The lodges in National Parks I’ve visited are always similar… rugged timber construction, fabulous locations and a place to sit and enjoy the view. There is always a row of chairs, rocking or otherwise, placed where you can sit and just be. Notice how they are empty? Not so many people take the time to do that. We keep busy. Have to see this, do that. Fill up our time.
I am struck by these images of inviting but empty chairs. Where are all the people? They were certainly around, but not sitting. I wasn’t sitting. The empty chairs perfectly highlight what I just read in The Practice of Contemplative Photography
[W]hy can’t we relax when we have nothing to do and enjoy a little bit of space in our lives? The problem is we are afraid of our own hearts. There are many, many things we haven’t wanted to look at. The heart is so sensitive, so ready to resonate with the world, that we keep it covered, fearing we won’t be able to stand being touched. It might be too intense. We might be overwhelmed. We can’t affort to open up, because who knows what we might feel. It seems safer to armor the heart, even if that shields us from the vitality of life… When you have nothing to do, whatever accumulated agitation, restlessness, or existential anxiety you might have begins to surface. You become aware of feelings that are normally submerged. Boredom is the forerunner of this distress and a signal that you should seek some diversion to hold your heart at bay.
This rings true… it’s hard to sit a while and just be. It’s hard to open that channel to our hearts. We don’t know what we might feel, so it’s better to keep it wrapped up safely and covered with all of our busy-ness. That’s why the Photo-Heart Connection has become so important to me and many others. It may not be sitting quietly with our selves while looking at a fabulous view, but it is a process that allows the heart to open. It allows us to feel the messages that are there for us, just under the armor we’ve created by filling our lives with things to do.
Today is the last day to link in to the Photo-Heart Connection for July. I invite you to sit a while today. Enjoy the view. Connect with your heart, and the hearts of others in some way. Join us.
Lovely pictures and lovely ruminations. I’m going to check out the photo-heart connection.
We’ve become so accustomed to the noise… it’s a shame we’ve become unable to just relax and enjoy a quiet moment.
Beautiful images. Such wise words, we are afraid of our hearts, I hadn’t thought of it like that before but it is true, when we are alone with ourselves and open to ourselves we can’t hide.
Sitting still – that is something that I have always struggled against. I am a “doer” Your words and the quote are definitely food for thought.
Thanks for providing this place where we can share images that have touched our hearts. I look forward to it every month.
We have so much in common Brenda, I am right there with you in the “doer” category. I’m so glad you look forward to the Photo-Heart Connection – I do too!!
I am a sitter, a thinker, a ponderer. For me the difficulty is in the expression of my thoughts and feelings. Photo-Heart Connection offers me the opportunity to try to put words to things that otherwise just float vaguely around inside my head. It does me good!
That is so good to know Lee! It’s love hearing that the Photo-Heart Connection works for people in different ways.