We are all given opportunities to embrace this rare and wonderful gift each and every time we are presented with a situation where one of His creations, be it human, animal, or environmental, asks for our help. God has prepared these special moments, these decision points, just for us. And, He presents us with them when we are least expecting it. He then watches as we choose to either graciously accept or to turn away.

When God presents you with your next opportunity, will you recognize it? Will you pass it up because you are too busy, or feel someone else will or should step up? Or will you embrace it, regardless of the inconvenience or difficulty?

Recently, God presented me with such a moment of choice. Driving into my neighborhood at dusk, my husband and I noticed a neighbor standing in the street looking into another neighbor’s yard, where a large swan was sitting in the grass. We stopped the car to speak with our neighbor who explained that the swan had been in our neighborhood for over an hour. First in one front yard, then slowly moving to the next.

I wanted a better look at the swan, a short distance away, directly outside my car window, so I rolled it down. And, as we spoke with our neighbor, the swan stood and started to approach the car. I got out of the car, and standing in the street, the swan came right up to us, and sat down. This time in the middle of the street. The poor creature appeared injured, and impending snow and darkness had us distressed about it’s safety through the night.

My husband drove home to get a large dog kennel, and we proceeded to coax the swan into it. The swan did not resist, but rather went in willingly. We then  loaded the kennel into our car, and drove the swan to an emergency vet clinic. Fortunately, the vet clinic was a drop off point for Operation Wildlife (OWL), a non-profit rescue organization in a nearby town. I was assured that the swan would be well cared for overnight until it could be transferred to OWL the next day.

Driving home from the vet clinic, my husband made a comment that reflected my own opinion: “It was almost if that swan was asking for our help”. And, there it was. The special moment God had prepared just for us.

Cupid the Swan at Operation Wildlife in Linwood, Kansas

In the days to follow, the veterinary clinic called to tell me the swan did very well through the night and throughout the next day. They had all fallen in love with him. They sprayed him with water, and he put on a little show for them. He drank, and walked around verbalizing. He brought them much joy. A day later, Operation Wildlife called to tell me that the swan did not have a broken wing, as suspected, but rather was emaciated, simply skin and bone. His wings had been clipped, so it was presumed that he was not able to forage for his own food. He was doing fine now at their facility, “eating like a horse”. He was brought into their clinic on Valentine’s Day, so they named him Cupid, and he had made his way into their hearts.

With a little investigation, it was learned that the swan had traveled about 3/4 of a mile to our neighborhood from another neighborhood lake. His journey was determined to have taken him about a week on foot because he could not fly with clipped wings. I can only imagine the perils and predators he must have encountered along the way.

Feeding Cupid's Mate at a Neighborhood Lake

Due to the extreme emaciated condition of the swan, OWL concluded that the swan had been starving for quite some time…much longer than the duration of his journey. I drove to the lake, which had been his home, and discovered that there was one remaining swan. OWL suggested that I find a particular kind of food for this other swan and try to feed it in case it was also starving.

I myself did not know, until my encounter with “Cupid”, that swans taken out of the wild must be fed in the winter. So, it is my thought that by sharing this information with others who may be responsible for swans that have been taken from the wild, they will be motivated to ensure the proper care of these beautiful creatures.

This experience has been a huge learning experience for me. First, I have learned that swans taken from their natural habit, and hindered from flying, must be properly cared for. They are simply not equipped to fend for themselves, as God had originally intended. But perhaps the greatest thing I have learned is that many people are reluctant to step up and help when one of God’s creatures is in need. Will those responsible for the other swan see to its care in the future? Why did no one else stop to help Cupid during his week long journey? Perhaps they do not know the immense joy and fulfillment that comes when one embraces compassion and responsibility. It’s God’s special gift to each of us, and it’s ours for the taking.

I am considering using this image in the introduction to the first book in the series The Great Face Race. I know what your thinking: “But it’s not a face?!” Yes, it’s not a face. But the story behind the photograph really embodies the spirit of my project.

