What the image invites
28 cards to inspire reflection, conversation and connection
What the Image Invites is a 28-card deck created to spark reflection, meaningful conversation and deeper connection through image and inquiry.
Featuring original photographs by ABWilson, the images in this deck were first featured in the 2024 Let’s Spend the Year Together calendar. Each pair of cards reflects one of the calendar’s monthly themes, creating a direct connection between the image, the theme and the questions that follow.
Each card invites you to pause, look closely and notice what the image may be inviting you to see, feel or understand.
Turn the card over and you will find three positively themed, appreciative inquiry-based questions designed to encourage reflection, storytelling and possibility.
Each theme appears on two matching cards, with three different questions on each. Together, a matched pair offers six questions to explore.
Pause. Notice. Reflect.
The experience begins with the image. Before turning the card over, spend a moment simply looking.
What draws your attention?
What do you notice?
How does the image make you feel?
What might it be inviting you to see differently?
There is no right or wrong answer. The answer is what you see, hear, feel. The image is a starting point.
When you are ready, turn the card over and allow the questions to take the reflection or conversation a little further.
How can the cards be used?
What the Image Invites was designed to be flexible.
Use the cards for:
-
personal reflection;
-
journaling;
-
conversations with family and friends;
-
team meetings;
-
workshops;
-
classrooms;
-
retreats;
-
coaching and mentoring;
-
conversations;
-
community and group gatherings; and
-
conference and networking activities.
You can explore one question, several questions or all six questions within a matched pair, depending on the time available and the depth of conversation you want to create.
a simple way to create connection
In a workshop or group setting, invite each person to choose a card that speaks to them, or distribute the cards at random.
Participants then find the person holding the matching image. The pair can take turns asking each other one, two or all three questions on their cards. The shared image becomes the starting point for a conversation that may otherwise never have happened.
It is a simple way to move beyond introductions and create space for curiosity, storytelling and meaningful connection.
For your own reflection
The cards do not have to be used with someone else. Choose an image that catches your attention, sit with it for a moment and then use the questions as journaling prompts.
Because each theme has two companion cards, there are six questions available for deeper reflection on each theme.
Return to the same card at another time and you may notice that a different question, or even the image itself, speaks to you in a new way.
The story behind the images
The photographs in What the Image Invites were taken by ABWilson and first appeared in the 2024 Let’s Spend the Year Together calendar.
Each month of the calendar featured an original image, a theme and a related blog post exploring that theme.
The card deck builds on that original idea, combining photography, thoughtful questions and conversation to create another way to engage with the images and themes.
Each card includes a QR code. Scan it to read the original blog post associated with the theme and continue the reflection.
The themes
The first What the Image Invites deck explores:
Love · Appreciation · Strength · Inner Peace · Self-Care · Solitude · Smile · Beauty · Adventure · Perspective · Laughter · Imagination · Texture · Upon Reflection
Together, the themes invite us to slow down, notice more deeply and connect with ourselves, with others and with the meaning found in everyday moments.
What is in the deck?
-
28 unique reflection and conversation cards
-
14 themes
-
two matching cards for every theme
-
three different questions on each card
-
six questions to explore across every matched pair
-
original photography by ABWilson
-
QR links to related blog posts
-
an instruction card with ideas for using the deck
A deck to keep, share and use again
A photograph can make us pause. A thoughtful question can help us see something differently. A conversation can help us understand ourselves, and each other, a little better.
What the Image Invites brings all three together.
Pause. Look closer. Reflect. Connect.
Bring the Conversation Home
Whether you use the cards for quiet reflection, meaningful conversation with someone you care about, or as part of a workshop or gathering, What the Image Invites is designed to help create moments of pause, curiosity and connection.
If you would like to order a deck, we would love to hear from you.
Send us an email to place your order or ask questions about the cards: aderonke@abwilsonconsulting.com
We hope this deck finds its way into conversations, journals, classrooms, meeting rooms and quiet moments and invites something meaningful each time it is opened.
Coming soon: additional decks in the What the Image Invites Collection.
All of the images featured on this page are included in the What the Image Invites card deck.