Jim Dollar's Photography and Philosophy

"Let your mind wander in simplicity,
blend your spirit with the vastness, 
follow along with thing the way they are,
and make no room for personal view--
then the world will be at peace with you,
though perhaps not with itself" --
From The Complete Works of Zhuangzi
(Translations from the Asian Classics
by Burton Watson).

Staying out of the way,
yet assisting what needs to happen
in each situation as it arises
calls for balance and harmony,
and alignment with the flow of life,
at one with what is calling our name
past all the reasons not to.

We cannot live like that apart from
emptiness/stillness/silence/reflection/
realization built into every day.

The core of the still point
is the center of the path
that can be recognized as a path
only in hindsight.

How do we find it?
Only with the right kind of
emptiness/stillness/etc.
Seeing what we look at
and hearing what we listen to,
and doing what needs to be done
in response.

Too much noise leads to the Wasteland,
where we wake up some more again
and allow emptiness/etc. to lead us
back to the path
until we have had enough
and shut noise out forever.

–0–

Sex is a way of avoiding intimacy.
Revealing is concealing.
Concealing is revealing.
What are we revealing by what we conceal?
What are we concealing by what we reveal?
What are we hiding?
What are we hiding from?

Conversation is the most intimate form 
of human activity,
and it is mostly noise.
There are people who talk all the time
and never say anything.

What do you never talk about to anyone?
What do you never say?
What do you never hear said?
What do the people you run with never say?
Not allow you to say?

I wonder if our dreams
might be conversations 
about things we don't want to discuss.
About things we never say.
About things we cannot bear to talk about.
Think about.
Face.

Growing up is facing up to what needs to be said/done,
and saying/doing it.

We are grown up to the degree that we will say/do
what needs to be said/done
in each situation as it arises.

What does thinking about what we think about
keep us from thinking about?

What does talking about what we talk about
keep us from talking about?

What is too painful for us to discuss?

What is the truth we can't handle?

What is it that we do not want to face/deal with?

Intimacy is exposing ourselves to the truth
of what matters most.

How often do we do that?

What are we concealing?

What did we dream last night?

–0–

The AI description above ties in smoothly
with how I live generally
in relation with my Inner Intelligence, or II.

I sit/stand/lie aware of what's what,
what is called for,
and what I might do about it,
and visualize/feel/sense various scenarios,
deciding "Yes/No" with each one,
and what that produces in terms of
additional options and choices,
narrowing down the possibilities,
and doing whatever things "boil down to."

It is how I live.
How I decide what to wear,
what to eat,
where to go,
what to do...

Of A/B/C/D... what do I rule out
to get to what I settle on?
So AI is simply a photographic extension
of the way I am accustomed to living.

My II is exceptional where it comes
to sizing up situations,
sensing direction,
and preparing to meet likely developments.

We moved from Indian Land to our present location
based on our (The "we/our" here is me and my wife
and me and my/her II) observations
of the changes in the landscape due to development
in the "neighborhood" we lived in,
and the impact that was having on the roads 
and intersections, etc. of the area.

We took the givens and imagined the therefores
and made the choices that got us from there to here.

We are always making decisions
that lead to amazing coincidences
and acts of timing
all because we see/sense what's what
and act when the urgency of the situation
calls for action.

We are attuned to what is happening in the moment,
and what the most likely outcome is going to be,
and acting to get out of the way of inevitabilities
that can be avoided if we respond as needed.

I see this as the essence of the Tao in action,
seeing/hearing/knowing/perceiving/acting 
in the service of balance and harmony
and enjoying the results of having done so.

Going with the apparent flow,
particularly with the obvious urgency
of acting here/now,
enables us to avoid unwanted situations,
and positions us to be prepared for 
the unknown future
by simply paying attention to our present.

It appears to us as a natural way of doing business.

–0–

If only we could see ourselves
"as ithers see us"!
Even this sunflower,
completely exposed for all to see
cannot get at the heart of 
the inner flower.
All we see of ourselves
is what we exhibit to others to see,
with no way of dropping into
our inner space
in order to get to the bottom
of what is going on with us,
and know who all we also are
and are capable of being.

I chose hermeneutics as my career path
which is a method/process/procedure 
for getting to the bottom of truth
about biblical texts,
but that was subterfuge/evasion,
concealing from myself the real
hunger of heart and soul:
Getting to the bottom of ME,
only to discover somewhere along the way
that there is no bottom to the truth
of truth or to the truth of who we are.

We all are more than meets the eye,
any eye,
all eyes--
an infinite, eternal, absolute mystery
seeking revelation/revealing/comprehending/
understanding/knowing/etc.
And the more we know, the more there is to know,
which makes all of us each other,
expressing/exhibiting/exposing ourselves
to "ithers" in ways that reveal ourselves,
not only to them,
but, more importantly, to us,
if we allow ourselves to see/hear 
what we are concealing in the act of revealing
who we are and also are.

Sex is a way of avoiding intimacy--
the intimacy of knowing and being known,
while all the while,
"wanting so badly for someone to know us"
and concealing while revealing who we are
and also are.

