The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

'Currency Project’ focuses on finding joy in difficult times

‘A hidden gem in western Ohio’
10:46 a.m.
Tipp City offers quaint shops, cozy dining
5/25/12
How to make inexpensive, fresh flower arrangements
5/25/12
How to help the poor the 'right way'
5/25/12
Better treat soon to combat emerald ash borer
5/25/12
> More lifestyle headlines

By Daryn Kagan, Contributing Writer 7:40 PM Saturday, April 30, 2011

“Trees Kill Five,” the headline of the latest link read.

I’m giving you a peek into a recent email from my beau, Mr. SummerFest. It was all part of his campaign to get me to spend the night over at his house.

This was not some creative romantic overture. No, he saw it as trying to save my life. See, my beau is somewhat weather obsessed. When Mr. SummerFest hears reports of upcoming storms, he sees trees falling on houses. I hear the same reports and think of the hundreds of thousands of homes that won’t see a scratch.

When the latest reports of upcoming storms spread fear across our town, Mr. SummerFest decided it would be best for all of us to spend the night in his basement. That meant him, me, his 12-year-old daughter. My dog and three-legged cat were welcome as well. My four chickens? Sadly, they would be on their own.

While I packed up to head to Mr. SummerFest’s basement, our debate continued on falling trees vs. no damage.

I believe so much of life is where you choose to look.

Remy Haynes knows exactly what I’m talking about. She’s a professional photographer who saw her business dry up like a desert lake when the economy went in the tank. She was really scared at first, as I’m sure so many of us who have lost a job can relate.

Remy also had a lot of time and a restless camera on her hands. That’s when she decided to start shooting images of this tough economy. Depressed faces? Shut factory doors? No, there was already plenty of that in the traditional media.

Remy started shooting happiness. Yes, happiness.

She started collecting photographs and stories of people who saw their lives take a positive turn because of the economic downturn.

The young parents who lost their jobs but celebrated the gift of not missing a moment of their baby’s first year. A marketing executive who went from grinding out 80-hour weeks to becoming a massage therapist. The band that had to scale back to a simpler, more acoustic style only to finally find success after years of struggle.

Remy calls her effort, “The Currency Project.”

“I came to see there are all sorts of currency in life besides money,” Remy recently told me. The currency of time, the currency of courage to go for a dream, to just name a couple.

That’s all well and good, I can hear the cynics saying, but that kind of currency doesn’t pay the mortgage. Fair enough. That’s why I love sharing that this photographer’s new focus also brought new abundance. A book deal and gallery showings have appeared. Meanwhile, her corporate clients are beginning to recover and come back. They’ll find a photographer and a woman who sees life and its unavoidable storms in a whole new way.

As for the tree debate between Mr. SummerFest and me. ... The storms did indeed turn out to be quite nasty and dangerous across the region. Hundreds died, homes were destroyed. Our neighborhood, it turns out, barely saw a drop of rain. I’m grateful for it all — safe passage, knowing where to look, and a wonderful man who cares enough to watch out for falling trees.

Daryn Kagan is the creator and host of DarynKagan.com, an online community that features a daily webcast of inspirational stories. The former CNN anchor and news reporter is the author of “What’s Possible! 50 True Stories of People Who Dared To Dream They Could Make a Difference.”

Share this article