As first world citizens, we are so beyond lucky.  We throw away more food than the majority of the world’s population ever sees.  And yet we still continually fuel our desire for more and more.  The work of photographer Danielle Mourning struck me in its quiet melancholy and its lavishness of pattern and lifestyle.

In her photographs, we usually find women surrounded by life or luxury, but often looking out, perhaps longing for freedom from the trappings of an abundant life.  Since Mr. Forager and I have been traveling, it has definitely been a slow letting go of material things.  We can only travel with so much, even less now that we’re fitting everything into the back of our car, leaving little room for impulsive hoarding.  This life forces us to seriously evaluate every purchase and for me, anything new has to either replace an existing item or be super-functional or too beautiful to live without.  But I’ve also learned that less can be more.  There is a freedom to be found in a minimal life.  And we are still blessed beyond measure.

If you’d like to see more work by Danielle Mourning, please visit her website.

All images are via the artist’s website.