Jim Dollar's Photography and Philosophy

There is what we do to live,
and there is what we live to do.

What do you live to do?
How does who you are come alive
in doing what you live to do?

We bring ourselves to life
in/by doing what we live to do.
If we are mostly dead,
it could be because we are 
doing the wrong things with our life.

We get to the right things
by seeing what we look at
and hearing what we listen to.
And knowing what we are dismissing,
discounting,
ignoring.

"The stone the builders rejected"
was exactly what they were looking for,
but they missed it 
because they had eyes for other things.

If we hope to see what we are looking at,
we have to do it via emptiness,
stillness
and silence--
and paying close attention 
to what is happening there.

We get--finally, at last--to emptiness,
stillness and silence
by having no opinions,
no agendas,
no plans,
no expectations,
no desires,
no fears,
no bitterness,
no shame,
no striving,
no forcing,
no contriving,
no scheming,
just breathng
and being as empty
as the place between breaths.

The place between breaths
is the being place,
the seeing place,
"the still point of the turning world."

Everything leads to that,
flows from that,
revealing there is nothing but that
for those with eyes that see,
ears that hear
and a heart that understands/comprehends/realizes/knows.

Enlightenment is knowing what we have always known.
Waking up to what's what
and what needs to be done about it,
and doing it when/when/how it needs to be done--
in each situation as it arises--
for nothing more than the joy of doing it
and the satisfaction of having done it.

What we live to do
is just that way.
"Always well within our reach,
yet exceeding our grasp,"
because we were/are looking for something else.

Ain't that the way it is though?
Ain't that just the way it is?

–0–

Our nature knows how to express itself
and find its own way.
We do not have to tell it anything,
or direct it in any way.

We all got here/now
without intending to be here/now,
without knowing what we were doing,
or where we were going,
but here we are, 
right now.

Something not us got us here.
It was the drift and flow of our life
through the circumstances of living.

One thing led to another,
and here we are,
right now.

It does not matter where we think we are going.
It is how we get there that matters.
We get there by allowing our nature
and our innate virtues/specialties
to take the lead.

We let our interest guide us.
We follow our heart.
If something has vitality for us,
if something sparks our interest,
calls our name,
it is right to give ourselves to it
and see where it goes.

What do we do wholeheartedly?
Without having to?
Stay with that!
See where it goes.

I asked a young person what she 
thought she might do with her life.
"Well, I like to snowboard," she said.
I hope she stayed with snowboarding.
It may have been "It" for her,
or it may have lead her to what was "It."

We get passed along like that
from one thing to another 
all our life long,
following what is "It" for us all the way,
as it passes its "It-ness" on to the next thing,
and we wake up somewhere that is here/now,
wondering how we got there--
that's how.

Passed along from one thing to another.
Handed off to what is "It" now.
From one "It" to another.
Our life is lived from "It" to "It"
if we stay out of the way
by staying on the way
and following our heart's lead all the way.

It's tricky, listening to our heart,
and there is nothing to it
all at the same time.

And it beats doing what someone else
tells us to do all the time.

–0–

This is today's post on "July 6, 2023 - B

And this is today's post after applying Photoshop (Beta)'s Artificial Intelligence "Generative Fill" filter to it, expanding the size of the original image right/left/up/down.

Using the AI filter means that every landscape photograph now has the potential of being both the enlarged landscape and the detail.

And, it means that I could add a red canoe/kayak, or a Corvette convertible, etc., anywhere in the scene. And, it means I could completely transform the original image into a barn and a cow and a pasture with very little effort.

The implications and possibilities are limitless. Artificial reality is the new reality. Which means we are beyond the boundaries holding things together in terms of what we can trust, assume, take for granted. And, we are having to find our way around in a new world that changes as we watch, and have no business exposing ourselves to the magic of media and need to increase the amount of time we spend in the natural world, and with emptiness, stillness and silence, processing, reflecting, listening, looking, asking, seeking, knocking, wondering what's what and what needs to be done in response, all the time, everywhere. Because we are at the point of nothing being as it appears to be, and certainly not as we presume that it is. 

