We do not retreat from reality, we rediscover it. As long as the story lingers in our mind, the real things are more themselves… By dipping them in myth we see them more clearly. — C. S. Lewis
How do you prefer to take in and process new information about the world? Do you seek out facts, stories, or experiences? Probably you find yourself using a combination of these avenues into reality. And then, perhaps, you find a quiet place to sort through them.
I know a place where no one ever goes;
There’s peace and quiet, beauty and repose.
It’s hidden in a valley, beside a mountain stream,
And lying there beside the stream, I find that I can dream
Only of things of beauty to the eye:
snow-peaked mountains tow’ring to the sky.
Now I know that God has made this place for me.
— a song I learned at Girl Scout camp long ago
My brother was grilling on the back porch last night. While the aroma of smoke penetrated my thoughts, my daughter’s boyfriend asked me, “When was the last time you were camping?”
Two years ago.
I miss that kind of hideaway opportunity. The simple reality of sky, water, earth, and fire helps me see all the storylines that I have crafted about life in a much clearer light. What is essential floats to the surface and becomes like the reflection of heaven. What is clunky and artificial sinks like dead weight in the silt bottom.
We are looking for happiness and running after it in such a way that creates anger, fear and discrimination. So when you attend a retreat, you have a chance to look at the deep roots of this pollution of the collective energy that is unwholesome. — Thich Nhat Hahn
Retreats, hideaways, sanctuaries — safe places for reflection, introspection, and soul work — are important to cultivate. They can be far away, across oceans of distance or as close as the inside of your own eyelids.
This post is dedicated to the men of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis, who are on retreat this weekend. Take care of yourselves, friends. From the inside out.
I dream of a world where Love is the currency that matters. It is invested, returned, compounded, treasured, and generously spread. It flows on every level, in every relationship, from the smallest interaction between particles to the most complex interdependence of galaxies. It is recognized as the force and the source of this marvelous gift we call Life. It creates abundance, beauty, goodness, and balance. Like water, it is soft and powerful, creating transformation over time, shaping wonders as majestic as the Grand Canyon.
Thanks, Ann-Christine, for allowing me to dream a bit, imagining the satisfaction of my yearning.
Lens-Artists are starting a periodic series of retrospective challenges. This week, Ann-Christine is reaching back to revisit “Creativity”. Click HERE to view my original post on that theme.
So, once again, creativity inspires more creativity, like a series of mirrors.
I can’t say that I’m a painter, except that last month I helped paint the interior of a preschool. I used a roller and a 4-inch brush. I did exactly as I was told, with very little creativity.
Sometimes I will try hard to do a craft. Again, I follow directions and try to copy the example. The results are routinely unremarkable.
I am more adventurous with music and dance and often improvise. I love the freedom of expression I’ve gained after decades of practice and years of aging to the point of no longer trying to impress. Maybe that’s something the very young, the very old, and the very confident can get away with.
Once upon a time, I gave dinner parties. I’ve never been a good cook, but I can follow a recipe. What I really enjoyed as a creative exercise was setting the stage!
My daughter Susan is a very good artist. She took me to an open studio bar once for a Mother’s Day gift. We had a blast, and I got to keep all the art.
At a healthy, creative restaurant and store in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I came across this re-purposed cigarette vending machine that was selling original artwork the size of a pack of cigarettes. I’d never seen anything like it before or since.
No one creates in a vacuum. We are all influenced, we all use shared resources. We are co-creators or collaborators, really. I’m most proud of the contribution I made to creating four wonderful human beings. They are all stunning, vibrant, living works of art. I’m proud of the work I do each day to try to create meaning. I’ve scrapped much of that work, but I keep at it. The exhibit that is my Life is a work in progress. I’m grateful for the opportunity to engage in the process that Einstein called “intelligence having fun”.
“Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity.” ― Lao Tzu
“There are two ways to get enough. One is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.” ― G.K. Chesterton
“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” ― Lao Tzu
“The beauty of meditation is that you never know where you are, where you are going, what the end is.” ― J. Krishnamurti
“Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack, a crack in everything That’s how the light gets in” – Leonard Cohen, Anthem
“The perfect is the enemy of the good.” – Italian proverb
“We asked for signs The signs were sent The birth betrayed The marriage spent Yeah, and the widowhood Of every government Signs for all to see
I can’t run no more With that lawless crowd While the killers in high places Say their prayers out loud But they’ve summoned, they’ve summoned up A thundercloud They’re going to hear from me” – Anthem, cont’d
My country is suffering and divided. There is a crack, deep and wide, in our governing system. So many people have forgotten the good that was intended by the democracy we tried to create. It is terrifying to contemplate a future with an aspiring dictator. I’m hoping that our vote next week is a bell that can still ring for justice, for freedom, for government of the people, by the people, for the people.
There is a Japanese art called “kintsugi” where broken pottery is mended with gold, filling the cracks, drawing the pieces back together. Its spiritual significance is that if we choose to embrace our struggles and repair ourselves with the precious metal of love, we can become more beautiful for having been broken. My friend uses this idea in her garden, where she mends broken glass with small, colorful chips. Her garden is a riot of colors – dahlias, vegetables, and ornaments. Many of her decorations have become cracked and worn over time, left to the elements.
I spent this last week at my friend’s house, caring for her dog Bodhi, while she traveled.
