Kat Eye Studio

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Power of Ordinary People

Lasting changes and improvements are made through the cumulative effects of individual actions. Heroic figures grasp the opportunities of movements and perform in a way that catches the imagination of a civilization and mobilizes a collective response, be even these actions ultimately receive their power from the responses of ordinary people.
— Shaun McNiff in Trust the Process

“Ordinary people.” Hey, that’s us.
“Individual actions.” We do this every day.

Is there power in the individual actions of ordinary people? I believe there is. I believe that each of us, through what we create each day, bring something of value to the world. In countless tiny ways, we create the existence around us. Artistic creation is but one aspect of the lives we create each day.

A while ago I received this quote on my Yogi tea bag, “Our thoughts are forming the world.” I set it aside, I didn’t get it at the time. I mean really, the world is made up of things not thoughts, my logical mind protested. Sometime later I realized that all of these things around us, with the exception of nature, began as thoughts. Someone thought they could create a light bulb. Someone thought they could capture light with chemicals, and later with electronic circuits, to create a camera. Someone thought they would build a building, or a town, or a country. Our world is changed, formed, by thoughts which begin in the minds of individuals.

It’s not just the big invention-type thoughts that matter though, those are only tangible examples to show the concept that things start as thoughts. For everything we do, our actions start as thoughts. Our practice of creativity helps to form those thoughts, helps to link ideas in new ways. Our practice of creativity gives us power: new ideas lead to new actions which change the world within or around us in a million tiny ways.

“Every one of us has something distinct to offer to the all-encompassing process of creativity,” McNiff goes on to say later in the book. Do you see how it is true? McNiff wrote his book, I read it today and re-interpret it here, you read and re-interpret it again. You think about it, form your own opinion. Each connection, each thought, is part of the overall creative process.

A creative process which is available to ordinary people. Sparking change which begins and ends with ordinary people. People like you and me.

Consider your power, as an ordinary person taking individual action, no matter how big or small. How will you use it today?

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The Green Door

Life has an interesting way of presenting us with choices. Sometimes they don’t feel like choices, but they are choices nonetheless. I was reminded yesterday, as I gave choices to my son. Choose different behavior, or lose computer privileges. Guess what he chose? Yeah, no computer time for him this week. Somehow, it’s my fault that he lost his computer time. Those of you who are parents will understand how this conversation goes. We had quite a bit of discussion about this topic, the rest of the afternoon. The afternoon that we planned to go out exploring as a family, looking for interesting things in our area to see and do. We still went out on the excursion, but there was a cloud of discontent hanging in the backseat.

Nonetheless, it wasn’t raining and it was a beautiful afternoon outside. I found some interesting things to photograph, and being out and about with my camera kept me calm and cool. I was excited to find this interesting green building, in the tiny town of Harrisburg, south of Corvallis. Even more interesting, was the green door of the green building. The shapes, color and subtle texture were fun to compose.

I have this sneaking suspicion though, that this image of the green door is always going to remind me of the day that I truly realized that teenager-hood is just around the corner. That parenting through the next few years is going to be so much harder than it has been up to now. That the choices I’m making now will affect what my son learns about how to navigate the world around him as an adult. Whether or not he learns to connect the dots: Regardless of what life presents you, you always have a choice in how you respond.

We all have to learn this lesson. Maybe again and again, for some of us. Somehow, this simple image of the green door is always going to remind me: When life presents us with a challenge, we always have the choice in how we respond.

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Where I Am

Whoever you are
whatever you are
start with that,
whether salt
of the earth
or only
white sugar.
— Alice Walker

I picked up a sort-of new book this morning, Open Mind: Women’s Daily Inspiration for Becoming Mindful. After finishing Sarah Ban Breathnach’s Simple Abundance in 2010 I have been searching for another “daily meditation” type of book that would inspire me through the year. I’m terrible at reading these types of books daily, actually. I tend to pick them up every so often and read a week’s worth of entries, if they capture my attention. Some never stick with me at all. So I started this new book in early January but hadn’t kept up with it.

I found myself reaching for it this morning, and the quote above is where I started. Appropriate, no? It was as if the book was saying, “I forgive you, don’t worry about reading me daily, you’ll get what you need.”

I took today’s message to heart. Start wherever you are, with who you are, and move forward. We can all change from there. If we don’t acknowledge our starting point, accept where and who we are in this moment, are we really able to make fundamental changes in our lives? Will we see the good of ourselves in the future, after the change, if we don’t see the good in ourselves today?

