Radical acceptance and unconditional friendliness

May 17, 2018 by Jenna Filia Canty

Bob Thurman describes this buddha nature as “realizing that you are everything, experiencing a feeling of oneness, and embracing being one with everything.” The lotus best represents our journey to realizing our buddha nature as the lotus grows through the mud before expressing itself fully as a beautiful flower above ground. For us, we have to work through the murky layers of our mind that tell us various stories, such as “we aren’t good enough.” Tara Brach writes, “when we get lost in our […]

Categories: Meditation, Yoga • Tags: aura glaser, bob thurman, buddha, buddha nature, Buddhism, christopher germer, compassion, inspiration, jack kornfield, mindfulness, robert thurman, Sharon Salzberg, tara brach

SINCERITY: “Happiness will run after you…”

November 4, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

“There is no greater delight then to be conscious of sincerity on self examination.” ― Mencius I chose the word Sincerity for this weeks Tuesday Virtue post. As defined in Wikipedia, Sincerity “is a virtue of one who speaks and acts truly about his or her own feelings, thoughts, and desires.” It’s an openness to expose who we really are and to trust others will be able to do the same. Sincerity is finding a way each day to act out […]

Categories: Photography

Trick or Treat, Columbus Ohio

November 3, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

“I pray to the birds because they remind me of what I love rather than what I fear. And at the end of my prayers, they teach me how to listen.” ― Terry Tempest Williams I took the above photo Friday evening waiting in traffic to get to the kids’ neighborhoods for Trick or Treat. I was focusing on the trees against the sky and all of a sudden a flock of birds came into my frame. It was a rainy, […]

Categories: Good Company, Photography • Tags: arm wrestle, Columbus, family, flock of birds, good company, gratitude, halloween, inspiring poetry, Leica, Leica M9, october, Ohio, Over the Top, terry tempest williams, trick or treat, westerville, what I fear, what I love

“Hope is a thing with feathers” — Emily Dickinson

October 30, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

–Photo by Jim Champion I came across a lovely poem today when my friend, Jeanne, asked me to read her some poetry via Skype.  She is recovering from surgery and needed me to do most the talking. I feel terrible for her! After reading the poem I thought of how fitting it is for today and why I have an insatiable love for poetry. Poetry is the language of the soul, and oftentimes, discovering the right one at the right time can […]

Categories: Photography • Tags: believe in oneself, better oneself, emily dickinson, feathers, female poets, hope, inspiring poetry, poetry

GRACE: “…a universe that knows what it’s doing…”

October 28, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

Happy Tuesday to you. Last week I wrote about Bravery and what it means to me. Today, I write about Grace. It has not been an easy thing for me to channel in my daily life lately. Grace to me is being open-hearted, seeing the beauty in the least expected places, gaining true insight into who we are, being generous with others, finding the good in everyone, saying thank you, slowing down, and navigating through each day with a sense of […]

Categories: Photography

Deep Creek, Maryland

October 27, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

Another beautiful weekend spent with family – this time in Deep Creek, Maryland celebrating my cousin Joseph’s 30th birthday. There was an over-abundance of food, dancing, and laughing – along with beautiful sunsets and blazing bonfires. Here are a few images from the weekend – keeping in mind that I took over 700 with my Leica M9. As per usual the outdoor pics are always much better- still working on perfecting the use of my flash.  Hope you had a restful […]

Categories: Photography • Tags: 30th birthday, beautiful sunsets, beautiful weekend, Deep Creek, Maryland

BRAVERY : “Our statures touch the skies…” Emily Dickinson

October 21, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

Happy Tuesday to you. I woke up at 5:30am this morning eager to complete a few photo projects I have been working on. I poured a cup of coffee, topped it off with almond milk, put Layla in my lap and got to work. Processing images is one of my favorite things to do. It never feels like work. There is always something beautiful to find and, oftentimes, it’s in a picture that you would least expect it to be. I love the […]

Categories: Photography

What matters most

October 20, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

I am in Columbus now spending time with family and enjoying every minute of it. Family sure does remind you of how beautiful life is and, in my case, how there are people that support and love you no matter what. Unconditional love, unconditional support. Living in New York City the past 8 years has been both a blessing and a challenge. A blessing because I live above the best pizza restaurant in town 🙂 and a challenge because I am so […]

Categories: Photography

My favorite sadhu

October 2, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

Just submitted this to three different photo contests. I believe in this photo so much because the moment was so magical when I found him in Nepal. I knew in that moment it would be my favorite photo in my life forever. All I need is for Nat Geo to give me a chance! 🙂 Wish me luck!

