Finding our way to The Way one situation at a time. I don't know how great it will be, but I expect it will be interesting, and I look forward to it going on past all reason because wonder is just that way. Are you coming or not?
Hay in the Field 02 07/05/2019 Panorama Oil Paint Rendered — Rembert, South Carolina
What are the forces
of destabilization in your life?
How do you counteract them?
When we are able to deal with
what faces us in our life
like a gyroscope turning
out of its own center,
we are grounded upon
our original nature
and the innate virtues
that are ours from birth,
and living with integrity
and sincerity,
trusting ourselves to respond
spontaneously to each situation
as it arises
in light of what is called for here/now--
offering us the flexibility
to dance with the moment,
without fear, dread or anxiety,
free to be ourselves
in the time and place of our living.
And that is the most precious
kind of freedom there is.
Looking Glass Falls 10/09/2010 Oil Paint Rendered — Pisgah National Forest, Brevard, North Carolina
We are capable of amazing things
when we don't care what our chances are.
When we aren't calculating,
conniving,
scheming,
planning,
maneuvering,
masquerading,
master-minding it,
making it happen...
When we are just doing
what needs to be done
with no agenda in mind
and no particular end in sight,
just changing the baby's diaper,
just washing the dishes,
just mowing the lawn,
just responding as best we can
to what is called for here/now,
and going where that leads
into the next thing,
and the thing after that,
for nothing more than the joy of doing it
and the satisfaction of having done it
to motivate us along the way...
We participate fully in the unfolding
of our life
without being in charge of any of it,
without being in control of any of it,
and being blessed and graced
by all of it--
waking up at some point
to the wonder
of the realization
that our life has a mind of its own,
and can be trusted with our life
with fealty,
liege loyalty
and filial devotion,
from start to finish.
All we have to do is show up
see what is called for here/now
in each situation as it arises,
and get to work
in the service of what needs to be done.
Somebody should tell us this at birth,
and remind us of it all along the way.
But no.
They all ask us, "What do you want to be
when you grow up?"
As if!
And who ever grows up?
Monument Valley Sunrise Oil Paint Rendered — Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Arizona
Our idea of God is not God.
God is not who we make God out to be.
Any God that we make out to be God
is not God.
Which makes all the debates about God ridiculous.
And theology, superfluous and absurd--
along with all doctrine,
dogma
and dharma.
The only fitting response to the idea of God
is silence.
We stand (sit, run, lie, swim...) mute before the Mystery.
Iris DeMent recommends that we
"let the mystery be."
To attempt to do more
is presumptuous and out of line.
Dead Horse Canyon 03 09/23/2007 Oil Paint Rendered — Dead Horse Canyon State Park, Moab, Utah
We know not to run/drive through
stop signs and red lights.
To do so is called
"Pushing our luck."
Trust your luck
without pushing it!
We have to know where the line lies
between trusting and pushing our luck--
and stay on the right side of it.
When we are cruising along
and sense a red flag,
the proper course of action
is to stop and explore the implications
of what we were about to do.
Ignoring red flags and warning signals
from our psyche
is pushing our luck.
We sense edges and lines
before they become apparent.
When we give ourselves warning signals,
it is time to sit still, be quiet,
and discern what's what.
Trust your luck,
don't push it!
Morant’s Curve 09/29/2009 Oil Paint Rendered — Banff National Park, Alberta
People who always know what to do
in any/every situation,
are screwing things up for everybody.
The right action appears out of nowhere,
at just the right time
as a reminder of the Mystery
at work throughout the cosmos.
We cannot calculate our way through mystery.
The Way is not subject to reason,
logic,
analytics,
recipes,
and rules to live by.
Right action is made up
in the heat of the moment
as a spontaneous response
to the situation as it arises.
We do not think it up.
We recognize its validity
in the aftermath of having done it.
We find ourselves saying what needs to be said,
doing what needs to be done,
being who we need to be,
at one with what is happening,
as a dancer dancing with the music,
as a fiddle player jammin'
with the guitar and the banjo
and the mandolin,
wondering when it's over
where it came from,
and looking forward to its
regular return.
Images have the ability to stop us
and hold our attention for a moment,
or longer,
depending on,
what?
What stops us?
What holds our attention?
What stops you?
What holds your attention?
Pay attention to what commands your attention--
to what catches your eye.
What evokes your wonder?
What charms you?
Speaks to you?
Calls your name?
Move closer to what moves you.
Examine it.
Inspect it.
Study it.
Listen to it.
Name the thing you find enchanting.
Enchanted by... What?
Is it the same thing that enchanted you
the last time you were so moved?
Is there a theme at work here?
An interest?
A hunger?
A yearning to be explored over time?
Accept the invitation.
See where it leads.
