Liz, over at Just Be. Love All. Live Life has created a wonderful photo journey for the month of May — an invitation to explore the idea, Who am I?, through the art of photography and reflection.

Just for the fun of it, I decided to sign on. There’s not really much to do to sign on, just leave a comment on Liz’s blog page announcing the ‘Photo a Day for the month of May’ event, and send a tweet or Instagram message to tell her you’re in. And then, every day, turn up, be present, be curious and alive to the question, Who am I?

I’m all in!

All of me. Not just fingers and toes, or lips and back of my neck. I’m all in. Committed to exploring who I am through a photograph a day that speaks to who I am in that moment.

May 1 was, All heart.  May 2, Wild and creative (though I thought afterwards it should be Wildly creative — but hey, that could be me another day this month!).

It’s a fascinating idea — to take a photo of yourself everyday that depicts how you are in that moment.

Last night, as I painted with my two painterly buddies, we laughed and joked about what we were in that moment, and then, I just decided to have fun. It was in the having fun that I realized — taking a photo a day of myself can be fun.

I always look forward to seeing the photo my daughter, Alexis, posts of herself everyday on her blog, The Wunder Year. She’s asked stranger’s, co-workers, her boyfriend, me and anyone around at the moment to snap the shot everyday since she began The Wunder Year on Jan 1. And the collection of photos she has is fun, fascinating and a great visual reminder of where she’s at in any given moment on her quest to fall in love with herself, without her credit card or eating disorder defining her. To accept who she is, exactly the way she is, without needing the crutch of shopping or the perils of disordered eating keeping her playing small.

In our busy, get it done, get it going, get it all now, world, it is easy to allow ourselves to be defined by what we have. Fancy cars, right addresses, big titles all become the benchmark upon which we measure success, ours and others.

Strip away the accoutrements of a modern-day life and the statement, “I am _______________” is harder to express. I am a mother. A daughter. A sister. An aunt. A friend. A co-worker. A neighbour.

Dig beneath the label and who are you really? What makes your heart beat, your feet skip, your mind expand, your lips smile, your belly laugh? What rocks your boat?

In her photo a day invitation, Liz writes, “the other thing that is important to me is the idea of living an authentic life… of being exactly who you are. because all of us are unique, beautiful, and wonderful… exactly as we are.”

Last night as I painted, I was exactly who I was in that moment. Wild and creative.

I threw paint. Dripped it. Lathered it on. I smeared and pushed and rubbed and scraped it all over the canvas. I let myself express my authentic self through the creative wilderness, untethered to the idea that I was defined by what I was doing. I wasn’t.

I was the act of creating. I was the wild freedom of being in the moment, of the moment, all the time.

I was me. Wild and creative. In that moment.

This morning, I am still me but this me is informed by those moments spent dripping paint upon a canvas. This me is informed by all the moments that preceded the last. When I stop to take a breath to capture who I am in a moment in the future, I wonder what I will be experiencing? I wonder how I will express myself. I can hardly wait to see!

I’ll be posting my photo a day throughout the month.

Why not join me, and Liz and her other blog followers who have signed on to be part of this adventure?

You never know what you may discover. You never know who you will reveal yourself to be within the moment of living your life in the rapture of now!

PS. Here’s a hint for my photo for Who am I? today. When I went back to proof this post, the statement, I’m all in, struck me as a great way to be. Now… to figure out a way to photograph myself in the act of living All In!  I’m looking forward to the adventure! Come back tomorrow and you can share in my discovery — and hopefully, share your own photo a day discovery too!