• Anthony de Mello,  Black and White,  People/Portraits,  quotes,  Self-portraits

    wiser today…

    April 14, 2022
    Self-portrait

    “When you come to see you are not as wise today as you thought you were yesterday, you are wiser today.”

    Anthony de Mello

    I like this quote and have felt for the past few years that anyone with the answers was not someone I wanted to hang with. However, I must confess there was a time when I thought I thought I knew the answer(s). It has been through the experiences of living my life that has taught me the range of life’s grayscale goes way beyond St. Ansel’s black and white zone system of 10. I’m just not as wise as I think I am or I think I should be. (Notice all the “I’s” in that sentence?)

    As I look out at the world I see it only through my eyes, not yours. Therefore, my wisdom is often times different than someone else’s due to life’s experiences, culture, upbringing, lessons learned, or not, in each of our lives. Just knowing that will makes us wiser today.

    And, if there is anything I would change in de Mello’s quote, I would replace the exclusive word “you” in his quote with the inclusive word of “we”. But, I’m wise enough to leave it alone. 😁

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  • landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes,  sunrises

    Experience of life

    April 13, 2022
    Sunrise at Pineridge Natural Area

    You have to understand that it is your attempt to get special experiences from life that makes you miss the actual experience of life.

    Michael A. Singer

    A quiet stillness greets us this morning after several days of almost constant wind. Sunshine brightens the world around me. It’s also 15 degrees. And, I do believe the blue sky is bluer today. Welcome the new day and don’t miss the experience of life. Now headed to Old Town and meet a friend for coffee. Have a great day!

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  • Avian,  clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

    Saving the world…

    April 12, 2022
    Red-tail Hawk soaring above Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

    Would you like to save the world from the degradation and destruction it seems destined for? Then step away from shallow mass movements and quietly go to work on your own self-awareness. If you want to awaken all of humanity, then awaken all of yourself. If you want to eliminate the suffering in the world, then eliminate all that is dark and negative in yourself. Truly, the greatest gift you have to give is that of your own self-transformation.

    Lao Tzu, 4th-6th century BCE

    Seems we were not being very good guardians of the world even back then. However his solution is quite simple: work on our own self-awareness, offering the greatest gift we have.

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  • quotes

    A Necessity of the Human Spirit

    April 11, 2022

    Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread. A civilization which destroys what little remains of the wild, the spare, the original, is cutting itself off from its origins and betraying the principle of civilization itself.

    Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire

    I mention on this blog quite often how vital it is for me to spend time outside the city limits to regain that something living in society seems to drain from me. And, those needed respites seem to have shorter intervals in between. So, it’s easy for me to relate to Ed’s quote and how prevalent it still is 54 years later. I worry for the wellbeing of our natural world and humanity itself. The separation between man and our natural world has been destructive and continues to widen. I am powerless to convince others of our situation so many are warning us about and for sure I’m unable to change them. I believe no laws and regulations will change them either, the change must come from within them. However, I can live my life as a message that spending time in nature is a necessity of the human spirit. Time in nature can show us how connected we all are. I can also voice my views here, and more than once. Maybe one person will hear and at least think about it. It could be that seed. Nature has so much to offer us physically, emotionally and spiritually.

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  • grass,  landscape,  Plants,  sunsets

    That’s Just What We Do

    April 10, 2022

    Here is an attempt to photograph a scene where I wanted you to experience what I was experiencing. The late afternoon sunlight had the grass shimmering in gold, while the wind had the grass dancing to the music of silence. The first meadowlarks of the season were singing to me. There was that feeling of solitude, distant from the cities clamber. I took several images of the backlit grass along the fence with the awareness you probably wouldn’t experience what I was experiencing through this image. It just can’t. For you would have to be there to experience it. But, as a photographer, I will always try. That’s just what we do.

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  • lifestyles,  quotes

    Art is Healing…

    April 8, 2022

    The purpose of art is to heal. I believe that every person is a special kind of artist, rather than the common belief that artists are special kind of people.

    Samuel Avital

    So, if art is healing then there are several artist hands involved for this simple image. There’s the artist who created the board game, the artist who made the board, the artist who made the chess pieces, the artist who made the coffee and glass and mug, the artist who made the table and the artist who took the photo. Lots of hands involved in healing.

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