Jim Dollar's Photography and Philosophy

The winter months will offer a glimpse of winters to come
as the impact of global warming becomes an irreversible reality,
as most realities are. 

And how we respond to an experience
is more important than the impact of the experience. 
We pick ourselves up
and do what? 

Everything hinges upon that,
hangs on that,
flows from that.

Practice your comebacks
until you are pleased with the way
they say who you are in the face of anything,
everything.

It is called "Being as ready as we can be
for the unknown that is on the way."

–0–

There is no way 
of securing,
of devising and nailing in place,
the kind of world we would like to live in.

Fascists are everywhere all of the time,
and have been from the start.

The American Revolution established
our independence from England,
but the fascists were at our side
through the fight and following it
to this very day.

Ridding ourselves of the fascists
is ridding ourselves of our father,
and, perhaps, mother.
Of our Uncle Carl,
and our brother Mark,
our niece Betty
and our cousin Lois...

There is no end to the line
of fascists opposed to our idea
of how things ought to be.

And fascists don't play fair.
Gerrymandering and packing the courts,
buying US Senators and Representatives
with hefty donations for becoming
shadow fascists...
the list is insanely wrong and long,
and everyone becomes a potential enemy
in the making.

Try living there and liking it.
And realizing there is everywhere
and we can't get away from it.
It is as though we are are Russian citizens
in Russia,
or Chinese citizens in China,
or South American citizens practically 
anywhere in South America..

The world is becoming fascist as we sneeze and breathe.
And the world is suffering from the fascists
wielding power throughout the world.

The world is coming to an end again,
as it has done countless times
throughout its existence,
only it is more intense this time,
and more unified in its
"Say goodbye to Liberty, Justice, Equality, Truth,
because fascism has won
and is coming for you in one way or another!"

And hope has been reduced to a rock
we carry in our hearts
and a wish for deliverance
we drag with us along the way. 

–0–

Yin/Yang is a Taoist symbol
representing the power of contradictions
when they are perceived, 
not as polarities,
but as partners.

All of our dichotomies are false dichotomies!
All of our contradictions are, in fact, complementaries!

Rumi said, "Darkness is the cradle of light."
There you have it.

Opposites befriend one another,
they do not cancel each other out,
or offset each other,
or negate the impact of the other.

Where would electricity be without opposing poles?
Where would we be without the opposites within
enabling us to exhibit the amazing combinations
that make us us?

When we embrace our contraries, 
within and without,
we expand our base of experience
and enlarge our circle of influence
by embracing all we are
and allowing that to enable us to 
enhance our weaker functions
and rounding ourselves out
in light of all that we are
in a "this is who I am,
and this is also who I am,"
kind of way,
rather than trying to overcompensate
for what we take to be negative about us
and overstating what we take to be positive.

Our contraries bring us forth
when we accept them for what they are,
and enable us to be who we are fully capable of being
in situations that call for all we have to offer.

–0–

We are all connected by the silence
and our imagination.
Just sitting in the stillness,
emptying ourselves of all concerns,
thoughts, emotions
by being aware of them 
without being attached to them,
in a "that, too, that, too" kind of way,
allows our imagination to come to life
in the silence
and lead the way to communion with,
and participation in,
"the other side of silence,"
which is astir with all
that needs our attention.

Our place is to be open
to what is called for,
beckoning to us,
calling our name--
to be available without intention
or purpose
and see what appears/emerges/occurs to us,
and where it goes.

Conversations within and around the circle
can happen in this way,
and we find we are never alone
in the silence,
and are able to find exactly what we need
to face what must be faced,
to bear what must be borne
and to do what needs to be done
in the here/now
of each situation as it arises
throughout the day
and all the circumstances 
that come about
in the time left for living.

It is like having access to the Elder Wand,
and to discover that we ARE the Elder Wand
in disguise,
hidden away,
waiting for the appropriate moment
to step forth
and be what is needed here/now
to our amazement,
yet again.

–0–

Everybody sees things differently,
and everybody thinks they see things as they are.

