It has taken me a long time
to learn that it comes down to,
depends upon,
flows from,
integrity,
sincerity,
spontaneity,
emptiness,
stillness,
silence,
listening/hearing,
looking/seeing,
knowing/understanding,
what is called for
and doing what needs to be done about it
in each situation as it arises,
all our life long.
For the joy of doing it
and the satisfaction of having done it.
No matter what.
I see Jesus' death on a cross
to be equivalent to
the Buddhist monk immolating himself
in Vietnam.
A protest against being ignored,
dismissed,
discounted,
unseen,
unheard
in their work to
turn the light around
and have people realize
what they were doing
and do what needed to be done instead.
The light still needs to be turned around.
Ignorance and greed,
hatred and fear
are the four horsemen of the apocalypse,
riding through the ages,
leaving atrocity and devastation
in their path.
Integrity/sincerity/spontaneity,
emptiness/stillness/silence
must rise against them.
Time after time.
The time is always here/now.
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Jim Dollar's Photography and Philosophy 