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| Early morning fog at Wilderness Resort in Nisswa, MN |
"Creating a photograph is like meditation, full of paradoxes that coexist happily. The perfect shot cannot be captured by chasing it into a corner, and yet you must have the persistent drive to do it. You must be open to seeing something unique and special in the current moment, but having a vision for what the perfect shot is will help you to record it ... "
Recently, I have reconnected with a friend who loves photography. Just yesterday he asked me if I have been feeding my hobby of photography ... and the other night, in a conversation with my dear friend Michele, I learn that we have yet another love and passion in common: photography. And then this morning I see this blog post on the happy paradox of photography and meditation. I think the universe is trying to tell me something. Time to return to photography and its meditative and healing qualities for me. The photo on the left was taken in 2009 when my partner Mary and I were up at our lake home in Nisswa, Minnesota. I woke up early one morning and looked outside to the see this hypnotic fog glazing over the still lake. I saw the reflection of the tree on the lake and went to grab my camera. Why did I feel the need to capture that moment? What was it about the fog, the reflection of the tree, the stillness, the sun rising over the horizon behind the clouds and fog, screaming to be noticed ... that tugged at me? What I know is that early mornings are precious times for me. I wake up early every morning (often times i'm up at 4 or 4:30) ... I make myself a cup of green tea with pomegranate and I begin my morning ritual of writing, meditation and when and if i'm so moved, I write a blog post. I love the quiet, the stillness, the darkness that precedes the sunrise, and the chance to reflect.
My life is a reflection of all that is around me. I have been immersing myself in learning more about the mystic and poet Rumi. When I run I listen to interviews about his life and I listen to his poems ... he talks about "The Glance" -- a mystical experience that occurs when the eyes of the lover and the beloved, the parent and child, and friend and friend meet; many of his poems emerged from a deep spiritual connection he had with Shams of Tabris, his mentor and friend.
What is love? Love is all encompassing and love is the most powerful force and energy within us. To love unconditionally, without fear, without judgment, without expectation, without labeling it as this kind of love or that kind of love .... he writes about a love that defies a physical and earthly kind of love. Love is a light, a beacon of light that is deep within each and every one of us. To connect at such a deep level, at a spiritual, pure level ... that is love. And when the fog lifts around one's heart, the light shines through.
What is the heart?
It is not human, and it is not imaginary.
I call it you.
~ Rumi
I see my beauty in you. I become
a mirror that cannot close its eyes
to your longing. My eyes wet with
yours in the early light. My mind
every moment giving birth, always
conceiving, always in the ninth
month, always the come-point. How
do I stand this? We become these
words we say, a wailing sound moving
out into the air. These thousands of
worlds that rise from nowhere, how
does your face contain them? I'm
a fly in your honey, then closer, a
moth caught in flame's allure, then
empty sky stretched out in homage.
~ Rumi
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