with Lorelle and Brent VanFossen

Category Archives: Being

Imagine putting your life in storage, a life you’ve grown accustomed to and worked hard to build, and heading out into the great unknown. Imagine selling almost everything you own and shrinking your life down to fit inside a 3×10 meter compartment. While we knew we wanted to take our life on the road for a long time, and spent years “practicing”, knowing what we know now, would we still have done what we did?

Damn straight! We would do it again. And we should have done it sooner. Yes, it was one of the scariest things we ever did in our lives. It still is. But we’ve learned and grow in ways that we are still measuring.

Read a BookWe have put together a list of books that inspire us, not only in our photography but also in our life. They influence our life, our decisions, and our choices. We hope they will influence and change your life, too.

We have become an example to others, though we didn’t set out to do so. We did this for ourselves. If we can help others along the way, our life is richer. We are often asked to share our “how tos” about taking our life, not just our camera, on the road. Here, in our Being Zone, we will address some of the issues about the “being” lessons we’ve learned in our life, becoming more flexible and adaptable in our lifestyle, relationships, and interpersonal communications. Over the years spent living on the road, more changed than just our location. We found ourselves stretched, folded, and molded into new beings.

Part of our “being” is the family and friends we’ve collected along the way, staying in touch and getting support from all over the world as we venture out alone, but never alone. We also share some of these wonderful people with you in our Scrapbook and in our Telling Zone.

Sadness at the End of a Space Era

Friday morning, I was up predawn working in the yard, taking advantage of the cool air before the summer heat chased me inside. Summer has finally arrived in the Pacific Northwest – well, at least in the Portland, Oregon, area. Sweating and covered with dirt and leaves, I jumped into my truck for a fast […]

30 Things You Can Do in 30 Seconds to Change the World

As many of you know, I have other websites and blogs I maintain. One of the posts on Lorelle on WordPress is attracting a lot of attention and I thought I’d repost it here. It is called 30 Things You Can Do to Change the World in 30 Seconds. Part of the reason so many […]

Alternatives to Fear – Israel – Rape Resources

While living in Israel for five years, Lorelle taught courses on personal safety and self defense for women. The following is a list of resources specifically for Israel and including other international resources for rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, women’s shelters, violence against women, and how to get help. Information Resources The following resources are […]

Life Makeovers Group – How to Start Your Own Group

Life Makeover Program in Tel Aviv Completed In the end of 2002, we finished this year-long program and it was a resounding success for those who participated fully, and a lesser success for those who participated at a lesser level. The adage that you get out of it what you put into it lived up […]

Social Relationships and Connections: Support

This essay is based on Cheryl Richardson’s book, Life Makeovers, and various other resources, specifically The Center for Rural Studies at the University of Michigan. I encourage you to check out their Communications web pages for more helpful information on improving the quality of your life. We all need support. We all need to be […]

Social Connections Worksheet

The following is the form used to accompany the essay on Support and Sharing. Social Relationship Chart – PART I First, plan to spend at least 15 minutes on this part of the exercise, so set aside time. Then, take a blank piece of paper and draw a small circle in the middle of it […]

The Power of Choice

Summary of Life Makeover meeting May 9, 2002 Every step of the way, you are making choices. The smallest decision you make in your day may effect the outcome of the day and your life. Most of us have had one of those "near-miss" moments in our life where we just avoid stepping off the […]

Center of the World?

Driving in Tel Aviv is an experience. Need I say more. Okay, I do. Heading down Alozorov, I witnessed a truly shocking event. One car ahead of me was a Mercedes Benz. In the lane next to it was a good-sized motor scooter driven by an even bigger sized man. This is an everyday event […]

The Symptoms of Touch – Hiddai Levi

Program by Hiddai Levi Essay/Notes by Lorelle VanFossen To right the unrightable wrong, to love pure and chaste from afar, to try when your arms are too weary, to reach the unreachable star. Song, The Impossible Dream from Man of La Mancha Exploring the psychology and "symptoms" of touch with Hiddai Levi was a revelation […]

Touching Clues

Tell a man that there are 400 billion stars and he’ll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint and he has to touch it. I come from anti-touching stock. Sure, as babies we were hugged and cuddled, coddled and cooed, but then something happened. Maybe it was the changes that occur naturally in […]

Active and Reflective Listening

This meeting was very exciting and here is a summary of the program for those who missed out. Active Listening – Are You Being Heard? Active listening is traditionally considered a way of listening and responding to another person that improves mutual understanding. Many have come to think of it as structured conversation, where one […]

Pursuing Your Passion – Getting Out of Your Own Way

Due to the overwhelming response by those who attended the last meeting, here is a summary of the topic presented: "Finding Your Passion, Part II". In many of the lessons found in Cheryl Richardson’s book, Life Makeovers, she reiterates the point that once you have set a goal, made a decision, and taken a step […]

Life Makeovers – Pursuing Your Passion

At the last meeting, we discussed ways of finding your passion. Remember, passion comes in many forms. It provides us with keys to our heart. The power of passion will provide you with the fuel to enjoy a new hobby, create a new career, and do something that serves others in a very powerful way. […]

Learning and Living Against the Odds

FEAR OF SUCCESS: Trying is the first step towards failure. Homer Simpson Homer Simpson of the television show, The Simpsons, has it a little backwards, but for many of us, this rings true. Our fear of success, whatever that looks like, often keeps us from moving forward because we just KNOW we will fail, so […]

Journal Writing

There is something about a blank page that seems to lock up the imagination and still the pen in hand. Writing in a journal is a challenge. Everyone has their own reason NOT to write. What is yours? Is it the challenge of expressing your inner feelings? Is it the fear of someone else reading […]