We have to bring solitude to the fore, and refuse to become lost in the crowd, any crowd--in the noise, any noise. And work to be aware of and maintain/sustain our balance and harmony in each situation as it arises, from one moment to the next, every day.

Being aware of being aware. Being here/now. Seeing ourselves seeing, listening, looking, hearing... Not getting lost in unconscious sense perceptions. Remembering that we are being blinded, or blind-sided, by what we are looking at, and have to learn to live as blind people finding their way through a world
that is overwhelming their senses at every turn.

And you can't trust any of my photos any longer to be only what they appear to be. They are likely to be so much more.

The tragedy is 
that tragedy cannot be averted.
Or avoided.

I'm talking about fascism here,
and homelessness,
and unwanted pregnancy, etc.

In 2014, my acupuncturist told me,
"Jim, alcohol isn't helping your knees any."
I had my last glass of wine
(and all other varieties of alcohol)
on July 27, 2014.

Which means I have an anniversary 
coming up this month.
Nine years.
It seems much longer than that.
It seems like I have always been alcohol-free.

One of the things I've noticed about people
as I walk around,
paying attention
to what I see and hear,
is that people do not listen to their physicians.

Particularly where diet and exercise and alcohol
are concerned.

This ties right back into fascism,
homelessness
and unwanted pregnancies, etc. 

And the tragedy that tragedy cannot be averted.

The world is over-populated,
and becoming more so every day.

The fascists say that is because 
there are too many of the wrong kind of people
in the world,
and if we got rid of all those immigrants
there would be more room for the rest of us
(And when a fascist says "us"
they are talking about fascists,
except they overlook the fact that that means
no one would cook their meals and wash their sheets.
They leave out the implications 
of having a world full of people like themselves.
Here's one for them: It would not work.).

There are just too many of all kinds of people in the world.
And there are more of us every day.

That is the tragedy: Nothing works.
Not like we want it to.
Not like it should.

If you want to fix something,
fix that.

It won't touch fascism,
homelessness
and unwanted pregnancy.
Just to mention three things it won't touch.

Here is the best we can do,
and all we have any right to hope for 
and expect:

We can help ourselves be lucky,
by listening to our physicians, for example.
And that means we cannot do anything
about anyone else.
They have to help themselves be lucky.
By listening to their physicians, for example.

(Even physicians do not listen to their physicians!)

Being lucky is what it it "all about."
We have to live so as to improve our chances
of being lucky.

By, say, listening to our physicians.
Seeing what's what and what needs to be done about it
and doing it when/where/how it needs to be done
every day for the rest of our life.

And that won't do a thing
about fascism,
homelessness
and unwanted pregnancy,
just to mention three things
it won't do anything about.

Which gets us back to where we came in:
The tragedy about tragedy
is that it cannot be averted.
Or avoided.

Another way of saying this 
is that old Southern stand-by:
"You did it to your own self"!
(By refusing to help your "own self" be lucky!) 

–0–

Our ghosts are not out to get us.
Everything inside is on our side.
Our ghosts represent things
we need to clean up,
change our perspective about,
turn the light around concerning,
and remind us of things we needs to change.

We call the things that are calling us to grow up,
"evil, horrible, bad, terrible, etc."
because they interfere with our having our way
and getting what we want.

Having our way and getting what we want
are the worst things that can happen to us,
and a quick inventory of our past will likely
unveil how the worst things that happen to us
are the best things that happened to us,
and the best things that happened to us
are the worst things that happened to us.

Everything that happens to us
is another opportunity to grow up,
square up with how things are
and what is being asked of us,
stand up and do the necessary thing.

I take the things I most do not want to do,
and work with them
until I can transform them
or work out a compromise with them,
generally built around the theme
of making the best of what I do not want to do
by guarding what is important to me
while doing what needs me to do it.

There are two sacred/holy/sacrosanct aspects 
of every day,
morning and evening.
I have nothing at stake mid-day,
and can generally work in a nap
of about 30 minutes
between 1 and 3 PM.

