Sunday Morning Reflections - The Beauty of Solitude and Time

3/1/2015

As I get older I’ve noticed I’ve become more appreciative of certain things in life. Words like friendship, health and gratitude all have grown in the intensity of their meaning. This week I’ve become aware of a couple of new ones. They're solitude combined with time.

If you’re lucky enough you have a special place on the planet where you can pull away and simply shut off the outside world. While we all hopefully have a place close by, I'm talking about more of a vacation destination. For me the grand daddy of them all, that one place with the perfect mix of silence, color, nature, light and fresh air is Sedona.

While Sedona is itself incredibly beautiful, spiritual and inspiring, the hotel we love the most is all a part of the formula. It's a little place with only a dozen rooms called El Portal. There’s something about this place that simply frees my soul and allows it to wander aimlessly.

I had a LUMIX GH3 with me and spent some time just wandering around experimenting with the camera's features, while at the same time capturing some of the things I love the most about El Portal. The one thing that I didn't capture was the spirit of the people who manage the hotel, Teri and Jacob, along with the staff. Here's a prime example and it ties in with things I've written about when talking about customer service.

Our first night there we had been out for most of the day and just didn't feel like going out to dinner. We ordered a rack of ribs from a great little place across the street. Teri saw me coming in with my carryout bag and grabbed plates, knives, forks and napkins for me. She couldn't have been more helpful in just wanting to make our stay as spectacular as possible. At every point she made it a habit to try and exceed expectations.

Think about your own business. Do you work to exceed client expectations with everything you do or is "that's good enough" your mantra?

If you're thinking about adding Sedona to your list, there's a great little photo festival coming up on May 2-3. Here's the link.

Anyway, welcome to El Portal through a GH3! From the dining room/lobby to the view out our balcony window, if it's possible for gear to exceed expectations, Panasonic is doing it with everything in the LUMIX line.