Every morning when we open our eyes we create our reality. We awake with all the possibilities of a world we can create anew. Consider the story of Chuang Tsu who awoke from a dream of being a butterfly. He was not sure if he was Chuang Tsu dreaming of being a butterfly or a butterfly now dreaming he was Chuang Tsu. With all the possibilities we can create, more often than not, we create the same reality we have always created because we are afraid of anything different or uncomfortable. Art is for those who have a driving need to create and express a reality they have. For many though, the need to express their reality through some medium may not be important or they may feel unqualified to do so. In these troubling times it's difficult to find value in ascetics when other parts of our life demand more attentions. But, even so, in some way, we all participate in self expression of some kind. To cultivate creativity is much more important in troubling times.
Recently I was in a discussion with some artists about the value of art. How wonderful would it be to live in a society where art and free expression were valued as much as, say, things, power, or money. The conversation quickly turned to the sad state of our society, and of a government that supports war and destruction over creativity. All in the name of some sort of righteousness we give ourselves. We have come to believe that we live in a free and modern society when in fact we now are only slightly more civilized than a thousand years ago. Power and greed overcome all human and rational thoughts. We still believe in ancient myths that have very little to do with who we are now. All this stifles our creativity and distracts us from the fact that all cultures and peoples share the same experience. There is no us and them, only we. How can we see this when we focus on differences and the fear of those differences? How can we share an experience of creativity? The leader of our discussion posed the question of whether we would have a better world and outcome in Iraq if we had spent the 900 billion dollars in Iraq on teaching and sharing art rather than bombing and destruction? When you look at our society in this way you can clearly see that we are still barbarians. Creativity is valued and supported in a truly free society when the leaders understand this. You cannot create when you are focused on destruction.
My photography tip for this month is to practice being creative. The way I do this is to notice the things in my life that bring about fear, anger, or discomfort. When you are afraid, angry, or uncomfortable you are focused on yourself and extra effort is required to keep from reacting with an automatic response. When you notice this try and respond differently and you will start seeing things differently.
The second thing to practice is to notice some little thing you haven't noticed in your everyday life. This requires you to slow down your auto pilot and switch to manual mode. Just like when you switch your camera to manual you have more ability to be creative. Living your life automatically leaves you missing out on the subtleties of life because you are living out of your head and not your senses.
So my last tip is to loose your mind and come to your senses. Since I am a visual person I practice seeing. Some of my best photographs are of simple things that I notice in a different way. When you stay in your mind nothing is ever new just a repeat of something in the past your mind has stored.
Tracy and I went to my sisters in Wyoming to photograph the changing colors this Fall. We discovered an old growth aspen grove many years ago and keep going back to it because it is such a magical place. This is the first time we were there during the peak of colors. This months picture is of that aspen grove.
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