Categories: Photography

Collage Journaling for the Journey Ahead

October 1, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

“You are what your deepest desire is. As your desire is, so is your intention. As your intention is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny.” – Upanishads As someone who has always been a lover of journaling and writing, I have equally loved making collages not only for inspiration but to see what both consciously and unconsciously is going on in my mind. I recently started […]

Categories: Photography

Before summer ends on Sunday…

September 16, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

I wanted to post the collages I made from our August vacation. I have been working with them on and off and came up with some that I really like. As always, I ask myself – why didn’t I take more pictures?  As if 800 isn’t enough. I also have a few fun flipograms following the photos – just click on the link. Thanks for reading! ​http://flipagram.com/f/HbLnjbSvOT​ ​http://flipagram.com/f/HbM8Es0QN0 ​http://flipagram.com/f/HbMKOwpSQl http://flipagram.com/f/HbLtzhfamP ​

Categories: Photography

Fun in the Sun

August 20, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

** Bruce Lee **

Categories: Photography

Hilton Head, South Carolina – Beach Time!

August 19, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

I recently got back from a family vacation in Hilton Head, South Carolina. There are more pictures to come; I shared a few iPhone shots below and added a quote that I found fitting. It is said that we learn something from every experience we have. In this case, I learned how to win $100 in black jack and memorable answers to “what would you change about the world if you could change absolutely anything, of any magnitude.” Do you have an answer? Share it […]

Categories: Photography, Traveling • Tags: Bobbi Brown every little step, Dr Seuss, family, good company, gratitude, Hilton Head, Mother teresa, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Rumi, South Carolina, travel photography, vacation

“I will try again tomorrow” … and the next day, and the next day.

August 6, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “i will try again tomorrow.”” – Mary Anne Radmacher, Live Boldly “Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering.” – Nicole Krauss, The History of Love “We do not want merely to see beauty… we want something else which can hardly be put into words- to be […]

Categories: Photography

“Be earth now, and evensong…the ground lying under that sky.”

June 18, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

Onto a Vast Plain by Rainer Maria Rilke You are not surprised at the force of the storm— you have seen it growing. The trees flee. Their flight sets the boulevards streaming. And you know: he whom they flee is the one you move toward. All your senses sing him, as you stand at the window. The weeks stood still in summer. The trees’ blood rose. Now you feel it wants to sink back into the source of everything. You […]

Categories: Photography, Writers & Writing • Tags: Rainer Maria Rilke

Getting Lost

May 13, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

 “Lost really has two disparate meanings. Losing things is about the familiar falling away, getting lost is about the unfamiliar appearing. There are objects and people that disappear from your sight or knowledge or possession; you lose a bracelet, a friend, the key. You still know where you are. Everything is familiar except that there is one item less, one missing element. Or you get lost, in which case the world has become larger than your knowledge of it. Either […]

Categories: Photography, Weekend Instagrams • Tags: A Field Guide to Getting Lost, better oneself, challenges, finding meaning, getting lost, healthy living, human spirit, meditation, New York City, Photography, Rebecca Solnit, reflection, self reflection, yoga

Keeping Quiet, Pablo Neruda

May 12, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

Keeping Quietby Pablo Neruda Now we will count to twelve and we will all keep still. For once on the face of the earth, let’s not speak in any language; let’s stop for one second, and not move our arms so much. It would be an exotic moment without rush, without engines; we would all be together in a sudden strangeness. Fisherman in the cold sea would not harm whales and the man gathering salt would look at his hurt hands. Those […]

Categories: Photography, Writers & Writing • Tags: flower photography, keeping still, Pablo Neruda, poetry, purple tulip, spring, tulip

Mothers Rock!

May 9, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

“To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power. Or the climbing, falling colors of a rainbow.” —Maya Angelou “The clocks were striking midnight and the rooms were very still as a figure glided quietly from bed to bed, smoothing a coverlid here, settling a pillow there, and pausing to look long and tenderly at each unconscious face, to kiss each with lips that mutely blessed, and to pray the fervent prayers which only […]

Categories: Photography, Writers & Writing • Tags: Edgar Allen Poe, JM Barrie, literary quotes about mothers, Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, mother's day, motherhood, mothers day quotes, Peter Pan, quote for my mother, quotes about mothers, quotes for mothers day, To My Mother, Washington Irving, writers on mothers

A Lesson from Kevin Durant: Give out those SNAPS, who cares if you cry.

May 8, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

He saw that all the struggles of life were incessant, laborious, painful, that nothing was done quickly, without labor, that it had to undergo a thousand fondlings, revisings, moldings, addings, removings, graftings, tearings, correctings, smoothings, rebuildings, reconsiderings, nailings, tackings, chippings, hammerings, hoistings, connectings — all the poor fumbling uncertain incompletions of human endeavor. They went on forever and were forever incomplete, far from perfect, refined, or smooth…yet, in the way of things, somehow noble, complete, and shining in the end.” […]

Categories: Good Company, Photography • Tags: better oneself, challenges, family, Jack Kerouac, Kevin Durant, meditation, Pap, reflection, self reflection, struggle, The Town and the City, yoga

Could it be ?

