April Photo Challenge: You Do You

PJ’s prompt for April was You Do You! I believe we need to be careful with this phrase because, while it’s great we’re not clones of each other and have different interests and opinions, it could become an excuse for moral relativism and a free pass to do whatever we want thinking there’s no right or wrong decision. In today’s culture, the phrase might imply our main concern is ourselves and whatever serves us at any given moment. I believe we need to check our narcissism at the door and look for ways we can love and serve each other’s needs as a reflection of ourselves.

According to the Cambridge online dictionary, You Do You is an idiom “used to say that someone should do what they think is best, what they enjoy most, or what suits their personality.”

Do what I think is best….and deal with the backlash from those who disagree.  Do what I enjoy most…..when I’m not being pulled in fourteen different directions. Do what suits my personality…..that could be a possibility.

So, here’s me doing me.

You Do You 1
Here’s me doing me 21 different ways. April is crunch time for my 21 design students creating campaign plan books for clients. I’m doing me as a design instructor for the project. I’ve been involved in this capstone class since 2006 so it’s become part of my DNA. These are the covers of the spring semester 2023 books that represent 15 weeks worth of work.

You Do You 2
A part of my personality is that I’ve come to love women’s bible study sessions at our church. This is a representation of the studies I’ve done over the years. They include but are not limited to Genesis, Exodus, Hebrews, Romans, Jonah, Ephesians, Mark, a study on CS Lewis, a study on the first five books of the Bible (Torah), Galations and 1 2 & 3 John. The insights learned in each of these is a big part of how I try and “do me.”

You Do You 3
I suppose part of me doing me is rescuing things. I rescued an injured hummingbird inn 2021 and kept him a week until someone from a wild bird sanctuary came to get him. Every spring I try to find baby redbud trees growing in and around the gardens. I transplant them into the “nursery” and hope they live long enough to be transplanted. This is one of my successes. This lovely is  four years old and this year was the first year for blooms. Two more transplants are a couple years behind this one.

You Do You 4
Me doing me is also reflected in that I love photography. Documenting everything from a baby’s first few weeks to capturing the beauty of the natural world around us makes me happy. Seasons don’t really matter. I’ve shot after a snowstorm, after rain, during the heat of the summer and, of course, autumn.

You Do You 5
As I mentioned in my opening soapbox, I see more and more people thinking they are the center of everything and not looking past themselves. This is one reason why I enlisted Peanut and myself as volunteers at our city’s community service project day called ForColumbia. It was actually her idea in 2019, but we all know it’s not easy to get a teenager to think about someone else other than themselves.  ForColumbia is coordinated by a dedicated team that annually organizes volunteers from Christian churches throughout our town to serve individuals, non-profit organizations, and other public venues in a city-wide day of service. There are around 45 Christian churches serving at 48 sites throughout the city this year.  

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ~Philippians 2:1-4 

That’s my April five for You Do You. Check over at PJ’s place to see what others are doing.