Yesterday, I was deeply moved by the beautiful spirit of a young, creative, and intelligent woman, a woman who I've never met. I was not the only one. Thousands of people have now been moved by the amazing work and personality of 23-year old Zina Nicole Lahr from Ouray, Colorado. On November 20, 2013, Zina died as a result of a fall while hiking alone in the trails near her home. A devastating and tragic loss for her family and friends. Zina was a remarkable woman. I know this to be true all due to an amazingly simple yet beautiful 6-minute film created by Zina's friend and film student Stormy Pyeatte. Thanks to Stormy Pyeatte's wonderful film, tens of thousands of people worldwide have been inspired by Zina's fantastic energy and incredible creativity. Zina was taken from this earth far too soon, but in the nearly three months since she passed, she is still touching people and inspiring them more than she probably could have imagined.

The film itself is very well done; such a lovely presentation of Zina and her work. The backstory of the video's creation is that in August, 2013 Zina asked her friend Stormy to shoot a video for her portfolio during the short time they were both back in Ouray. "She needed something that would showcase her work but also tell a little bit about her personality and her interests," Stormy writes on her Vimeo website. "We had two days to shoot and edit so we shot an interview and smashed something together to meet our deadline. On November 20, 2013 Zina passed away due to a hiking accident....After the funeral I revisited the footage and made this short as an attempt to capture her personality and creativity." Watch the 6-min film below.

Stormy's work here is truly a deeply touching piece of art. It's just a short, but it's a remarkable short. I have seen it several times now, and each time I watch it I can't help tearing up and feeling a strange mixture of inspiration but also a sinking feeling of loss, a feeling that we lost a truly great young mind...a great young person. My own daughter is only 3-years old now, but when she is older I will show her this film. 

Links
• Zina's website (with a link to her blog)
• Outdoor Magazine has a great article this week on Zina: The Brief, Wondrous Life of Zina Lahr
• Stormy's interview with Aspen Public Radio regarding the video and Zina's life (very moving).