What do you think this wall once said? OWL is all I can read. I wonder what that refers to, what else is buried under the words. They have been lost in time.
I am lacking in words today. I woke up without them. Not in a frantic “Where have the words gone?” kind of way, but in an observational, bucket-is-empty kind of way.
Perhaps it means I’ve been using too many words lately, and it’s time to take in more. Perhaps it means it’s time to listen.
What is my fascination with locked doors? I’ve been photographing them for a good long while. I especially love the ones with evidence of multiple locks over time, like this one from Jacksonville, Oregon. All locked up tight, keeping something inside safe. Or keeping something from getting out? It’s hard to know. The lock protects both sides.
I’m starting to wonder if these locked doors aren’t an analogy for something greater for me. Is there more locked up inside myself that needs to be opened up? This creative journey of mine has been one of layers. Layers drifting open, unfurled, blasted away… perhaps now unlocked. I’m trying to find the key.
Today’s post is a Photo-Heart Connection, touching me deeply with a message from my heart. Sometimes these messages come unbidden, you don’t have to go searching for them. You look at the photo and know there is something there. The more you practice with this concept, the easier it becomes to touch the connection. It doesn’t mean that it’s easy to feel though – today’s post leaves me a bit emotional, with the knowledge that there is more work to come around the idea of being unlocked.
The link up for February’s Photo-Heart Connection is still open, through the 7th. I hope that you will consider joining in, sharing your Photo-Heart Connection and journey with us. You will find a wonderful and supportive community here!
We are still studying windows in Exploring with a Camera, and this week I realized I neglected to mention one important way I use windows in my photos: As an anchor.
I love the texture of walls, but having an image of a textured wall without any other context is not so interesting. Including a piece of a window, door or some other architectural element helps provide context. The corner of the window in the image below “anchors” the wall in reality, so you know what you are looking at.
I’ve enjoyed seeing the windows shared so far! Have you had a chance to explore windows yet? You have another week to join in!
A few days ago, I had my Twitter account hacked. I could have kicked myself, because after the fact I realized that I was a willing participant to the hacking. After living in a world of internet spam, with all of the suspicious emails, tweets and blog comments I see all the time, I finally fell for one. Ouch. A blow to the pride for sure, but it taught me a thing or two about myself. About trust and belief.
So, how did this happen? First, I got a direct message from someone I know. I don’t follow a huge number of people on twitter, and while some of them are big names who don’t know me from the next person, many of them are people I’ve interacted with online or in person. This message came from someone I know, have met in person and exchanged emails with. A friend. So the first step in my downfall was receiving the message from someone I trust. It gave it a credibility it otherwise wouldn’t.
The second, and more insidious piece, is how I believed the message. I’ve never fallen for wiring money to Africa, or making thousands of dollars working from home, or the latest pharmaceutical scam. But this message preyed upon my vulnerability, saying, “You seen what this person is saying about you? {Link} terrible things.” I believed it. I clicked the link, “logged in” to twitter and willingly gave up my password. Why? Because I’ve always had this underlying fear that sometime, somewhere, someone was going to say terrible things about me on the Internet. It has to just be a matter of time, when you put yourself out there publicly like this, right? I realize now this wasn’t just a fear they preyed upon, I carried it around so long it became a belief. I have been sure that it would happen. Steeling myself against the day when it would come. So in my head I said, “Yep, it’s finally happened.” And I clicked the link.
I have to admit the smarts of these hackers, preying on our trust and belief like this. I have to admit chagrin, that I’m not as savvy against hackers as I thought. The hackers only took advantage so far. My own belief helped them the rest of the way.
I apologize if you got the same twitter message from me this week, I hope you saw it for what it was and didn’t click the link. I hate to think that I might have lost the trust of others in this way. But I did learn one important lesson out of all of this. I’ve been carrying around a belief that needs to go. No one has said terrible things about me yet. Maybe someone will someday, maybe they won’t. There is no point in believing it will happen. That just makes me vulnerable, to my own insecurities and hackers alike.
That is a really good question…
Do you like surprises? Or do you want to know what is going to happen?
There is a part of me that delights in surprises. The kind of surprises that are truly a surprise – where you had no idea it was coming. At all. This could be a surprise in an image, as you look closer. It could be a surprise twist in a book, that takes the plot to an unexpected place. A surprise letter in the mail, or a package you weren’t expecting. I love those kinds of surprises.
I also hate surprises. If it’s something big, like a trip or an event, I like to plan. I like to anticipate. It’s half of the fun. If you spring a trip on me at the last minute, I will probably have fun, but I will have lost out on some of my enjoyment by the loss of anticipation. It also might mess up other plans I made, without knowing about the surprise. I don’t usually like “event” surprises.
I enjoy giving surprises, when I have a good idea. You know those ideas that are perfect for someone? Where everything clicks and you just KNOW that is what you need to do and they will love it? These kind of ideas can be few and far between but they are the ones I have to act upon when they come to me. But it can’t be all the time, that’s too much pressure. When the ideas don’t come, that’s what wish lists are for. Thank goodness for wish lists!
I guess I don’t have a good answer to the question, “To surprise or not to surprise.” Sometimes yes, sometimes no. How about you?
Today’s Many Muses Musing prompt is SURPRISE. Tomorrow’s prompt is WONDER. Come on over and join in!
You never know what odds and ends you are going to find, as you wander around. Like these milk containers, spotted around southern Oregon – a truly American thing! I didn’t see one of these around Europe. Or maybe I needed to go further into the countryside to find them.
I have a few odds and ends to share here too:
That’s enough about odds and ends from me, do you have any odds and ends to share? Leave a comment if you do!
