin and chasing down the ball until our arms grew too tired to continue.

Buddy taking on an agility obstacle course.

He aced puppy obedience with his characteristic calm, so we moved on to train him in agility (running a dog through an obstacle course). Obstacles that normally frighten dogs he took in stride, only looking mildly surprised with his first teeter totter experience.

He reacted with similar aplomb to his first of many close encounters with skunks and other wildlife, resulting in a thorough tomato and vinegar bath!

I grew older and my life spun faster, and my little friend started to slow down.

Buddy, on my last visit home in May 2015. 

His enthusiastic welcome greetings changed from leaping two feet in the air to touch my hand, to laying his head in my lap with joy shining from soulful dark eyes and slow, happy wags of his tail.

I always knew I was loved and he never failed to come greet me, no matter where I’d been in the world or how long I’d been away.

And whenever I left and gave him a hug goodbye I knew it could be the last time. But I never really thought it would be. And then it was. 

That’s kind of the way goodbyes go. Right up to the very moment, you can convince yourself that it’s not really going to happen. And then that person or pet you love is gone, and you’re left with only memories and a someday hope.

I have a theory about goodbyes.

Could it be that goodbyes feel so wrong because they are wrong? That our heavenly souls within us cry out that this is not the way the world is supposed to work–that a goodbye is really a “See you later” and death is no more than the turning of a page. 

I’ve said my share and more than my share of goodbyes in recent months and years. Sometimes they are temporary. Sometimes they feel much more permanent, but are in truth just temporary as well.

After all, isn’t that why Jesus walked to the cross and bled and died? To overcome death so that He didn’t have to say goodbye you and me forever. So when He looked at His disciples and said goodbye what He really mean was, “I’ll see you again in a little while.”

Goodbyes are never easy. It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to remember. It’s okay to grieve a loss that is none-the-less painful for being ultimately temporary.

Just as long as we remember that goodbyes aren’t forever.