I captured this image during a recent trip to Delray Beach, Florida where I was instructing at a workshop. I hadn’t been outside of the hotel for the entire week during the workshop, but had about an hour to kill before leaving for the airport. Walking the beach, I spotted this bird, seemingly gazing out to sea like a wise and solemn sea captain would do.

There were many other birds scrambling around on the beach and taking to flight for brief bits of time, but this bird continued to stare out to sea. Wanting to capture the image, I tried to move in closer for the shot. The bird stayed put and maintained his introspective pose.  His tolerance of my attempt to photograph him was surprising.

Getting closer, I realized I would need to get low for the best shot. This presented some issues for me, as recent knee surgery and rehab prevented me from squatting. As I blundered about, trying to get low to the ground, the bird averted his gaze from the sea and looked over at me. He didn’t move. He watched as I clumsily lowered my self to the ground with what would have been a thud had I not been standing on sand. He then returned his gaze to the sea.

I am absolutely certain that he realized my predicament, and funny as it sounds, I felt his compassion. He allowed me to continue photographing for quite some time. Occasionally, he would glance at me to see how I was doing, and then he would return to his pose of wisdom.

This bird displayed wisdom, tolerance and compassion. Three of the qualities that The Great Face Race project attempts to foster. I like this image, because of the symbolism. The gazing bird symbolizes wisdom; his shadow, through the passing of time, symbolizes tolerance; and his reflection symbolizes empathy and compassion.

I know that these qualities exist not just in humans, but in parts of the animal kingdom as well. My grandmother shared with me something she learned about elephants on a visit to Africa. She said they are loving creatures who greet and embrace each other with their trunks, and who shed real tears when one from their herd dies. I had a Senegal parrot one time that loved to kiss and cuddle. And we all know that dogs are defined by their love and compassion.

My point is that love and compassion have universal potential. We are here to learn to love ourselves and to love one another. The first step toward universal love is understanding. With an open heart, understanding leads to compassion, and compassion leads to love.

I ask you now to take that first step toward understanding.  Open your mind, your eyes and your heart, and you may come to look past differences and begin to see the similarities that unite us all.

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**For those of you that have been following The Great Face Race: I was forced to put the project on hold about the middle of last year in order to find a way to add more diversity to the collection. It became apparent that for the project to have the impact I want it to have, I need to include faces from other regions of the country, and perhaps the world. The logistics of travel have presented challenges, which I hope to overcome at some point in the future. Once I am comfortable that the collection is well rounded and complete, the book will go to press. Thank you for your support of the project, and know that all things happen when they are meant to happen.

Last week one of my images was spotted at the Great Wolf Lodge here in Kansas City. The model and her mother went to check it out and learned that it is used on a poster for  Wolflockz. The poster appears nationally in all of the Great Wolf Lodges. Note the designer’s creative addition of the blue streak of hair. Congratulations Olivia!!

The owner of the site contacted me last week and to tell me how much they enjoy my series of donkey images. I am so glad that someone likes them as much as I do. Just looking at them makes me smile with memories of how funny they were that overcast day last fall.  So cute I just had to pull out the camera.  There are about 12 in the series, and you can see them all here: www.istockphoto.com

Another photo caught in action. The image I took is in the top right. You might be interested to know that these dedicated models showed up at 5:00 am on a Sunday to participate in this photoshoot. Thanks to Latasha for finding this one!

I took each dog to the park for about an hour. Turns out, that was a great idea. Each dog got to do what he wanted on his walk. Moose, the 4 month old Chesapeake wanted to stop and sniff every post and patch of tall grass. He also wanted to completely immerse his head in the deep creek water. Escrow, my personal protector, walked at a varying pace. Sometimes right at my side, sometimes a little out in front, turning to smile at me every so often as if to say, “This is fun, thanks!”. He never strayed from the path, except to accept compliments and pats from strangers. Ernie, the curious and mischievous one, barked at every dog that walked by, stopped for a long time to intently watch a soccer game, and kept on the look out for squirrels and bunnies.

I think walking three dogs at a time is a bit like a family vacation: fun for all, but a compromise of activities. I was glad I had the time to do my one-on-ones today. It was a true learning experience.