People with something to sell--
commercially,
politically,
ecclesiastically,
personally...--
use the power of persuasion
and deception
to secure agreement among their clientele,
but it is a charade,
a game,
a lie.

And it robs us of our fundamental/foundational right
to our own point of view.

One of the oldest Old Testament commandments
that failed to make the Top Ten
states:
"Thou Shalt Not Remove Thy Neighbor's Landmark!"

Which is violated in 10,000 
(A number representing infinity)
ways every day.

What sets "Thy Neighbor" off from everyone else
is their point of view.
Their way of seeing.
Their way of interpreting/evaluating the world
and their place in it.

To attempt to convince them 
of how they should see
instead of enabling them to see--
and appreciate--
the multitudinous possibilities
of recognizing the multiplicity
within the perceptive range of options
available to everyone at any time,
is to violate their inalienable right
to their own opinions regarding
what's what and how things are
in each situation as it arises,
and also robs them of their responsibility
for wrestling with the contradictions,
polarities, paradoxes, contraries, etc.,
that are inherent in the work to say
anything about the truth of everything,
in that everything is both this way
and that way and that way over there
at the same time all the time 
everywhere,
and nothing definitive and absolute
can be said about any of it ever.

It is all like the spirit that is like the wind
that blows where it will
and cannot be pinned down, 
or penned in,
or locked up,
or nailed in place
just as it is
forever.

And a perspective 
that fails to take itself into account
is a facade.

–0–

What makes us think
that the way we think
is the way to think?

What makes us think
that the way we see
is the way to see?

What makes us think
that what we want
is what we ought to want?

What makes us think
that what we do
is what needs to be done?

What makes us think
that the way we live
is the way to live?

What makes us think
that the way we are
is the way we should be?

Yet, we insist on all of it
like we know what we are doing!

We need to turn the light around
on all levels at once.

That is what repentance
and penitence are all about.

–0–

Theology is merely strong opinion about hearsay.

Theology, doctrine, dogma and creeds
never helped anyone with their life.
And have heavily disrupted, demolished and destroyed 
the lives of countless innocents
throughout the world.

The crusades, witch hunts and the wanton destruction
of indigenous cultures over time
are but a small sampling of the evil 
christian churches/people are capable of. 

They are a burden and a curse
upon those who already "weak and heavy-laden,"
and their actions make them 
the bane of Jesus and all he stood for.
Eternal hell would be 
like standing in a corner
in light of what they deserve.

But. Here we are.
And, the church is not capable 
of waking up and mending its ways--
or of even acknowledging the truth 
of its ways.

So. We leave it with what it has done
and failed to do,
and give it wide berth
on our way to knowing what's what
and doing what needs to be done about it,
when, where and how it needs to be done,
in each situation as it arises
no matter what
all our life long.

–0–

Discontent is good for the economy
and politics
as long as it doesn't spill over
into terrorist activity or war.

There is such a fine balance
between having it made
and having nothing at all.

Life itself is a fine balance.
And the pendulum is always swinging
between not enough and too much of something.
Enough is not a steady state of being
across the board
around the table.

Balance and harmony are forever 
coming and going like the tides
and the seasons,
trying our patience,
testing our will
until we cry out,
"Enough is enough!"
Of too much and too little!

We ache for things to be just right 
all the time--
and that, we hope,
is what heaven is for,
with hell being nothing right ever.

Learning to live between abundance
and deficit 
is letting things be as they are,
no matter what
for however long it takes
to get use to the idea
that this is it
and it is fine
just as it is.

–0–

Waiting for the light to show the way
is waiting for the mud to settle
and the water to clear.

And is the essential feature
of the spiritual journey.
Which is not much of a journey at all,
merely waiting
to see what is called for,
what needs to be done,
in each situation as it arises
and then doing it,
no matter what, 
day by day,
our entire life long.

We can believe anything we want to believe
as long as it enables us to do 
what needs to be done
here/now
day by day.

Doing here/now
is being here/now
day by day.

