People Are Beautiful

And the Power of Being Radically Generous

Hi friends! I’m excited to tell you about something radical I did this past weekend—what happened and the why behind it all.

The building I live in is an artist community—all kinds of artists live here, create here, and from time to time, we get to share it with others. This past Saturday was the A-Mill Summer Music and Arts Fair. Residents set up booths and tables to display and sell their art, jewelry, crafts, clothing, etc. I decided to want to set up a booth simply to take pictures of people. But for free. Sound crazy?

Some people walked by, skeptical that I wasn’t actually trying to sell something. I get that. “Nothing’s actually free, right? He’s going to try to trap me into doing or buying something I don’t want.” I’m sure people thought stuff like that. That’s why I posted a sign clearly stating…

I literally just wanted to give people something nice that would hopefully bring them some joy—and reveal to them how beautiful they are.

RADICAL, RIGHT?

I had an amazing time and met a ton of really fantastic people. Check out some of these faces….

Some people were giddy to have their picture taken. Some said that it had been forever (if ever!) since they’d had a nice photo of them taken. Some just wanted to be silly with their friends. (This is just about one-fourth of the people I met)

You can tell that I did some artistic treatments on some of these…but it’s the people who make them such awesome pictures, isn’t it? I feel so honored that they let me take their photographs.

My generosity was met with joy and gratitude…and so many smiles. Not to mention these amazing memories. What a honor for me!

One of my main missions in life is declaring the incredible worth and value of every single person. Most times I do this by looking people in the eye and honoring them by listening to what they’re saying. Sometimes it’s just a smile or a hello. There are so many ways to do this. My favorite times are in conversations with friends where we are able to remind each other of our value, something that unfortunately can get lost in personal insecurities or anxieties.

I never would’ve imagined that I’d use photography to help people see their innate awesomeness. But since I started down this path just about a year ago, I’ve been blown away by my experiences—many times being brought to tears just by looking at the emotion and beauty captured on my camera’s little screen.

Many people expressed what a great idea this was, and that they had never seen anything like this done before. I hadn’t either! I wanted to come up with an idea that was ultra-creative and radically generous—creating an experience for people that didn’t ask anything of them except to just be present and enjoy the moment.

I combined two things I love deeply: people and photography, and created something unique that brought love and life to people. That sounds like an incredible success, doesn’t it? I sure think it does.

Here’s a question for you: How can you take something(s) you love and do something radically generous in order to bring love and light to other people?

These are important days for us to be extravagant lovers of people. I didn’t ask any of these people what their religious beliefs were, or if they were living the way I thought they should… (that would’ve been ridiculous). It was an open table. Everybody was welcomed and everyone’s beauty was celebrated. This is how I want to live my life, and I’d love to have you join me.

Thank you for sharing in the celebration of this past weekend with me. I can’t wait to hear how you’re going to choose to get ultra-creative! Please let me know!