Photography is being where the photos live
and waiting for them to appear.

I stalk photographs
like a leopard stalks a warthog.

I troll for photographs
the way shrimpers troll for shrimp.

I get up early
to be in place before sunrise,
and stay out late 
to catch afterglow following sunset.

I wait, and wait, and wait,
for the wind to stop,
for the tourists to leave,
for the tide to come in
or withdraw.

Or did, before age caught up with me
and announced curfew.

My knees no longer allow
the airplane position,
which is also the driving/riding position,
and my yin for another moon rise
is supplanted by the desire
for an early dinner
and a book by the fireplace.

The idea of sunrise is met with
side-eyes and,
"Really? Another sunrise?"

I am soon to have a hammock hanging
in the back yard,
where inflammation in my joints
will appreciate my feet 
being above my heart,
with a camera resting in my lap
in case a bird comes to the feeder
or a rabbit hops into view,
or a deer strolls by,
or a wild turkey pays a call,
and I let the picture come to me.

–0–

Wu Wei is action without effort,
doing without thinking,
without striving,
without trying.

"Do or do not!" said Yoda,
"There is no TRY!"

That is Wu Wei,
doing or doing not
as required by the moment,
by the here/now.

That is how we live in every moment.
Being wholly "of the moment"
as one "thus come"
right here,
right now,
as though we were "plopped"
into the moment with no warning,
without being briefed,
without rehearsing,
practicing,
or planning 
without knowing what's what,
just seeing/hearing here/now
and responding without knowing
what we are doing,
yet doing exactly what needs to be done,
"out of nowhere." 

Being so attuned to the moment
that our response to the moment
is like a shortstop fielding 
a hard grounder
and turning a double play.

The right action at the right time
in the right place in the right way,
"of itself."

We do things like that all of the time.
The dishwasher goes on
while we are taking a shower
and we automatically adjust
the hot water accordingly,
without thinking,
just doing the right thing
at the right time in the right way.

Spontaneously,
in response to the moment.

We can do it,
and we can trust ourselves 
to do it.

Time after time.

We are made that way.

But we have to be like the spirit
that is like the wind
blowing where it will.

No contrivance.
No scheming.
No agenda.

Just seeing/hearing/doing.

In each situation as it arises.

Adjusting the hot water automatically
throughout the day.

–0–

On a large enough scale,
nothing we do matters,
and on a small enough scale,
everything we do matters.

I recommend living small.
Live on the level
where our next breath
counts for something!

Live on the level
where what we think
determines,
or, at least, strongly influences,
what we do,
and where what we do
determines,
or strongly influences,
what happens next,
and where what happens next
determines,
or strongly influences,
our our present circumstances
impact the development
of the conditions and circumstances
that flow naturally,
spontaneously,
from the present conditions and circumstances,
and "For the want of a nail,
a horse was lost,
and for the want of a horse,
a rider was lost,
and for the want of a rider 
the battle was lost,
and for the want of the battle,
the war was lost,
all for the want of a nail."
(13th century proverb)

It matters how we live,
what we think,
what we do,
who and how we are.

It matters that we live
as though we are a nail--
and to realize that 
we are much more than that
in terms of our significance
to every situation as it arises.

Our place is to live as though it matters
in each situation as it arises.

If we are going to take anything on faith,
let it be this!

–0–

We live our way into the presence
of That Which Has Always Been Called God.

And no one can tell us exactly how to do that.
Those who know can tell us generally how to do it.
Joseph Campbell said,
"Follow your bliss."
That is as much as can be said.
Beyond that,
"The Tao that can be said/told/explained
is not the eternal Tao," (Lao Tzu).
"A path that can be discerned/designated
as The Path
is not a reliable path," (Martin Palmer).
"The path that is The Path/The Way
can only be recognized in hindsight," (Jim Dollar).

In other words,
we are on our own.
And,
"We get by with a little help
from our friends."

It helps to come together
with those who know what 
we are talking about
and talk of how it is going,
of what we know and don't know,
of what works for us 
and doesn't work for us,
etc.

A community of those seeking the way
can be helpful,
until someone thinks they know the way
and begins to tell others what they 
should be doing,
and should not be doing.

Those who know
know that they don't know.
And don't say more than,
"Try it and see what happens."

We are all different,
and we all have to live our way 
to the truth of who we are
and what is ours to do,
and no one can help us with that
beyond saying,
"I don't know your business!
Only you know your business!
Now empty yourself
and be still and quiet
until you know what you know!"

And I have a friend who likes
to say,
"Jim, I can't be empty/still/quiet
unless I'm playing the drums!"

We have to find our own way
even to emptiness, stillness and silence.

–0–

If you want to keep up with my other probing of reality, I'm also to be found at:
04/13/2023 – A

and:
https://www.clickasnap.com/jim-dollar

–0–

The path to transcendence
is called the Tao.

It is that simple
and that complex.

Transcendence is the heart of the matter.
"The Tao that can be said 
is not the eternal Tao"
(Lao Tzu).

"The path that can be discerned as a path
is not a reliable path"
(Martin Palmer).

Which means that the path to transcendence/Tao
can only be discerned in hindsight
(Jim Dollar).