The old Gnostics had a saying,
"One book opens another."
Action leads to realization
realization leads to action
and that is the spiritual journey.

Waiting/Seeing/Hearing/Knowing/Doing
all the way.

–0–

Jesus was killed for 
calling out the establishment.
So was John the Baptist.
And the Gnostics.

The Taoists and the Buddhists
didn't call anyone out
and lived their life to its natural end
in the company of poverty and AUMMMmmmm... 

How things are is not how they ought to be.

What are we going to do about that?
Money gets to say what ought to be but.
There is in-fighting even there,
and wars are fought over who gets to say
what ought to be
with the winner taking all for a while.

Leaving us to fall into the Is/Ought To Be fracas 
as well as we can
given the nature of our circumstances.
Carving out our own sense of the Ought To Be,
within the options available to us
and letting that be that
because it is.

It would be different if it could be,
but "this" is always the best we can do 
with what we have to work with
within the times at hand.

It is called "Making our peace
with the way things are,"
in the sense of,
"This is the way things are,
and this is what we can do about it,
and that is the way things are,"
kind of way.

How are you coming along with that?
What would be helpful?
I think all I need is a sounding board,
which is a role you provide.

I get to talk things out with you,
but who do you get to talk things out with?

Talking things out is essential.
We have to articulate how things are with us
in order to hear what we are saying
and adjust our perspective and our perception
as necessary to take the allness of our situation
into account.

How do we see what we look at?
How do we look at what we see?
How does what we believe
impact what things mean?
How does what things mean 
serve/transform what we believe?

We have to talk things out to know.
We have to SAY where meaning comes from,
where our beliefs originate,
what our perceptions are
how our perspective fits into all of this
and who says so.

A sounding board is a vital aspect
of seeing/hearing/knowing/understanding/doing/being.

Who are you talking to?
Who is listening to what you have to say?
Make sure that you are!
And see where it leads, where it goes.

That's all we have to work with
in coming to terms with how things are,
and doing what can be done about it,
and letting that be what it is
because it is,
which changes our relationship with it,
and transforms our world,
just by talking things out.

–0–

The circumstances we have to work with
are just what they are.
What we do with them,
in response to them
is all that matters.

We have Donald Trump and his mindless masses
to deal with.
It is no worse than what Jesus
had to deal with.
Or John the Baptist.
Or Mother Teresa.
Or any of the Saints In Light.

We, like they did, get up each day
and do what is called for therein,
and let that be that
because tomorrow is coming,
and we have to let
"Each day's own trouble 
be sufficient for the day,"
in doing what needs to be done there,
day after day.

We can't bother about what our chances are,
or what good we are doing,
or whether it matters or not.

It is not our place to worry about such things.
Our place is to see what's what here and now
and to do what needs to be done about it
and let that be that
because another moment is already upon us
and we have to do it again, 
then and there,
which needs what we have to offer again,
here, now.

As it has always been done
by those who have gone before us,
and as it will be done
by those who come after us.

So, we step into what faces us
and give it our best.

Every day.
For as long as there are days.
As children of light
in the darkness that cradles us
and invites us to shine, boldly shine,
no matter what.

–0–

Things aren't what they need to be
because somebody doesn't want them that way.
We all want things to be
the way we want them to be,
and we want them to be different ways
right now.

Arranging things the way they ought to be
would be a matter of getting rid 
of everything with an opinion
of how they ought to be.

Opinions get in the way.
In my opinion.

Living with no opinion in any matter
is the quickest way to contentment
and satisfaction.

Should be a law:
No caring about the wrong things!
In my opinion.

And, No opinions ever about anything!
In my opinion.

Opinions run,
and ruin,
the show.
Every show.

Theology is nothing more
than a collection of opinions
about hearsay.

The world is built on opinions.
They are the foundation of everything.
In my opinion.

I don't know how we get rid of them.
I'll show you yours
if if you will show me mine.
Maybe that would work.

Probably, it would lead to more war.

All war is over disagreements in opinions.
So are all denominations.
That list has no end.
In my opinion.

–0–