May 6, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

The one thing I have to do every weekend is walk through Washington Square Park to where the red-headed pianist plays everything from Phillip Glass to Frederic Chopin on his black grand piano. “That was beautiful!!!!!” he screams after every song, raising his arms in the air as if he just won a heavyweight championship. Whether on my way home from yoga, or out for a walk with my dog, the best part about winter being long gone is this simple pleasure. And […]

Categories: Photography • Tags: florence and the machine, florence welch, Frederic Chopin, grand piano, Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, music in the park, New York City, Phillip Glass, Washington Square Park

“Some people care too much … I think it’s called love.” -Winnie the Pooh

May 5, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

What if a Disney movie wasn’t something to simply play in the car for your kids during long road trips, but rather the only way of understanding how they feel? If you can watch the video below, please do. I just loved the story, it is so touching. It’s about an autistic boy, Owen, who was once unable to communicate because of a sudden development of autism. During this time, the only thing he found comfort in was Disney movies. And not just comfort, but a […]

Categories: Photography • Tags: disney movies, sunday morning, today show

I cherish so in you

April 28, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

“If you feel your value lies in being merely decorative, I fear that someday you might find yourself believing that’s all that you really are. Time erodes all such beauty, but what it cannot diminish is the wonderful workings of your mind: Your humor, your kindness, and your moral courage. These are the things I cherish so in you.” ― Marmee, Little Women

Categories: Photography

Another, from Siesta Key.

April 24, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

I love this photo of my nephews on the beach in Siesta Key. If it weren’t for their feet being a little out of focus you would think they were hanging there – especially Joseph on the right.  I could photograph the people I love all day and process the images all night. It makes me so happy to do so. I also love this quote by Fernando Pessoa from The Book of Disquiet. Somewhere at home in Ohio that book […]

Categories: Photography

Siesta Key

April 23, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

Categories: Photography

Same same, but different – Family and Yoga

April 16, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

When I was putting together these images today I thought about the two things I truly couldn’t do without – family and yoga. Same same, but different, is an old mantra you hear a lot in yoga.  Sure they are different, but the more I reflected on this today, the more I was in awe of how similar they are. Same same- family and yoga. Heart openers. Stability. Feeling grounded. Connecting. Being flexible. Being kind. Showing compassion. Generosity. Peace. Positive energy. Support. Acceptance. Growth.  I […]

Categories: Photography

Bath Time

April 14, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

Finally got started on images from my recent visit home. I started with a few of my niece so that my sister-in-law could use an image for her 1st birthday party invite.  Here are a few I have been playing with…still messing with the color but I like the images themselves.  I love when the light is just perfect. How happy does it make you to see a baby having this much fun during bath time?  More pictures from Ohio to come […]

Categories: Photography

All the good things… and an Image Diary

April 11, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

 Focusing on all the good things that come to mind today…random things, but good things nonetheless. Plus, I just love making lists. Cozy dinners. Braveheart soundtrack. Art that moves you. Indian mangoes. Songs you can’t stop singing. Passport stamps. Sun salutations. Fresh figs. Poets. Being kind to strangers. Dharana – the study of the mind. Sky-high bookshelves. Honesty. Honeycrisp apples. Purple doorways. Hand drawings. Backbends. Taking a break from promoting strengths to share your weaknesses. Highlighting passages. Animals. Curling up with […]

Categories: Photography

Image Diary

April 10, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

A collection of things I love today because it was just one of those days: messy, top-knot buns, window spaces, maps, bushels of tulips, the thought of Paris, watercolors, peach melba pie, mis-matched plates, hand-written letters, holding hands, books, textured dresses, abundant bouquets, maps, shoes with bows, the ocean at sunset, jars full of goodness, peonies… * The below images are not my own photography. Please click on the image to be taken to its source.

Categories: Photography

Ten ways to cultivate HAPPINESS, on International Happiness Day

March 20, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

So its International Happiness Day, which you may be aware of already if you follow Pharrell Williams on Instagram like I do. Or, if you are like me and have been glued to every update regarding Flight 370, you may have completely missed anything regarding a day of joy… Please note this is not some made up Hallmark holiday that you should roll your eyes at and wonder if your girlfriend is going to be mad if you forgot! Here […]

Categories: Photography • Tags: be happy, happiness, international day of happiness

Visual Diary

March 14, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

“between what is said and not meant and what is meant and not said most of love is lost ” – Khalil Gibran and the time came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” —Anais Nin * i do not claim any of the images below as my own. TGIF!

Categories: Photography