Every night, our dreams expose ourselves
to ourselves,
declaring in the language of dreams,
"This is how it is with you right now!"
And we wake up saying,
"That was some weird dream I had last night!"

The clues are everywhere all the time,
to who we are and also are.
We are "right there" in every act/word,
and those acts not-acted
and those words not-said.

We have come to know who we are and also are.
And need only to pay attention to ourselves
to follow the thread of daily revelations
to the heart of who we are and also are,
which is a heart that expands as we look
as we all become more than we can
"ask, or think, or imagine."

The adventure of being alive!
Following/becoming/being "the spirit
that is like the wind,
blowing where it will."

What a wonderful thing that we are missing out on,
losing ourselves, as we do,
in sex/drugs/alcohol/money/shopping/eating...
And all the diversions/distractions/entertainments
we pursue to avoid seeing/knowing/understanding
who we are and also are.

World without end.

Hallelujah! May it be so! Just as it is!

Let us be off on the journey without end! Amen!

–0–

We live best in the service
of beauty and harmony,
rhythm and flow,
balance and congruity,
resonance and synchrony--
in tune with ourselves
and our surroundings.

Where are we doing that?
Where in our life do we find
evidence of our doing that?
How are we attempting to align ourselves
with the ebb and flow of the tides,
of life in the world we live in?

In what ways are we serving beauty and harmony?
Rhythm and flow?
Balance and congruity?
Resonance and synchrony?

How do we put ourselves in accord with our life?
Where do we find the sense of being grounded in
and at one with,
the movement of life around us?

What do we do that connects us 
with the essence--the truth--
of ourselves and the world around us?

Where do we feel the most whole,
the most in tune with,
where we are 
and what we are doing?

What grounds us,
centers us,
synchronizes us,
brings us into focus
and connects us 
with the wonder of life/living/being alive?

Where do we feel most alive?
Most glad to be here?
Doing what we are doing?
A part of the flow of life here/now?
At peace and at one with the world/universe?

Go there,
do that, 
often.

–0–

Feeling what we are feeling,
seeing what we are seeing,
knowing what we are knowing,
is all a matter of practicing 
being present with what is present with us
and with how we are responding to it.

This initiates the process of transforming
the nature of our being in the world,
and changing our way of responding 
to our circumstances merely by being 
aware of how we are responding to our circumstances.

I observe servers in restaurants bringing 
four (maybe five) fully loaded plates 
to the table,
three laid out on one arm,
and carrying the fourth by the other,
and passing them out one by one
by being aware of the plates they are passing out
and being aware of the plates they are
continuing to balance,
and I think that's it!

If we all displayed that kind 
of here/now mindfulness in all that we do,
we would be doing what needs to be done,
when/where/how it needs to be done
in every moment.

Tending what needs to be tended
while being aware of all that is to be tended,
and doing things as is appropriate here/now
throughout our life,
with everything having its proper place
and nothing being neglected.

If we were living like emergency room personnel,
and like servers in a busy restaurant,
we would be doing life the way life needs to be done,
which would include taking naps
when naps are due,
and taking photographs 
when photographs are due.

Doing everything in its own place
and in its own time,
and letting the things that command
our time and attention
wait for their own place
and their own time--
which likely means not at all.

–0–

We are in the grip of forces 
quite beyond us--the economy,
the weather, earthquakes, war...
and have to negotiate our way
through the possibilities and choices
available to us
on a daily basis
in the service of balance and harmony,
peace and sanity--
and can do that as long as we live
in a normal range of options and alternatives.

Tip the scales beyond reasonable and customary
and push us into the area 
beyond accommodation and adjustment,
and we sit staring at the wall
for lack of anything better to do.

We all have our limits,
and we owe it to ourselves 
to recognize that and treat ourselves
and one another with kindness and grace
as we deal with conditions getting out of hand
worldwide.

The systemic breakdown of structures
holding things together--electricity,
gas and water, for example--quickly
crumbles into chaos and anarchy
that no one is prepared to handle.

(It is a routine occurrence for me
to drive through Charlotte, North Carolina
without seeing a police vehicle due to
a shortage of police officers--how long
before garbage pickup falters, etc.?) 

Making the best of it then becomes
indistinguishable from saying
the hell with it,
and laughing is as appropriate
as anything else--and far more sensible
and responsible (The terms hold through it all!)
than shooting up neighborhoods because why not?

Mutual commiseration and therapeutic interaction--
where we intentionally become each others therapist--
will ease what can be eased
under the burden of life at the breaking point.

We can take up that practice right now,
so that we become proficient in the work
of balancing/harmonizing what can still be 
balanced/harmonized 
through what remains of life to be lived
as well as it has to be lived,
where laughter makes as much sense as can be made
of what's what,
with worse looming near at hand.

What engages you
beyond sex/drugs/alcohol/eating/shopping/money?

Engagement is the key to LIFE.

Without engagement there are only boredom
and lethargy.

And entertaining pastimes
until death takes us mercifully away.

Being engaged in seeking engagement counts
for engagement.

What catches your eye?

Start there.

Where do you enjoy spending time?
What do you love to do for its own sake?
What can you do to lose all track of time?
Where is home for your soul?

I call that engagement.

