Inspiration | Strength in Failure by David duChemin

Famed humanitarian photographer, David duChemin speaks about his experience falling off a 20-30ft wall in Italy.  I first heard of him when Junshien bought me the awesome book, Within the Frame.  David's words resonated with me, and beyond that book reading his blog, he continues to be an inspiration both for photography and for life.  A passage from one of his recent blog posts:

There’s deep strength in failure. It’s a gift to fall down and get up. Coddle a child and don’t let him eat a little dirt or lick the occasional frog and that child never develops the kind of immune system that keeps him strong. It’s the same with our character. Failure builds immunity, gives us strength, makes us familiar with the actual possibilities that come from risk and robs our fears of the power that comes from the unknown. The more you fail, and learn from those lessons, the less frightening future failures appear.

Here David rests in his hospital bed as he heals from multiple fractures in his lower body.  Others who've fallen from that same wall have died, so he's grateful for his life and that he is not paralyzed.