Bodhi is an older rescue dog. She has only one eye, with a cataract. She doesn’t hear very well, and she is currently battling bladder stones. She becomes very anxious when she is left alone. Even with these imperfections, she is a sweet presence of love, always wanting to be beside me, stretched out in the sunlight on the warm carpet, and even more thrilled when she is allowed to jump onto the bed with me.
All week long, I have been thinking of the lyrics of Cohen’s Anthem. I have been thinking of “The Gifts of Imperfection” (a book by Brené Brown); I have been pondering the state of the Union. I have been willfully ringing the bells that still sound in my community: justice, equity, transformation, pluralism, interdependence, and generosity. And I have been trying to pour Love into every crack, every heart, every word, every action I engage with. I do this with faith that the Light will pour in.
May it be so! Thank you, Ritva, for this beautiful inspiration!
How much do I love you I’ll tell you no lie How deep is the ocean How high is the sky
How many times in a day Do I think of you How many roses are Sprinkled with dew
How far would I travel Just to be where you are How far is the journey From here to a star
And if I ever lost you How much would I cry How deep is the ocean How high is the sky
Irving Berlin penned the lines to this song, trying to express the meaning of an important love. As a human, I sometimes feel my experiences can fill up the whole world, when in truth, they simply fill my own body and mind and soul. Keeping a sense of scale in the Anthropocene Era is difficult. Human impact is literally changing the planet. It’s important to look around at the other branches on the Tree of Life and practice being mindful of their significance.
This oak tree in the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge near Vancouver, WA is about 400 years old. When the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts, this tree was but a sprout. When I look at the size of the limb that fell to the ground compared to my friend walking around the tree, I am in awe. This living being has been through a LOT – while staying in one place.
Is there a place you go to put your human self in perspective with the rest of the Universe?
Thanks to Sofia for the technical instruction and inspiration for this Lens-Artists theme.
“Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for a change.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Our Challenge host for this week, Patti, writes, “It’s time to take a photographic detour off the straight and narrow path and veer into the territory of unexpected turns, switchbacks, detours, and zigzag lines, much like our journey through life itself!”
When I think of meandering rivers or of trails that switchback up and down a steep grade, I think of the dangers of a straight shot. Without zig-zagging a bit, you pick up too much speed. Too much sediment rushes downstream, you tumble head over heels, or you break down in exhaustion trying to go up against gravity. Slowing down and lengthening your path of travel allows you to see more sights, to savor life along the way.
It seems that in building structures, the zig-zag of diagonal beams builds strength and distributes stress. That sounds like something that could benefit us all.
I think seeking and celebrating all things Zigzag is a worthy Challenge!
What supports and informs the action playing out in the foreground?
There is always so much more history to a scene than we can ever imagine. Eons of evolution, dependent and co-arising, have gone into this particular instance and presentation of matter.
Background is a LOT. It can be overwhelming and distracting. Sometimes we minimize it in order to pay attention to the immediate subject.
Perhaps there is great wisdom in the practice of selecting and managing the background to our focus and our living when possible, while being humbly aware that there is so much more involved. We are all part of an interdependent web of life.
There is always more than we can comprehend at play. Be kind. Be humble.
Thank you, Ritva, for inviting us into this challenge. Do visit HER POST to learn great tips on background composition.
The Inherent Worth and Dignity of Every Human Being
“We believe that all the dimensions of our being carry the potential to do good. We celebrate the gifts of being human: our intelligence and capacity for observation and reason, our senses and ability to appreciate beauty, our creativity, our feelings and emotions. We cherish our bodies as well as our souls. We can use our gifts to offer love, to work for justice, to heal injury, to create pleasure for ourselves and others.” – Rev. Dr. Rebecca Ann Parker
My travels have not been extensive by the standards of most Lens-Artists, but I have been privileged to meet people in my own country who represent a diversity of backgrounds and experiences. There is a wealth of richness in this cornucopia of humans, a treasure beyond imagining. May we all be supported and allowed to thrive.
“It’s really a wonder that I haven’t dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.” ― Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl
For a more global sampling of the diversity of humankind, please visit Tina’s challenge HERE. Her photos are truly stunning!
“Form is emptiness, emptiness is form” states the Heart Sutra, one of the best known ancient Buddhist texts. The essence of all things is emptiness.” ― Eckhart Tolle
The space between atoms. The space between stars. So much of the Universe is made up of distance and empty space…at least in one perception. But perhaps our Big Brains can turn that around and imagine that spaciousness is a thing that something can be full of. Vastness. Expanse. Capacity. Potential.
I have been silent on this blog for a few weeks. I have been doing some Grief work and spending more time in the company of humans than in the company of my camera. I went to visit my brother at his new home on the coast yesterday. I had Patti’s Challenge in my mind as I walked from his house to the beach, and I brought my camera along.
If you’ve ever spent time along the shores of an ocean on a completely cloudless day, you will have had a glimpse into the spaciousness of our position in the Universe. No matter how much you may have filled your immediate environment with Stuff (things, people, thoughts), there is still empty space available to contemplate. There is still an expansiveness available. I find a hopefulness in that, and it feels natural and healing. Especially in a time of catastrophic chaos and dire predictions.
I wish you Peace, Lens-Artists, and the Beauty of seeing possibility through your lenses.