We may not yet be where we want to be, the “salt of the earth” as Ms. Walker calls it, but there is value, still, in where we are, even as “white sugar.”

Whether it’s in your photography or your life, start today by accepting where you are. Spend a moment to appreciate who you are, right here and right now. Acknowledge the value that already resides within you.

That’s what I’m doing this morning. Maybe tomorrow I’ll work my way onward and outward. Today appreciating myself for where I am, with all of my quirks and imperfections, is enough.

PS – Only two days to the first Photo-Heart Connection link up! Are you getting ready?

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The Tao of Photography

I’m a bit sad this morning, because I finished a good book, Tao of Photography: Seeing Beyond Seeing. I enjoy my contemplative reading in the morning, with a cup of Hot Cinnamon Spice tea. It’s even better when it’s an inspirational book related to photography like this one. I hated to see it end.

The book equated what the authors call “conscious camerawork” with the principles of the Taoist philosophies of Chuang-Tzu. While I have not studied these principles before, I have found that my approach to photography fits much of what they describe: Photography as a way to be more conscious in the world; a way to be in the moment, even a form of meditation.

I’ve thought of photography as meditation before. I’ve tried traditional meditation once or twice, attempted to sit and clear my mind of thoughts, but did not have much success. Yet when I am in the moment with my camera, my mind is clear. My presence is wholly there. I see things differently. Ordinary can become extraordinary.

Case in point, this image showing the detail of a painted newspaper box contrasted with a tile wall. It took working the scene with my camera to notice the details of the handpainting. To see the contrast of the color, the lines and the textures. A moment of meditation, finding an amazing detail in the every day world. How had I not seen this before? I had walked by here many times.

For me, photography is more about process than end result. I hesitate to admit the number of photos I take and don’t review. Or if I review, I don’t edit. Why? Because I got what I needed from the process at the time of capture. A brief moment of intentional consciousness, provided by the process of photography. That I get some wonderful images out of that process is a huge bonus, but not always the goal.

Tao of Photography talks a little bit about this, near the end:

Shocking as it may sound at first, the art of living and the meaning of life both lie in the sheer experience of beingness, and can be reached by simply allowing oneself to be and to relax into the ceaseless process of life. When a photographer comes to experience the intrinsic existential richness and beauty of life by practicing conscious camerawork, the goals of achieving artistic “perfection” and “immortality” may lose some of their appeal.

Maybe this is part of what I’m looking for with the photo-heart connection. It’s not about the end result, a perfect image, but the way I feel all the way through.

What about you? Is photography about process or end result for you?

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Trust and Belief: The Lessons of a Twitter Hacking

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.

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Lessons from Abroad: Focus your Thoughts, Focus your Energy

[Over a year ago I wrote the original Lessons from Abroad series. Since moving back to the US, I’ve found the lessons from living abroad have not abated; just changed. I’ve decided to continue this series with a periodic post on the new lessons as they crystallize for me.]

Venice, Italy

What’s on your mind? Have you thought about where your thoughts are spent? Maybe this Monday morning it’s planning out your week, or revisiting some great moment of the weekend. Maybe you are already into your workday, and your thoughts are on the job. Wherever your thoughts are going, that’s your focus. And wherever you focus, that’s where your energy goes.

This important concept is not new or novel, but it’s one that has been brought home to me in new ways since living in Italy and moving back to the US. I discovered there is nothing like removing yourself from your regular routine for an extended period of time, and then putting yourself back into that routine, to show you where you’ve been spending your thoughts, and consequently, your energy. While in Italy, I had the opportunity to change my thought patterns in unexpected ways. I stopped worrying about some things that had filled my thoughts on (I realize now) a regular basis, such as my weight and money, and created space for new thoughts to arrive. Thoughts about creativity, and photography. Thoughts that have fundamentally shifted my approach to life, and consequently, my focus and energy.

I’ll give a very personal example, that perhaps many of you will identify with: my weight. Since my high school years, I have thought and worried, and at times obsessed, about my weight. Watching what I ate, comparing my body to some unrealistic ideal, always falling short. Dieting, exercising, always keeping my eye on that number on the scale, the size of the clothes. If it was high, I would berate myself. If it was low, I would be full of happiness. The happiness only lasted for the moment… maybe days or months, until the number crept up again.

