Reflections from the Journey

I used to think that a blank piece of paper was the most frightening yet intriguing object in the known universe.  That piece of paper has now been supplanted by the “Add New Post” screen of WordPress.   I sit here with a laptop on, well, my lap a bit overwhelmed by all the possibilities that a blog creates and, also, excited about started out on a new leg of my Journey.

You see, I have all sorts of ideas lurking in the forest of my mind at any given moment but stalking one of  those wild beasts can be quite an adventure.  If I’m quiet I can sneak up on one and observe it for a while, but ,unfortunately, the process of firing up the computer often scares the idea away.   I like adventure, though, so I resolve to set out into the untamed wilderness in my head to study these fascinating idea creatures much more often.   Lace up your hiking boots and grab a jacket (it rains a lot) and join me for an expedition into the wild!  Come join me for a little while on my Journey, I’d love the company.

Created & Creative by God’s Design,

Rich Nicoloff

Don’t forget to check out my photography: From the Journey Photography

It has been nearly 3 years since I took my first steps towards fulfilling the mission that I believe (sometimes firmly, sometimes not so much) that God has given me. I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently and just re-read my older blog posts. I have to say that I am a bit (OK, a LOT) disappointed in myself, but still hopeful. (You can read them here, here, and here.)

Somewhere down the trail I got distracted and veered off onto a side trail. This is one of the difficulties with hiking seldom used trails and my lack of attention lead me away from where I wanted to be. I should have been looking harder for the blazes that are there for me to see, but easy to miss when I’m not looking forward.  The path I veered onto was clearly marked and very scenic. I even met some great people out on that trail, but it wasn’t the path for me. Thankfully, I looked up to see that I was down the wrong path before I got too far away from my intended trail.

All metaphor aside, I opened up a retail gallery/studio downtown Greenville. While it was great getting immersed in the Greenville art scene, I ended up focusing more on me and my individual success and less on honoring God through the talents He gave me.  There wasn’t anything wrong with me opening up a gallery, but I allowed it to keep me from moving toward the bigger mission.

So here I am on back on the trail at the point where I 1st veered off. Thankfully, though I lost some time, I did gain some wisdom. And who knows, maybe some of the folks I met will end up joining me on this journey at some point.

Before moving forward toward the next blaze I see off in the distance, let me update you on where I am on this journey:

I now live with my family on about 6 acres of land just north of Travelers Rest, SC.

We now have 3 apple trees, 4 blueberry bushes, 4 blackberry canes, and 2 raspberry canes established. I planted more but the deer and drought took their toll.

We have 2 decent barns on the property. 1 which will be usable for livestock and 1 that I will be converting into studio & teaching workspace and a gallery.

Our gardens last year on the new property didn’t do very well, but we learned a l0t that will lead to improvements this upcoming growing season.

In my next post I will lay out some of  refinements of my original ideas and also talk about how YOU can get involved.

Created & Creative by God’s Design,

Rich Nicoloff

I just noticed that when I moved my website from one web host to another most of my images in my blog posts disappeared. I will get this fixed shortly. Thank you for your patience.

(update: As of 2/1/2012 all of the broken image links should be fixed)

10 years ago I had a 3 week old baby and was wondering into what kind of world I would be raising a kid. I didn’t want anything to do with God, or, especially, religion. I watched the coverage of NY, DC, and PA on Fox News. I was filled with hate and wanted revenge. I was so conservative that I disliked W. for not retaliating fast enough or hard enough. I was readying my guns and making sure I had an evacuation plan together.

But today is a new day and I am a new man. I am thankful to God for opening my eyes and my heart and changing the way I see the world over these last 10 years. I have found a better way. Though, I often fail miserably, I try to seek peace and understanding. I realize that hate only begets hate. I have learned that might does not make right. I see much more of the bigger picture, fuzzy though it may be. And though I still wonder what kind of world my kids are inheriting, it is because I still see too many people who still think the way I used to. Today I shed tears for all the lives that were lost on 9-11-01 and the lives that continue to be lost because of hate, pride, intolerance, imperialism, misunderstanding, etc. I shed tears for lives that are lost, but I am joyful for the life I am gaining and for the hope of a less polarized and more understanding, cooperative, peaceful world. After all, if I can undergo a deep shift in my view of this world, anyone can. May we bless God and all of His Creation with our open eyes, open minds, open hearts, and open hands.

