Seasonal Change: When Spring Feels like Summer

The world is in a state of upheaval. We are witnessing the most advanced technology to date, yet we are also experiencing some of the most primal destruction of the world and its inhabitants. Instead of channeling our modern innovation into words and solutions and showing kindness to the opposing side, we are largely divided, and we prefer to let weapons speak. Around us, nature seems to be shouting at us in the radiant waves of the flowers and trees that blanket the parts of the earth, stronger than our destruction.

This collection of photos and poetry builds on the call of The Barriers We Choose to consider how we can change the world for the better, now with a heightened urgency to listen to what the Earth is conveying through radiant and varied color, sound, shape, and movement.

Kayla Vasilko merges the aesthetic with the heart in this beautiful collection. Her thought-provoking poetry stirs both mind and spirit, while her photography gives us pause, reminding us of the majesty of nature while we wrestle with our modernity and humanity. The reader will doubtless share her inspirational vision, and perhaps enjoy that sense of true wonder that only quiet time in nature can bring – you too, just might be able to imagine the brilliance of the sky or the wind in the leaves, and let them take you on a journey.

Scattered among Kayla Vasilko's exquisitely titled artistic nature photographs, is a deeply felt collection of poems, which engages its reader to slow their rush to industry and look (and listen), because that which connects us is what will save us. Vasilko pulls her reader into a kind of meditation, finding significance again and again throughout natural marvels within her home state of Indiana. Dandelion, butterfly, cherry blossoms, grasses, cicada –these are who people her words and images.

Fueled by apprehension, her second collection is part quiet manifesto, part nature walk part dreamscape of hope. Amidst the chaos in the United States and beyond, it's easy to feel like the world is crumbling. The constant barrage of negative news from the 24-hour cycle and social media reinforces this perception. But in this sea of negativity, it's crucial to remember that positivity still exists. It's just a matter of actively seeking it out.

Kayla Vasilko took it upon herself to bring together a compilation of the written word and still photography to show us that there are still beautiful things out there for us to see. We just have to work for it to see the wonders still out there. This book is for those who find it understandably difficult to find positivity in the world. Vasilko's use of language and photos are the kindling for the light of hope to glow in all of us, even if it's just a tiny flame. I hope those who read this book find it helpful for their light to shine, just as it did for me.

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