Then I moved to Italy. My weight had slowly been increasing for years before the move, a stressful job at work, and then preparing for an international move had triggered my stressful eating behaviors. So as we moved to Italy, I packed my “skinny clothes” with the intent to focus on losing weight after the move. I can remember the moment, early on in my time in Italy, when I consciously decided to not worry about it. I looked at those skinny clothes, and said, “To hell with it.” I was not going to spend my time in Italy worrying about what I ate, or my weight. I instinctively knew this would adversely affect my experience. I wanted to experience my life and travels during my time in Italy unfettered. Without the stress and baggage that losing weight would represent. So I put the skinny clothes on a top, unreachable shelf in the wardrobe and put the scale away.

For the first time in over twenty years, I lived without the constant thoughts about my weight. For the first time, my self-worth was not affected by the number on the scale. Sure, my weight increased a bit over the two years but it eventually plateaued. What I gained was so much more than a few pounds though. I gained the space in my thoughts to think of other things… to explore my experience deeply, to discover the call of art and creativity and to see myself in a new way – as an artist. I discovered an almost limitless energy available to me when I focused my thoughts in alignment with my heart. I found an energetic creativity that has touched everything I do, since.

I did not clearly recognize this relationship between my thoughts and my energy until I moved back to the US. You see, in Italy, there was so much going on, it was hard to sort out all of the influences that led to my personal creative renaissance. I had held off the thoughts around weight and other topics by telling myself I would deal with them when I returned home. So guess what happened when I returned home… they came back. Funny thing about thoughts like this coming up after a long absence: you notice them. They are obvious and clear, and felt so out of place in my “new” self. For a time, I succumbed to them. It was easy, part of my “living in Oregon” routine. Then at some point, in those first few months back I stopped and faced those uncomfortable thoughts and said, “I don’t want you anymore. I’ve lived without you for two years, and now I see I don’t need you.” The problem was, I didn’t have the wonderful distraction of living abroad to keep them at bay. This time, I had to deal with them at a fundamental level.

So, I’ve slowly but surely been figuring out ways to deal with these topics as they come up. I’ve had to face each one and find strategies to change my thought patterns. My experience in Italy helped, because I knew the value of letting those thoughts go. I now recognized that these thoughts were draining my energy. It hasn’t been easy though, to define new ways to think while living back here in the old place and routine. Behavior and thought pattern change is hard.

It is also worth it. Because I have learned that were I focus my thoughts, my energy will follow. I want my energy focused on creative things. I want my energy focused on art and photography and empowerment and connection. Things that bring value to my life and to those around me. I imagine you want those same things too.

As with all of my Lessons from Abroad, I hope that you will be able to learn from this lesson along with me. Here are a few ideas, to help you along:

  • Consider where you focus your thoughts.  Do you have any thought patterns that routinely come back to you? For me, a couple of trigger topics have always been weight and money.
  • Notice your thought patterns around a trigger topic you identify. How often are you thinking about this topic? What kind of thoughts come up, are they positive or negative? Can you see how they may be stealing your energy?
  • Try an experiment: For a few weeks tell yourself you are taking a break from this thought pattern. Give yourself a deadline. Then, set the thoughts aside and see what other things arise in that time frame. (You really can trick yourself into doing this, I know, because I did it for two years in Italy.) After your self-imposed deadline, see what happens. Do the thoughts come back? How do they feel to you? How did you feel during that hiatus period, without them?
  • Get help where you need it. Let’s face it, changing thought patterns is difficult and we may not be able to change some of these thought patterns on our own. They involve the people around us, and our interaction with society as a whole. Use all the resources available to you – books, friends, counselors, whatever. For my weight issues, I’ve discovered Intuitive Eating “>Intuitive Eating as a great fit for what I learned in Italy, so I’ve been reading and taking classes to consciously integrate a new approach to eating and weight.
  • Be clear on where you do want to focus your thoughts and your energy. It is much easier to say “no” to the thoughts you don’t want when you have thoughts you very much want to say “yes” to. For me, creativity and photography are so important to me, I don’t want any of these other thoughts diluting my energy. It makes it easier to deal with them. Changing my thoughts is no longer about being someone I think I should be, it’s about who I want to be. It’s a conscious and deliberate choice.

At the end of the day, all the matters is that each and everyone of us align our thoughts and our energy to our hearts. Imagine what our world would be like, if everyone did that. Right now, rather than changing the world, I’ll just settle for imagining my own life in this way.

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