Hope impacts our internal narrative acting like the aperture of a camera’s lens controlling the amount of light reaching the film. It makes us more resourceful, fuels our resilience and strengthens our resolve. We might not have the ability to alter the scene but we can change our perspective.
True contentment is felt when we recognize all of the many moments of grace and providence which lead us to come full circle and fulfill our intention. We are at peace because we're given meaning to our experience, no matter how painful the journey was in getting there.
the truest, most authentic self is only revealed in isolation. For me, the social self is a mask. The photographs collected here are, simply put, a record of my attempt to penetrate the mask and expose some glimmer of the mystery beneath.
I have also found that the true authentic self is often revealed in those raw moments in your life involving your Heart where something is lost - a relationship through a breakdown or a death. A Tear is often a manifestation of the true authentic self because there is nothing left - no masks, no filters. In those moments of loss, before, during and after, the true authentic self is most often revealed, as it should be. For it not to be, might show great resilience in character and [maybe] a Heart of Stone, but this will only magnify and potentially extend the grieving and bereavement process that should follow any significant loss.
There is a beauty (if you are prepared to look at life this way) to the process, it's rawness and what it reveals in character. It shows you are living and experiencing a meaningful life in all its extremes. I have thought that my photography could - and to some extent it has already (and when I think about it as I write these words, it is the very reason I bought my first small digital camera way back Dec 2000) - pursue this direction. They are often markers and important references in your life as you move forward. I have found great comfort in my photographs.
It captures much of what I have felt, thought or had to consider during the last 21 Months and it does feel a bit like the Beautiful Day lyrics above, particularly:
Grief needs to be expressed in some way – either privately or with witnesses, in order to heal. [..]
Some people say that suffering is a private matter because..
It’s important to avoid embarrassment and rejection by your tribe
It’s important to protect the parts of yourself that are most vulnerable
It’s important to protect other people from pain
It’s important to take your pain to “professionals” who know how to deal with it
During grieving, it’s important to tune out external influences and tune into your own inner wisdom
It’s important not to focus on your suffering in a public way because what you focus on grows
[..]
On the other hand, some people say that suffering can be more easily negotiated when it’s out in the open because:
Keeping your suffering private engenders self-judgment, shame, loneliness and pain
Sharing your suffering brings people together
Sharing your suffering facilitates healing
Sharing your suffering promotes resilience – in yourself and others
[..] the benefits of sharing your suffering with empathic people are incredibly powerful! It’s scary to share about our suffering, but I don’t want to miss out on such powerful benefits and opportunities for healing!
Have come a long way since the first day of the rest of my life back on Wed 01 Jul 2009. Thought I would capture a photo just now so that I can remember this day, which also just happens to be the 21st Anniversary since the first time that Jenny and I went out to dinner together and to see a Movie Look Who's Talking.
Geoff - 21 Months Down the Track - Alexandria (0:16am Wed 30 Mar 2011)
Geoff - "an early start for the first day of the rest of my life - 'where do you start?'" - Alexandria - 7am Wed 01 Jul 2009 (picasa)
Beautiful Day Lyrics
The heart is a bloom Shoots up through the stony ground There's no room No space to rent in this town
You're out of luck And the reason that you had to care The traffic is stuck And you're not moving anywhere
You thought you'd found a friend To take you out of this place Someone you could lend a hand In return for grace
It's a beautiful day Sky falls, you feel like It's a beautiful day Don't let it get away
You're on the road But you've got no destination You're in the mud In the maze of her imagination
You love this town Even if that doesn't ring true You've been all over And it's been all over you
It's a beautiful day Don't let it get away It's a beautiful day
Touch me Take me to that other place Teach me I know I'm not a hopeless case
See the world in green and blue See China right in front of you See the canyons broken by cloud See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out See the Bedouin fires at night See the oil fields at first light And see the bird with a leaf in her mouth After the flood all the colors came out
It was a beautiful day Don't let it get away Beautiful day
Touch me Take me to that other place Reach me I know I'm not a hopeless case
What you don't have you don't need it now What you don't know you can feel it somehow What you don't have you don't need it now Don't need it now Was a beautiful day