So, I guard my mornings and my evenings,
and use mid-day to barter with what 
wants me to do it that I don't want to do,
often by taking it to lunch.

I'm sure I could be a crabby old man
if it weren't for doing the things I don't want to do
that need me to do them.
Just saying, "No!" would not be good for me
over the long term.

I understand that 
and say, "How about lunch tomorrow?"

–0–

There are things we know by experience
like what applesauce tastes like,
and things we know by memorization
like how to spell Minneapolis 
and how to pronounce Natchitoches
and what 9x6 is
and why/how Jesus is the Savior of Sinners.

There are things we know by experimentation
like the speed of light
and the circumference of the earth,
and things we know through realization,
like what's what
and what needs to be done about it,
and whether we are a mountain or a sea person,
a pets or a no pets person.

The people who allow someone else
to do their thinking for them
and know only what they are told
are the saddest kind of people.
And the most dangerous--
to themselves and to others.

Which leads me to this:
I have been reading a lot of poetry lately.

Collected works reside in "the public domain"
and are free or very inexpensive,
and I have experimented with the possibilities
and realized that anthologies are better
sources of good (In my view) poetry
than collected works are.

There is a lot of bad (In my view) poetry
in collected works.

There is a lot of bad poetry generally,
whether it has been collected or not.

Knowing what is good or bad
is like knowing whether you are
a mountain or sea person,
a pet person or a no pets person.

We cannot allow someone else
to tell us who we are,
or, even worse, who we are supposed to be.
Even if they are our father.
Or our mother.

Or, even worse, the preacher.

–0–

Being right about what needs to be done
in each situation as it arises
and doing it when, where and how
it needs to be done
is all there is to it.

We don't do it
because we confuse 
what needs to happen
with what we want to happen,
and we don't take the time even
to be sure about what we want to happen.

I don't know what to do about that,
but I think spending more time
with emptiness, stillness and silence
would go a long way
toward putting things back on track
and heading in the right direction.

But, everything is so easily dismissed
these days
that I've resorted to letting things 
sort themselves out
and allowing people wake up on their own
or not
according to their own pleasure,
instead of yelling
WAKE UP!!! WAKE UP!!!
to everyone I see. 

–0–

There are three questions
and several ways to ask them:

1) What's what?
(Also phrased, "What's happening?
and, "What's going on?")

2) What needs to be done about it?
(In response to it?
(What is being called for?)

3) How can we be helpful with the gifts/
tools/traits/virtues/specialties/character/etc.
that are natural to us--
that come with us from the womb?

There are two questions to ask of
things that someone tells us:

1) Who says so?
("Where do you get your information?"

2) How do we know this person
can be trusted to know
what they are talking about?

Being clear about what's what,
and what needs to be done about it,
and how we can help
with what we have to offer
is crucial to what happens next.

Without clarity,
we are all bumping around in the dark,
thinking one thing 
when it is another,
doing this
when we ought to be doing that.

Sound familiar?
It is the daily fare these days.

–0–

Something is to be said for repentance
well beyond getting us into heaven when we die
(Whomever thought that one up
needs to be sentenced to a couple of years
at hard labor in the other place
on the grounds of absurdity and cheekiness alone).

Repentance restores balance and harmony,
oils the wheels of social interaction,
and returns things to the status of regular order.

Heart-felt, spontaneous, sincere repentance
is the most important step
in replacing things as they ought to be
with our own inter-being,
and within our relationships with one another.

I repent daily of all the repentance-worthy
things I have done and failed to do
throughout my life,
and I don't have to tell you, 
of all people,
how easy it is to stack them up in large piles
during the course of day-to-day living.

I repent of the choices I've made
and the ones I should have made
on a regular basis--
just to put things right with myself,
and things have to be right with ourselves
in order to live in ways that are right
with other human beings.

You know how easy it is
to make the case against yourself--
as though you are the prosecuting attorney
in the trial determining your ultimate worth
as a person of reputed value.

