Contrast makes the world work. It brings context to a relative world. Light to darkness, love to hate, warmth to cold. Without contrast, we lose balance and take things for granted. Rhythm brings comfort but too long and it fades away to nothing.

With contrast comes change and change is hard. If you fight the change, avoid the contrast, then you’ll lose appreciation for the differences, and the impact each end of the spectrum has, for better or for worse.

Embrace the contrast.

What keeps me grounded after the election.

The unique aspect of consulting is that you’re always going from client to client, industry to industry, and role to role. It is the definition of an always changing job. There’s little time to ever build a routine or be personally vested.

Every once in a while, you do land in a client where you’re loved, and you make an impact. In those moments, it’s always tough to transition to the next project. You leave behind a piece of your soul, your sweat, your tears. You also take away a piece of your client’s culture with you and it becomes a part of you.

After several months at my last client, I’m finally moving on to my next adventure. More to come there. I’m now reflecting on the past several months, the routines I’ve made for lunch, parking, and daily life. Now, it’s different. Not in a bad way, not in a good way, just different.

Friendships built will fade just as with past clients but many will transcend the transnational nature of our business. Those are the ones that earn a spot on your phone’s favorite list and a regular messaging friend. They sometimes come back years later in new roles and new opportunities.

In the 12 years I’ve been doing this, I’ve come to peace with the amazing nature of my business and the downsides of the work. It makes me happy, frustrated, and sometimes overwhelmed with joy and despair.

I am a consultant.

As I’m learning more about photography, I’ve noticed that Im paying attention more to the world around me. I’m less concern at the moment on the technical photography but rather more on seeing unique new things in the world.

I went with a Fuji camera because nearly all the controls are tactile. There’s something beautiful about touching and turning a physical dial instead of swiping and tapping glass.

This hobby is also getting expensive and I have to hold myself back from spending too much.