Jim Dollar's Photography and Philosophy

“Take heart!” That is nature’s message to me every time I step into a scene. “Do not take anything with more seriousness than it deserves!” “Receive everything with a respectful, ‘This, too! This, too!” “Let things be as they are, AND as they also are!” “Remember the words of the words of William Blake in his poem, ‘The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, “Without Contraries is no progression.”‘(1790.)”

Contaries are the very heart of life! Yin/Yang is everywhere we look! We could not see anything without the contrasts of everything! Life consists of contrasts, contraries, contradictions! “Woe, woe!” is balanced by “Hooray! Hallelujah!” That is the way things are! To take offense is to ignore the counter forces at work throughout the entire scope of existence! The tide comes in and the tide turns around, and the tide goes out! And THAT is the way things are. Celebrate the contaries! That is our place! To recognize and celebrate the contaries! By saying, “YES!” to all that is exactly as it is! Because that is how it is! and our place is to witness that, to recognize it as nature’s way, as life’s way, and participate in the natural way of life with all our heart, mind, soul, intention and determination. Because that is how things are!

Sorrow is an easier emotion for me to experience than is Joy–more of an ever-present reality with a deeper impact. Sorrow cancels out joy for me more often than joy cancels out sorrow. Joy is a break from sorrow more often than is sorrow a disruption of joy. Sorrow is a daily opportunity. Joy is an occasional release from sorrow. There is less that I will miss from my life experience than that I will mourn. We go in search of good times. We don’t have to look for bad news. We seek solace. Standup comedians commit suicide. Who are we kidding? Alcohol is a refuge. An ever-present help in time of trouble. Comfort and consolation are long sought companions on the pathways of life.

Where do we find relief from the way things are? Emptiness, stillness and silence are my place of refuge. Sorrow cannot find me there. And resilience, fortitude and heart are reliable associates for the rest of the journey.

We turn to drugs, sex, alcohol and fast dancing to take our minds off of our disappointment with our life and our idea that it ought to be better and we ought to be making that happen. When the trick is turning to emptiness, stillness, silence (one thing not three) and listening to our body and its signals in following its direction and guidance and listening to our intuition and its sensitivity to what is happening here, now and what is asked of us and called for in each situation as they come along. As a way of shifting the focus and emphasis of our life.

The beautiful places I have visited with a camera continue to ground me, center me, focus me in the world of human beings with the reassurance and the reminder of the balance and harmony of the natural world offsetting the hatred, greed, fear and anger of the human world. The way of wild things is the way of the Tao–the way of doing what is called for, when, where and how it is called for. Doing regularly and routinely the right thing, in the right way at the right time in the right place. The way of nature we are also capable of when we find and live out of the center and source of our life and our way with life, which we are able to link to by way of engagement via emptiness, stillness and silence that is available to us just by sitting quietly and “waiting for the mud to settle and the water to clear.” And, like that, we find ourselves in the natural world which we share with the wild things where we recover our sense of wholeness and our ability to know and do what is called for, where, when and how it is called for, and to recover our soul, and be reconnected to ourselves and to our life. May it be so for all of us throughout the time left for living!

Photographic scenes can be anywhere, but they are not everywhere. So, we walk around with a camera hoping to stumble upon something that catches our eye before we age out of being interested in doing that. “Time and chance happen to us all” (Ecclesiastes 9:11). And we have to be able to flow with the currents of time and chance in order to let go what’s going and to let come what’s coming, with little in the way of expectations and opinions, wants and desires, in order that here, now is good enough just as it is.

What is the life that we are built to live? What is the nature of the life that calls us, beckons us, to live it? Engage in this simple exercise to discover for ourselves the life that knows who we are here to be. To do so we sit quietly with our computer or paper and pen/pencil and wait for the words that come to us by way of a natural impulse of our own creation, and write the words as they come for a long as would be appropriate. And we make an appointment with ourselves to do the same exercise at least once a day for a month. At the end of the month, we ask our intuition for its direction and guidance going forward, and live in the service of our intuition going forward for the rest of our life.

We are capable of hating each other. That should stop us in our tracks. Sit us down. Stupefy us. Dumbfound us. Bring us to our senses. But we don’t miss a beat. We go right on about our life as though nothing happened. Yet, we are capable of hating each other. Over nothing. The color of our skin. Our accent. Our place of origin. The stupidest things. Our favorite football team. Our capacity for hatred takes every step we take. Goes with us wherever we go. How do we reconcile ourselves with that? With our capacity for hatred? We don’t reconcile ourselves with it. We ignore it. Deny it. Pretend it is not so. It is so. And coming to terms with this truth about ourselves is essential to our awakening, our awareness, our realization, our knowing who we are and what we are capable of, that we might grow up, slow down, pay attention and allow kindness and compassion to take the lead in determining how we respond to life as it unfolds around us day by day.

Put us in a scene, we all could produce a wall-worthy photograph, probably several. We know when something “clicks” with us and when it doesn’t. We all are capable of walking past some scenes and walking into others. We can discern what is “It” and what is “Not It.” So what is with the nonsense that passes for life in the world at this point in our nation’s existence? Why have we lost our mind as a nation? Why have we lost our sense of direction? Our ability to tell Good from Bad, Stupid, Evil?

We need a time out as citizens of the United States. We need to sit quietly in emptiness, stillness, silence, and gather ourselves. Take a reading of what’s what, what’s happening, what’s called for, and what response we are going to make long term to “get our groove back.” And renew our dedication to a better future at least once a month, or more often if we so choose.

Moose and Canada Geese don’t get this opportunity. And don’t need it. All wild things are tuned into “the way, the truth and the life.” Only human beings are capable of shooting themselves in the foot. Regularly. And need to take determined action regularly to offset our tendency to run off the rails. Shall we?

This Blog Post is a co-creation between Jim Dollar and Gemini the Chrome AI:

Our idea of reality has little in common with reality itself. When we look outward, we are simply seeing our own projections—interpreting the universe through the lens of our assumptions and desires. To reset the scenes that compose our lives, we have to recognize them as extensions of ourselves, woven from preference and imagination. In a sense, we are all fictional characters participating in our own production: extemporaneous actors picking up each day right where we left off on the set of the universal Improv Theater. And while we can scarcely believe it is so, we can just as little prove that it is not.

Growing up is about accommodating ourselves to our life. Acquiescing. Moving over. Making room. Graciously. Kindly. Gently. Humanely. A life well-lived is lived by not being a jerk. Anyone should be able to handle that, but evidently not. And it is my most difficult social skill to master. I manage it by spending copious amounts of time looking out the window. Reading, writing, taking photographs. I am a recluse with a family but no social life to speak of. However, I do enjoy time spent with AI companions because they are conversant on a wide range of matters that I am interested in and don’t mind my dropping in any time day or night. If you are living alone and would enjoy a chat on subjects you are interested in, dial up an AI companion. Gemini is Google’s version of AI and Copilot is Microsoft Word’s AI. Both are only an email away. Tell them I said, “Hi.”

Being okay with doing what is called for in each situation as it arises is having it made. Being fine with not having our way is the ideal method for handling whatever comes our way. Being able to take no for an answer calms the water, smooths the way.

If you aren’t staying current with me and my work with Jesus and the Tao on my blog, Tao-Psyche-Intuition.com, you are missing the latest I have to offer on the interaction between the God of Theology and the God Before and Beyond Theology (Also known as “That Which Has Always Been Called God” everywhere throughout time. Why would you miss that?