Who we are & why we are

Welcome to the gallery site of Broken Light Collective. We are artists of all levels and abilities who are affected by mental illness. We create and we share our work for the therapeutic benefits to us, as well as others who may be struggling and feeling scared and alone. Together we can move from disconnected to collective.

Please welcome first-time contributor Harris Lieberman, a man who has spent fifty of his sixty-three years living with depression and anxiety. He has reached the conclusion that he will never be able to fully control either of them, but he tries to manage them as best he can. He appreciates that they are in part responsible for who and how he is.

About this photo: “Photo taken at Pipi Valley, approximately 3,700 feet up in the Central Sierra Range of California, July 2011. This picture reminds me that even the most fragile parts of our soul can survive even the harshest of our winters, coming back to life with all the beauty we remember from the most soothing of seasons past.”

Find more from Harris at his website.

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**Visit Broken Light’s main gallery here ▸ Now a 501(c)3 non-profit! Please donate here.

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10 responses to “Surviving Our Harshest Winters”

  1. Frank Avatar
    Frank

    Mr. Lieberman what a beautiful contrast between the cold of the past and the warmth of the future! And the future always has hope!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. the Prodigal Orphan Avatar

      Thank you, Frank.
      Life is full of contrasts. We’ve all seen them, all lived with them.
      Maybe they’re the basis for the hope we hang on to.

      Harris

      Like

  2. Incidental Scribe Avatar

    Inspirational shot and thoughts

    Like

    1. the Prodigal Orphan Avatar

      I’m blessed to have places like this I can go when I need to.
      And when the weather allows.
      Places like this and the right people to take along with me.
      And I always manage to find Him waiting for me.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. karen Avatar
    karen

    It is snowing in Boston. And snowing, and snowing… thank you for this beautiful reminder of survival and beauty.

    Like

    1. the Prodigal Orphan Avatar

      And along with the coming spring, pitchers and catchers report in roughly nine days.
      And the Red Sox will retur and hope along with them.

      Thanks Karen.

      Like

  4. Alan Kravitz Avatar

    Reblogged this on Not always smiling and commented:
    I needed to see this today. Thank you to the photographer, Harris Lieberman, who writes: This picture reminds me that even the most fragile parts of our soul can survive even the harshest of our winters, coming back to life with all the beauty we remember from the most soothing of seasons past.”

    Like

    1. the Prodigal Orphan Avatar

      Hey Alan.
      By “Not always smiling” you are, by default, acknowledging that you’re not always frowning either.
      I deal with the Depression, Anxiety and ADD. My wife lives with BPD, Depression, Anxiety and PTSD. Our thirty-seven-year-old daughter was finally, officially diagnosed with BiPolar II after being treated for Depression and Anxiety.
      The biggest lesson I think we’ve all learned through all of it, the one we have to remind ourselves and each other –
      we all have our days, even our seasons.
      We try to dress accordingly.

      Thanks for your kind words and encouragement.

      Harris

      Like

  5. Diana Perkins Avatar
    Diana Perkins

    What an absolutely beautiful comparison …. the colorful beauty of nature during a trying season, and the survival of who we are during the most trying of times. The fine detail of your photograph is amazing!

    Like

    1. the Prodigal Orphan Avatar

      Thanks for your kind words, Diana.
      The “fine detail” to which you refer was already there in the handiwork of The Artist. I was just lucky enough to notice it.
      We need to try to notice it within ourselves when our lives seem to be buried in the coldest of shadows.
      Sometimes it’s not as easy as having some flowers catch your eye.
      All the more reason to keep trying.

      Keep trying.

      Harris

      Like

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