How long has it been
since you were so engaged? 

–0–

The path to "having life and having it abundantly"
is always right here right now.
We are standing on it,
in the dead center of it.
It is waiting for us to open our eyes,
see what we are looking at,
and do what needs to be done about it
when/where/how it needs to be done
in each situation as it arises,
out of our own balance and harmony,
at one with ourselves,
our original nature
and our innate virtues/character.

Being ALIVE starts with and flows from
and leads to
balance and harmony,
sincerity and integrity,
spirit, energy and vitality.

Live from there and do what is called for
moment-to-moment,
and you will be as ALIVE as you can be
in each situation as it arises,
all your life long.

–0–

s

We all are searching,
more or less desperately,
for some reason to be here,
for some compelling, driving force
pulling us into
and driving us through our life.

Our life is--and has to be--
a vehicle of LIFE!
An experience of LIFE!
A path to LIFE!

Our life has to bring us to LIFE!

When and where is that, has been,
the case in our life?
Where has life brought us to LIFE?

How often have we been ALIVE in our life?

How far away from being ALIVE here and now,
at this point in our life?

On a floating scale from dead-or-mostly-dead
to ALIVE-fully-completely-absolutely-totally-
wholly-ALIVE,
where are we right now?

How long has it been since we were ALIVE?

What's going on?
Why the separation from LIFE?
What is keeping us from,
making it difficult for us to be,
ALIVE right here, 
right now?

Most of what we do for LIFE 
is a substitute for LIFE.
Is a diversion/distraction/substitute,
and we are in denial
regarding how ALIVE we are
throughout our day,
every day.

Why?
What are we doing to keep from being ALIVE?
Why?

The culture is a diversion/distraction itself.
A substitute for life.
Filled with entertaining pastimes.
Drugs. Sex. Alcohol. Money. Vacations. Movies...

What is anyone doing to bring themselves to LIFE?
What are they doing to compensate themselves
for having no LIFE at all?
To take their mind of having no LIFE at all?
What are we doing?

What are we going to do about that?

–0–

This photograph reflects an abiding truth of life:
Luck--also called "Grace"--is the foundation of life.

An hour earlier or later and this photo isn't there.

Every photograph is like that,
we walk into a scene with a camera
and greet what greets us there
as a sheer coincidence of grace/luck and timing.

In five minutes the tourists will descend,
or the wind will pick up/die down,
or the light will change...

Our life hangs by a thread all the time.
What are the chances
that we are here/now/as we are?
Who would have bet on it at our birth,
or ten years ago?
Yet, here we are.

Who would have guessed it?

There is no way of mastering the art of luck/grace
beyond the old saying attributed to about 600 people:
"The harder I work/practice, the luckier I get."

This holds up over time regardless of the work/practice.

The old Taoists and the older yogis before them,
and who knows before them,
relished knowing that it is all luck,
and the harder we work/practice, the luckier we are.

The catch is that we can't be lucky/graced
the way we want to be lucky/graced.

Luck happens all the time
but it happens in its own time,
in its own way.

The Tao is just that way.
Tao is another word for luck/grace.

Those who are aligned with, 
in sync with, the Tao
are luckier than those who are not.
But, they aren't able to predict or determine
the nature of the luck that guides their way
through their life.

It's all a matter of chance,
of luck,
of coincidence,
of synchronicity
(Which is a term coined by Carl Jung
meaning "fortuitous coincidence,"
since some coincidences are not apparently fortuitous).

Living in accord with the Tao
positions ourselves to be lucky
in ways that do not seem to be lucky at the time,
but turn out to be amazingly fortuitous over time,
which makes "synchronicity" meaningless,
in that who is to say what is fortuitous and what is not?

Everything is only apparently fortuitous
or disastrous depending on how things seem to be
at the time that judgment is made,
but, remember, the worst things that happen to us
can turn out to be the best things that happen to us
over time, and vice versa.

So when do we say, "Lucky!" "Unlucky!"?
We just keep living in sync with the Tao
and let our outcomes be our outcomes,
knowing that nothing is ever over
and all of our outcomes are even now
becoming other outcomes,
and will spin out on and on forever. 

All we have to focus on is living in accord with the Tao,
and letting things happen as they will,
trusting that the more successfully we do that,
the luckier we will be.

–0–

Fascism and democracy have been at war from the start.

Fascism is fear, hatred, anger, greed, ruthlessness
trying to find safety and security
by killing everyone not fascist.

Democracy is grace, kindness, justice, truth, peace
trying to find a place
where people can freely be who they are
without threatening anyone.

Amazing how difficult that is
around people who are threatened
by everyone not like them.

We haven't figured out how to live together
in ways everyone likes
for 200,000 years.

The chances of our doing it in our lifetime 
are zilch.

But, like Sisyphus and the tortoise, 
we get out of bed 
and trudge through each day,
bearing what must be borne
as well as we can 
within the circumstances
that greet us day after day.

It is our lot and our calling
to be who we are
anyway, nevertheless, even so, just because,
in each situation as it arises,
doing what needs to be done,
when, where and how it needs to be done,
to the best of our ability,
because that, too, is who we are! 

–0–