Given the choice, we’d probably all wish for constant ups with no downs in life.

But as I look at this image, I’m reminded of the birth of my first child. I was in labor for 3 days. Yep, you read that right. From Friday to Sunday I was in labor with this 8 1/2 pound little girl. At first there were ups and downs to the contractions, to the pains, and then as her time to enter the world drew near, it changed.

Everything was up… constant contraction, constant pain, no time to breathe, and then as if dealt another bad hand I learned that all up and no down meant there was no progress. Literally.

You’d think that constant contraction would mean baby would come quicker, joy would come sooner, but it was the opposite. All up and no down. All contraction, no rest, meant no progress and danger.

So it goes with life. We need the middle ground to rest, when things are peaceful and calm. We need the highs when all is excitement and joy and adventure and journey. And we need the lows, without which we would be tempted to forget the gift we’ve been given, we would be apt to not realize how wonderful those high and mid-levels really are.

That’s my lesson for today. That’s my reminder from this image.

What does it say to you?

This is one way to use photography to change everything: your life, your perspective, your art.

It’ll wreck you and remake you.

It’ll leave you breathless and reaching for something real.

Substance. Relationship. Connection.

Hold on. Let go. Tell your story.

Wish I had seen this a couple years ago when I was entrenched in the Teen Identity fight against over-sexualization of teen girls in high school portraits (senior portraits, pageant portraits and otherwise).

The message is not simple, as we would like it to be. The answers are complex and require courage and persistence. But his words bring hope, a new perspective, and a clear call to men … the ones we know and love, the ones who know and love us … to take a stand, speak up and fight back.

Watch it. Share it. Live it.