My advice is to simply come clean with yourself.
Say from the start of the proceedings,
"You are right! You are absolutely right!
I am appalled and ashamed of myself
for the turns I've taken
and the events I have been responsible for,
or have been an accessory to!
And with your (Taking to yourself) help
I will do better with all my actions
remaining to be done
in the near and distant future!"

It's a start to putting things as they ought to be
with ourselves,
and to keeping ourselves aware of how easy it is
to slip off the path,
lose the way,
and wander away from the ideals and values
we honor and revere
here and now (Trusting eternity to take care of itself).

–0–

In being what we seek,
we discover that we have always
had what we need
to meet the moment straight up
and do there what is called for
and is appropriate to the occasion.

The way is clear until someone 
with a better idea comes along,
and then there is tension and struggle,
and we are generally unable
to determine whose way is the right way.

"Those who know best and must be pleased"
will not be interested in turning to the silence
and waiting for the guidance that comes from within.
They already know what is best,
so what's to wait for?

The bosses must be boss,
and therein lies the problem.
If we can delay any action long enough,
circumstances may take care of themselves,
but if we have to make those who know best happy,
a happy ending is in serious jeopardy.

The quest of the people for quick fixes 
and fast solutions gets us where we are.
Waiting things out
and seeing what happens
at least has the advantage 
of having the time to change our minds
about what needs to be done,
and that is often all that needs to be done!

See how slow you can go,
particularly when others are pushing
for action and answers immediately.
Be the sea anchor.
Take your time.
Change your mind if necessary,
and change it again if that helps.
See if the situation can resolve itself.

–0–

Everything is amazing 
to eyes that see.

Eyes that see are amazing.

To SEE is to be stunned into silence.
So, we have to not-see 
in order to get around at all.

We have to close ourselves off from wonder
to find a toilet.
Or a clothes hanger.
Which, in themselves, are aspects/extensions of wonder.

We seal ourselves up with the ordinary
and customary to have a chance.
Lost in wonder
would wreck our life.

We would forget to eat,
and sleep.

We wouldn't last an hour,
certainly not a day.

But.

We have taken survival much too far.
Being blind, deaf and clueless
is no way to carry out the business
of being human,
which is to sing
and laugh
with joy and thanksgiving
for the wonder of life and being,
and to share the wonder with everyone
all of the time,
like children at the beach,
or in the sandbox in the backyard,
before someone gets the idea of MINE!

MINE! pretty well ends the party,
and war is introduced into the scheme of things.
And hatred...
You know the story.

We quickly create a world
where wonder stands no chance--
except for wondering,
"What the hell?" all the time.

What are we thinking?!

We have to QUIT thinking,
and breathe ourselves back to wonderment
and joy.

We have to reclaim the wonder of being alive
by sealing ourselves off
from the world of noise/complexity/
drama/trauma of MINE!
And opening ourselves to the wonder of WOW!
at the very idea of LIFE and living
and tadpoles
and trampolines
and all the rest--
allowing all of it,
ourselves included,
to become, as it were,
"Transparent to Transcendence"
(Joseph Campbell),
and live in the company
of the radiance of life and being
throughout the time left for living.

–0–

"Grace" is another term for "good luck,"
"good fortune."

We all are graced by the minute,
by the second.

Everything is a coincidence,
an accident of time and place.

Every photograph is a miracle,
that we should be there, then, 
with a camera is always amazing.

What were the chances?
Who could have planned it?
Things just work out that way.

Every day is crammed with experiences
of benevolence and grace,
of place and timing.

The more aware of it we become,
the more stunned by it we are.
Who can believe it?

Yet, here is the real stunner:
We all take it for granted,
to the point where we don't see it,
where we give it no mind!

We walk through wonder,
marvels, miracles every day,
unseeing because we take it for granted!

Start paying attention to the coincedences
in a day!

To the encounters with grace and good fortune!

You will soon come to the conclusion 
that grace is the foundation of our lives.
We could not live without it!
And we do not have to!
It is everywhere all the time,
just like the air we breathe.
We are buoyed up by grace,
like corks on the water,
like leaves in the wind!

–0–