We cannot know beforehand
what we are doing,
we can only reflect 
on what we have done,
come to new realizations,
make adjustments and accommodations,
and press on
with our Sisyphean task
of making sense out of 
the entire experience of life,
in a "When I do this,
that happens," kind of way.

We do best, I think,
when we consciously take up
the path to transcendence/Tao
and live with our eyes open 
in each situation as it arises.

This living with our eyes open
is what the Buddha was talking about
with "Enlightenment."

Clarity,
realization,
awakening,
waking up,
turning the light around,
seeing/hearing/knowing/understanding,
etc.,
are all metaphors for the same experience.

And what we know when we know
what all who have known have known
is that we are walking the path
of transcendence/Tao.

It is an age-old path.
It has been around from the very first.
The Shamans of lore lead the way,
and their way was replaced by,
of course, the organized religion
of the day--
which was, of course, produced
by the organized priesthood 
of the day--
the same exact sequence of events
that were enacted between the death of Jesus
and the arising of the Holy Catholic Church,
with orthodoxy killing/burning at the stake/
torturing/hunting down/stamping out
the Gnostics with their gnosis  
which translates simply as
"the knowledge of spiritual mysteries" (Google),
not by way of theology,
but by way of the direct experience
of transcendence/Tao/The Holy/etc. in our life.

Orthodoxy cannot bear the competition
of Gnostics/gnosis/gnosticism 
because orthodoxy would have no basis
for existence
if everybody had the same access 
to direct transcendental experience,
and then what would the priests
do for a living?

The Gnostics/gnosis/gnosticism 
were driven underground,
where truth always goes
when the times are not safe for truth,
and here we are.

The times are calling for a resurrection
of gnosis/gnosticism
because of the failure of organized religion
(Orthodoxy) to provide anything substantive
to ground and direct us 
in our confrontation with the madness and insanity
of the day-to-day.

The path of transcendence/Tao
has been dealing in balance and harmony
from the first Shaman to right here, right now.
That's where life is to be found,
"New life, abundant life," as has been said,
"spilling over, pouring out, as living water
for all who are dying of thirst
for the grounding substance
for facing what is to be faced
and doing what needs to be done
in each situation as it arises
all our life long.

–0–

We are being swept up in global fear
produced by the extreme right
who are always afraid of everything.

For sixty years or so, the members of the extreme right
have been filling the airways and media outlets
with their fear of The Complete Loss Of Everything,
and how Our Enemies Are Everywhere And Are Coming
To Take Our Guns Away!!!

That constant wailing and casting about takes its toll,
and the snowball gathers momentum.
Fear is a great self-perpetuating "See! See! They Are Coming!!!"
machine.
Once someone becomes afraid,
their fear is infective
and an epidemic/pandemic/plague of fear
steamrolls reason and logic
and the Lemmings rush to the sea
to get away from Gribbly Monster that is chasing them,
threatening their lives
(They would run forever if the sea did not get in their way).

The Far Right is a mass of Lemmings 
on their way to the sea,
carrying everyone with them worldwide.

Fear is self-destructive
and our best way of dealing with it
is to not be afraid of it,
or anything.

Here is the deep truth of existence spelled out clearly
for the Cosmos to recognize and embrace:

We are in control of very little,
and are at the mercy of merciless things
at every point of our way through our life.
Earthquake! Flood! Fire! Famine! Etc.!
come out of nowhere at any time to sweep us away.
The only thing we control
is our response to being out of control.

Don't let it bother you.
Anything can happen at any time, so what?
We are all going to die,
why let it matter?
What is the big F-ing Deal?

(The "F" in "F-ing," by the way,
stands for "Flick,
as in what we do when we flick a fly, say,
off our sleeve,
as if to say, "Get out of here! I have no time for you!
Go away! NOW!"
An "F-ing deal," is no deal at all,
because, "So what? Who cares? What difference does it make
anyway?
If they take our guns away?
When have our guns ever done anything for us?
Or ever will?"
Our guns only foster the illusion of control!
The only safe place is the heart and mind
of those who have no need of being in control,
but can be completely at peace and unperturbed
by anything
because they have learned the secret
of caring about not caring,
and know just when to not care about the things
they can't do anything about.

–0–

All bad religion is about theology 
and all theology comes down to opinion about hearsay.

All good religion is grounded on experience,
and comes down to what Harlan Howard said about country music:
"Three cords and the truth."

We don't have to believe anything in good religion.
We don't have to take anything on faith.
"Three cords and the truth" are just there,
as "One thus come,"
and cannot be denied.

Of course, truth is denied
all the time by those
who have eyes and don't see,
who have ears and don't hear,
and who cannot be shown or told the truth,
but have to live their way there,
though it take a thousand life times,
or longer.

When it is never more difficult than
turning the light around,
and making a slight shift in perspective
that allows us to see what has always been so,
as with the magic of optical illusions,
and the wonder of experiencing something
that is "transparent to transcendence."

Keep living.
Keep looking.
Keep listening.
Keep waiting for the shift
that turns the light around
and everything falls into place
as a radiant marvel unsurpassed
and everlasting
at last.