if there’s one thing that i’ve had plenty of opportunity to practice over the past few years it is learning to embrace the mystery. for someone like me who had always liked to chart her course and have a general plan to follow, the idea of giving in to the mysteries and vagaries of life has taken some getting used to. i’m learning, though, whether i always like it or not. one of the challenges inherent in riding out the swells of life has been my ability to maintain a commitment and focus on my creative work amidst what can be constant and chaotic upheaval. by nature i’m a great starter and a less great finisher, but with the number of interruptions that have occurred the pile of great starts has grown considerably while the number of finishes has paled in comparison.
what i have noticed lately is that i still have a great deal of interest in and passion for the projects that i have begun. unlike other projects that come and go, my creative ventures wait patiently for me in their various stages of progress, occasionally peeking out to grab my attention before being lovingly set aside once again. i could no longer escape the fact that i needed some help to realign myself with my values and find my way back to a committed practice in order to bring my visions to life.
i recently began an online class with anna lovind called the creative doer. anna’s soft-spoken swedish-accented voice (yes, all of her lessons are provided in both an audio and written format!) makes me feel like i am sitting in a room with an intimate and wise friend. add to that the fact that anna is also a self-acknowledged introvert who cherishes her creative time alone and strongly believes in following her intuition, and i knew that i was finally working with a kindred spirit who could not only point me in the direction that i needed to go, but show me a gentle and comfortable path that would be easy to follow. the first lesson, true clarity, was like a homecoming for me, a return to what i love the most and what makes me happiest about creating. setting aside distraction, it was easy for me to identify what has consistently pulled my creative side to action and seems effortless: photography. and the place to start moving forward in a doable manner is my two blogs, sassysistersink and this aesthetic life. i was ready and eager to take action.
and then i got the call to come home to california because my dear dad was not doing well. this has been an ongoing concern for several years, but things seemed to have gone from stable to unstable since i had been there just three weeks before. once again i found myself packing my bags and feeling my heart skip beats as i headed into the unknown. i will tell you now that my dad has stabilized and is doing well again. i will also tell you that i learned something very important about my work on that flight to san francisco.
somewhere over the sierra nevadas i pulled out my iphone and began to do what was possible with the phone on airplane mode– edit photos. i’m often running out of storage space on my phone because i hang on to so many photos, and this time i was glad for that. i went back into the archives and pulled up botanical photos to work with on a new app i had just downloaded. as i played and experimented with what the app could do, a peace and calm settled over me like a warm hug. i’ve written about the purpose of beauty before, but this time i felt directly the healing balm that the beauty of the natural world holds for us in every moment.
until a couple of years ago i had never been a real fan of abstract art, preferring images that seemed more clear, defined, and intentional. since spending so much time sitting with the questions and going with the flow, i have come to truly appreciate the space that abstraction allows. i sink into images with an invitation of possibility and sense stories far beyond what an image clearly shows. working on photos that evening allowed me to feel purposeful and grounded (as much as one can in flight…) and to know that i could move forward however i needed to.
throughout my travels i continued to turn to photo editing at night as a way to center myself and process often troubling thoughts. before i show you additional photos i’d like to point out that clicking on any that you may find interesting opens them in a new window with a lightroom effect that rather enhances the feeling of mystery.
certainly, working with the soft and somber colors of blue and brown and experimenting with the blur effect were in keeping with my mood at the time. i do find, though, that this is often my go-to palette– the colors of earth, sky, and sea. i also appreciate the suggestion of an eco print, a sun print, and the softness of watercolor incorporated into the detail of an actual photograph. the editing process here felt a bit like floating in another realm.
there is something so lovely about falling into an image and allowing myself to sink into its subtle depths, inspect its unstudied places, and explore its open terrains.
even the simplest and most ordinary things contain worlds of wonder, wonders that i often miss in the hurry of my daily human existence.
familiar places are suddenly seen from an entirely new perspective when i choose to take them in through a new lens.
it’s a matter of making that choice.
i believe it’s time to allow my mind the creative freedom of abstraction, to take advantage of small moments that lend themselves to quiet contemplation.
it’s time to actually see the forest for the trees, to stop focusing only on small details and begin to understand larger plans and principles.
for me, the full impact of this idea came through stress and uncertainty. why wait for troubling times to hone our skills at seeing the everyday beauty that surrounds us and embracing their mystery?
it’s also comforting to step away from a problem and see that there is no one right answer. there can be many.
it can free us up to look at a given situation from two very different angles.
and, perhaps most important of all, being open to beauty and embracing the mystery frees us from the prison of “lack” that we feel when we have pushed too hard and blesses us over and over again with the abundance of what exists around us.
once we have refreshed our souls and spirits we are then free to bring that beauty into our hearts and homes, to translate it into many different forms as we go about our lives and give of ourselves to family and friends, to our pets, to our work and, ultimately, to our world. it’s such a simple thing: slow down, breathe deep, and be aware. it’s a rich world that we inhabit, full of beautiful mysteries just waiting to be embraced.
aesthetica 