• landscape,  Plants

    Can’t See Where I’m Going

    Boardwalk and Cattails
    Boardwalk and Cattails

    There is a popular saying that the “destination is the journey.” However, most of us have some pre-visualization of a destination and not much of the journey. We’re focused on the dream home, the career, the perfect family, a life of travel, status, money, whatever it is. Then, after all the planning and starting out on the journey we find we are unable to see the destination. All we’re experiencing is the journey. We thought we know where we’re going, but this is not what we had in mind.

    Well, we started out on the dirt path and before long we found a fork in the road. Where did this come from? It was not in our plans. We decide to go left. Before long we find ourselves on a rickety boardwalk surrounded by cattails rising above our heads. We begin to question our decision to go left. There is no destination be seen. We’re not sure about this boardwalk or where it’s leading us? Will we run out of boardwalk? Should we turn back?

    But, you know what, we made the choice to make this journey so let’s see where it leads. We just might enjoy the journey more than we expected. After walking a short distance we begin to realize the cattails are providing shelter from the heat of the day. We notice the dragonflies zipping in an out of the cattails and a sunflower plant rising above the cattails. Even though we can’t see him, we hear a Red-winged blackbird singing somewhere among those cattails. He is soon joined by a chorus of croaking frogs. And, we imagine they are encouraging us to move onward. A spider scurries to get out of our way. We realize we are not alone on this journey. Before long the boardwalk makes a curve and we enter into an opening. A bench awaits us and the clouds join the setting sun to makes today a beautiful journey. As much as we plan, the journey may not be exactly as we planned or expected but we feel inside we’re on the right boardwalk. Wonder where the rest of the boardwalk goes? It does go right.

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  • Photography,  quotes

    On the Way

    On the Way

    “I pray I may keep my feet on the way.”

    I often fail to keep my feet on “the way”, in fact sometimes I feel I’m not any “any way.” It’s a recurring theme in my life to take my shoes off, or not even putting them on, and therefore not venturing along a path. Laying on my couch, propping my feet up will not get me very far. I can sure dream about walking along some wonderful path but the motivation to move fails me. It reminds me of the lyrics from the song in the move Madagascar, “Move it, move it, move it.” I need to “move it” more.

    I’m aware of something within me that discourages me from moving forward and sometimes paralyses me. Steven Pressfeild labels it resistance, a force to stop us from accomplishing things in life. I’ve also heard it referred to as our “lizard brain” by Jeff Godin. There is a voice whispering the fear of my failures and successes, or it reminds me of the required effort on my part, or that I will have to learn something new. No matter what it’s called or what it says, the challenge is to know it exists and then to put on our shoes and walk. There are so many paths for us to find, and each is our own. No one else will have the same journey as me. No one else will have the same doors to open. Even though somedays I struggle with my progress, I’m know I’m on my way.

  • Art/Design

    Here and Now

    Chain and Lock

    Sabrina Henry has a good read about our journeys here. I made a comment about a t-shirt I have that says, “The destiny is the journey”, which I understand and believe. In reading a book by Steve Hagen on Buddhism he talks about the Buddhist journey as one that must go nowhere – neither in or out. He states it is a journey into nearness. A journey to be awaken to the here and now, to awaken “to” the here and now, which I also understand and believe.

    After taking a walk this afternoon I saw for the first time this chain and lock. It’s always been there as long as I can remember. I’ve had to walk around it every time I headed to the overpass. But, today I really saw it. And, as soon as I saw it I knew how I wanted to shoot it. I took two shots, knowing I had the image I wanted. This image will not change the world or make it into any magazine but it demonstrated to me I’m on my journey, at my destination, awakening to the here and now.