An old friend posed a question on Facebook a few weeks ago that just “popped” into my head a few minutes ago.  I often let these thoughts go when I know I should be writing or typing them down, but the call to share this one is much too loud and insistent to let it go.  My friend, John, asked his friends to give 3 reasons why they believe in God.  Now, before I tell you my response I want to point out that only 5 of his friends responded and I find that pretty disappointing.

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2010 was quite a trip for my family and I.  We navigated a lot of switchbacks, water crossings, and scary drop offs on our way to a nice gain in elevation.

The year started with us wondering just how long Kristie would continue to have a job as an Interior Designer at Gresham, Smith & Partners.  The Charlotte, NC office where she worked had already dwindled from around 2o employees to just 5.  While we knew that she had projects to work on we also knew that those wouldn’t last until the end of the year.  It wasn’t a good start.

The upside to Kristie’s precarious job situation is that it forced her to be serious about finding a new job which is something I had been pestering her about for over a year.  My heart and mind was in the mountains and living in Charlotte/Pineville was killing me inside.   I knew I didn’t belong there, but for some reason God had us staying put.  We (or maybe, just I) still had some lessons to learn.

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Not long ago I was much like most Americans fueling up my vehicles with gasoline, taking my kids to the fast food drive-thru’s,  buying my food at the grocery store, spray fertilizing & weeding my lawn, etc. without much of a second thought.  I did want to conserve energy a bit (& save $$$ a lot!) so I grew a few tomatoes & cucumbers in the summer, kept the thermostat set cooler in the winter and warmer in the summer, watched the “green” shows on HGTV, went hiking and photographing in the woods, fed the birds (& squirrels!) in my yard, I joined the National Wildlife Federation.  Heck, I was even using CFL’s in many of my lamps!  I was “going green” like most folks.  I was no “tree huggin’ environmental wacko,” but I was doing my part.

Now, I’m not saying that any of those things I did to “go green” was wrong, in fact I encourage people to do them.  Please don’t think that I am standing up on some pedestal or sitting up on a “high horse” looking down on anyone.  What I am is a person on a journey that just may be a little bit further along the trail than many, but still lagging behind many others.  I’m here to offer what little guidance and insight I can to what lies ahead if you decide to undertake a similar journey.

Though I would say that God has been preparing the trail for me throughout my life , we can take a look at where I began to tread this particular section of trail:

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A picture may tell a 1,000 words but it still never tells the whole story.  I’m going to take you on a journey back through the lens and out the viewfinder to tell you the story of the making of the image.

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So last night I got you up to speed a bit on what has happened since I 1st told you about the vision/mission  God has given me.  I realized as I was composing that post that I really haven’t given a very clear picture of my vision.  That is what I hope to rectify now.

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Well, it’s been a little over 8 months since I wrote about my dream for the future so I thought I would post an update on what’s been going on.

While I have been learning a LOT, the whole process feels like taking baby steps.  You know the shaky, unsure, off balance kind of steps I’m talking about.  They are cute and part of the learning process, but they don’t cover much distance.   Here is a sampling of some of the baby steps I (along with my family) have taken:

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I am 40-years-old. There, I’ve said it.  It is on the Internets now so it must be true.  Now, if you are reading this and suddenly scrambling to send me a birthday card or present please note that it has been a few months since the auspicious anniversary of my birth.  (If it helps you feel a bit less guilty about not sending something then, by all means, feel free to do so now.  I certainly don’t want to burden you with guilt.)

The funny thing is I really don’t feel like I thought I would.   After all 40 is O-L-D.  I don’t feel old.  I don’t even think I look all that old.

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