Hatteras Moon 10/26/2007 Oil Paint Rendered — Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Ocracoke Island, Outer Banks, North Carolina
Intending mercy and goodwill,
kindness,
generosity,
compassion,
graciousness,
integrity
and sincerity
will do no harm.
Living from the heart,
with no stake in the outcome
beyond doing the best
we are capable of doing
in each situation as it arises,
without being profit driven,
or gain/advantage obsessed,
will go a long way toward
peaceful accord
and mutual honor and respect for all.
We are a long way from that worldwide
here/now,
but "the influence of a vital person vitalizes"
(Joseph Campbell),
and we cannot discount the importance
of one person living life
the way life needs to be lived.
Live to be that person.
Throughout the time left for living.
Tow Boat Stonington Harbor 09/30/2010 Oil Paint Rendered — Deer Isle, Maine
We don't find it,
it finds us.
The motivation/interest/desire/energy
to get up and do what needs us to do it.
Our problem is not finding it,
but ignoring it,
dismissing it,
discounting it,
disregarding it,
putting it off,
laying it aside,
rejecting it,
refusing to have anything
to do with it
because it isn't up to our standards,
it doesn't meet our specifications,
it fails to comply with our idea
of who we are
and what it means to be successful
and admired,
and what would the neighbors think?
"So here we sit
like birds in the wilderness,
waiting on our food."
When all that needs to happen
is for us to get out of the way
and do what has been calling our name
through the ages.
Even yet.
Even so.
Even now.
Mailboxes 04/30/2009 Oil Paint Rendered — Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia
Settling into the moment,
into the here/now,
and just being here/now,
as though there is no better place to be,
and just doing here/now
what needs to be done here/now,
as though there is nothing better to do,
is the way of the whale in the ocean,
and the snake upon a rock,
and a lion in the Serengeti,
and a willow in the rain...
It is what nature does best,
folding into the here/now,
settling into the moment,
soaking it up
as though it will be the last moment ever.
Human beings think there is
something better to be had
in some other moment,
and we can't wait to get there/then.
To hell with here/now.
Give us there/then here/now!
Boone Fork 07/13/2012 Oil Paint Rendered — Blue Ridge Parkway, Blowing Rock, North Carolina
Joseph Campbell asked,
"How can one person
get God into the heart
of another person?"
How can any person get God
into their own heart?
Praying? Reading the Bible?
Reciting a catechism?
Chanting The Hail Mary
and The Our Father back to back?
Campbell's question is like asking,
"How can one person enlighten another person?"
"Illumine another person?"
"Bring realization to life?"
How can we make ourselves,
or anyone,
fall in love?
Decide before we go to bed
what we will dream tonight?
Experiences with the Numen,
with numinous reality,
come of their own accord
out of nowhere,
when the time is right.
We can encourage the experience
by immersing ourselves
in encounters with art, music and nature,
but that guarantees nothing,
merely provides the experience of the ineffable
a fertile environment in which to work.
The Mystery breaks in upon us
in its own time,
in its own way,
and cannot be hurried,
or compelled, into being.
Which is not to say that
it cannot be conjured up
with drumming or loud organ music
and hours of bad preaching.
But a person so "converted"
will have nothing original to say
about the experience,
and will repeat what has been
drilled into them,
word for word,
phrase for phrase,
with lots of "hallelujah's"
and "praise the lord's"
thrown in for good measure.
The validity of a religious experience
is in the life of the one so moved.
"Wisdom is known by her children,"
and, sometimes, by her grandchildren.
Banff Depot 01 09/19/2009 Oil Paint Rendered — Banff, Alberta
The right kind of emptiness
is easy to achieve.
Start with stillness and silence.
Empty yourself of everything you find there.
That is all there is to it.
Now, you are as empty as the space between breaths.
Be there,
emptying yourself of everything that interferes
with the creative space between thoughts/
images/
memories/
fears/
emotions/
etc.
Be conscious only of your breathing.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Count to 5 in sync with your heartbeat.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Count to 5...
In the emptiness,
stillness
and silence.
Open, waiting,
breathing, counting,
open, waiting...
For realization,
awareness,
enlightenment,
illumination,
seeing,
hearing,
understanding,
knowing,
being...
Then do what needs to be done.
This is the way to the way
all the way.
Our relationship with nature
determines/reflects all of our relationships.
Honoring/worshiping nature sets the tone,
establishes the rhythm,
puts everything else in place around that.
Contempt for is exploitation of the natural world,
and reflects contempt for and exploitation of
all of our other relationships.
Nature's place in our life
reflects/exhibits/expresses
all you need to know about us
to know what you can expect from us--
and how much,
or how little,
time you need to spend in our company.
Jim Dollar's Photography and Philosophy 