Let’s Be Honest

“It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.” – Abraham Lincoln

Let’s be honest with each other, we all have some kind of vice out there. Something that could hold us back. Something that if we do not have in our day it is completely off, or that one thing that isn’t good for us however, we run to it when we are feeling stressed. I know my morning vice is a cup of coffee when I first wake up. I have to have it. First thing I do every morning when wake up is make myself a cup. During the school year when I have to my kids on the bus ridiculously early, I prepare my cup the night before and have to brew about minute before my alarm goes off. If I don’t get that first cup when I wake up, my family knows to look out until I do. Drinking coffee in the morning isn’t the worst thing someone can do. I know there are way worse addictions out there. I think we all have our vices. What the quote from Abraham Lincoln tells me is that those who have virtues are honest about their vices. We have to be honest about our issues. Too often we hide behind the mask of social media, and try to show the world our best fake self. Does this mean we need to air our all of problems on the internet, no. We need to show other people that we are human beings. We make mistakes. We have the wrong ideas. We make false assumptions. We need to show that their are two sides of life. We don’t have to show everyone everything, but we need to be honest with the world about who we really are.

One thing I like to do when I am stressed is take my bike out for a ride with my camera on my back. I try to go out at least once a week depending on the weather. I usually ride to Uptown Charlotte from my house. It is easy for me to access Uptown because of the rail trail that’s near my house. The rail trail is a walking and bike path that runs along the light rail train. I like to ride because it is for fitness, but also a longer ride helps me clear my mind. While I am riding, I like to bring my camera with me because I love photography. This gives me an opportunity to express myself artistically. One of my favorite places to ride is Marshall Park. It’s a small urban park that is near the edge of Uptown. The water feature is excellent for capturing reflection shots when the wind is calm. It has a great view of most of the city, and it’s easy for me to get to. I visit this park so often I call it the spot. I try to capture photos at this park during almost every season because it has a great urban park landscape.