Day 109: Friday the (May) 13th

This sunny Friday started out like any other Friday . . . 

Well, not exactly - I slept poorly, finished getting dressed for work 5 min before I had to race out the door, and it was already 80 degrees at 10am. But other than that, it started out like any other Friday.

However, it did not END like any other Friday.

I decided to go for a walk around North Pond before heading home. I was looking out over the pond, my head phones in, lost in my own world. 

Then I hear, "Excuse me."

I take out an earbud as I turn around. "What?" I queried.

In front of me stands an older gentleman with a cocker spaniel. He wastes no time in responding.

"Some people should be exonerated and others should be disposed." 

 

and then he just walks away...

 

HUH?!?!

Day 108: Bird Bath

Looking out the window at the building next door, I spotted something peculiar.

Sprinkles on the roof of the porch . . . in just one spot . . . falling - up.

A wet bird then appeared on the edge of the gutter, ruffling it's feathers. 

I guess it was bath time!

Day 107: Art Lessons

I found myself reading a Brenden Williams Creative article on photography skills after receiving compliments on some photos I had taken.

Really, I was trying to answer -

"do photographers have an eye for a lot of compositions but only some of them turn out how they want?"

Finding this answer would provide validation for the frustration I've experienced in seeing a great shot and not being able to capture it as intended.

It would serve as a means of permission to even consider that I am, in fact, a photographer. That I could give myself that label. That it didn't need to come from someone else.

As I read on, this section really jumped out at me:

Define A Purpose Behind Your Photos

If you are just taking photos without any reasoning behind it, then you’re guaranteed to plateau. To improve as a photographer and develop your eye, define a purpose for why you’re taking a picture.

Why are you shooting this subject? Why are you framing the photo in this way? Why are you focused on the foreground rather than the background?

All these little choices you make when taking a picture should be intentional. With creative purpose, you’re in control of your photography and will start to see improvements. If you just take pictures without any intention, then how are you supposed to get better?

After all, if you don’t know what you’re trying to achieve, you can’t develop your photographic eye. Your eye for photography is built from intention; defining a purpose for the why’s of your image will help to improve your creative vision.

--Whoa--

I know I'm reading about photography, but am I reading about photography right now?!

Because I think I just got coached!

Did you get it??! Give it another read after we change a few words...

Define A Purpose Behind Your Choices

If you are just making choices without any reasoning behind it, then you’re guaranteed to plateau. To improve your life and develop your perspective, define a purpose for why you’re making a choice.

Why are you focusing on this subject? Why are you framing the choice in this way? Why are you focused on the foreground rather than the background?

All these little considerations you take when making a choice should be intentional. With creative purpose, you’re in control of your life and will start to see improvements. If you just make choices without any intention, then how are you supposed to get better?

After all, if you don’t know what you’re trying to achieve, you can’t develop your life perspective. Your perspective for life is built from intention; defining a purpose for the why’s of your choices will help to improve your creative vision.

In total, only 3 word meanings were changed:

photo(s)/picture --> choice(s)
photographer/photography/photographic  --> [your] life
eye --> perspective

and only 3 words were changed for context and grammatical correctness. 

[taking -> making]
[shooting -> focusing on]
[choices -> considerations]

And yet, the meaning, really, remains the same.

This is a great example of how intention and understanding of why you do things you do (and who you do them for) directly impacts everything in life. 

Whether it's a hobby, a profession, a life outlook, or a phase of life, the intent you have when making your choices will always shape your perspective and how you experience life.

So, in answering my own question that led to finding this article - Yes.
Photographers don't always get the intended shot every time.

So, am I a photographer?
Again, Yes.

I take photos with the purpose to capture and convey an intentional perspective.
And I create my life perspective through deliberate and considered choice.

Anyone looking for a mantra???^^^ Just kidding (mostly).

Being deliberate and considerate with all of my choices in life will always be a practice. But overtime it will feel second nature, just like the elevated life satisfaction that comes with it.

Day 106: Beauty Break

Some days the best thing we can do for ourselves is take a break to appreciate the beauty around us.

Where do you find beauty?

Day 105: All or Nothing

It's not all or nothing.
It's never all or nothing.
There is always something.

Find it.

Something is where happiness lies.

Something is where perseverance lies.

Something is where courage lies.

Something is where growth lies.

Something is where the future lies.

Seek out the future. 

Your future. 

Not the future that come from accepting 'nothing.'

Not the future that comes from getting it 'all.'

Seek the future that comes from what can be gained from every experience.

Seek out something. Seek out yourself - and you'll get the world.

Day 104: Coaching Brain

 You know your way of thinking has changed
when you get excited about feeling bad.

 

 

"I really want to understand what's going on inside!"

Day 103: It's not the topic, it's the criteria

As time passes and more thought is given, the anger starts to build.

My friend sent me a text a few days ago:

I was pretty neutral about it - a stark change from just a handful of years ago. Then I began researching and the pot began to simmer.

I read an article from The Globe and Mail, a Canadian news outlet, stating how Justice Alito takes the rear view mirror approach, for essentially everything, in asking:

Was there an abortion right in previous times, such as when the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868?

The article goes on to quote: “He’s looking back to a historical period when women are denied the vote and, more generally, almost any legal rights,” Prof. Hasday* said. “And he’s saying that’s what the Constitution is embedding for all time.”
*Jill Hasday, the Distinguished McKnight University Professor and Centennial Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota Law School.

In Learning Adventures, U.S. Constitution: 1787-1789 - it states:

The Constitution of the United States is the foundation of our Federal Government. It is often called the supreme law of the land; no law may be passed that contradicts its principles. At the same time, it is flexible and allows for changes in the Government. The Constitution is known as a “living” document because it can be amended, although in over 200 years there have only been 27 amendments.

HOW IS IT POSSIBLE IN OVER 200 YEARS THERE HAVE ONLY BEEN 27 AMENDMENTS?!

Are we all dead?! This is supposed to be a LIVING document, isn't it?! 

So what gives?

Well, that's just it - there isn't any agreement on if the constitution is a living document or not. 

There is no line written that explicitly states, "this constitution is a living document." Which, to Justice Alito and other Originalist politicians, gives the green light for keeping and enforcing outdated ways of thinking and governing.

And until there is agreement - or an amendment establishing such - we will continue finding ourselves in these distressing and heated situations, no matter what the topic.

Our struggle as a nation really isn't the topic (at any given time), it's the criteria that's being used to assess it.