When first saw this sculpture and made this image I was taken by its beautiful form. I walked around it, studying the detail and imagined it meaning (its intended meaning and my imagined meaning). Like so many perceptions, what is the truth, pain or ecstasy, joy or fear, wanting or loathing? A fine line. What form of desperation Is the outstretched arm symbolizing, weakness to the unknown or perhaps fulfilled anticipation?
“The world is divided into those who believe they are right.”
I made this image a number of years ago at a civil rights march in Washington DC. Yesterday I was listening to a lecture about the concept of “Radical Acceptance” practiced in Zen Buddhism, the speaker was Tara Brach. While listening, the quote above resonated with me and I remembered this image. Hmmm, I wonder where these people are now and if they are still divided into their own “right”?
Oh yes, I do love Chicago. That’s an interesting statement for me, there was a time that I couldn’t stand the city. The only explanation I have is that I’ve grown into it and the city has a very fond place inside me now. I took this photo one cold early winter morning last year. I’m leaving Friday morning for another visit and can hardly wait to see my friends and family!
Oh yeah. Happy Halloween!
quote from Buddha
This is an older image I used a couple years ago, I ran across it and it resonated with me.
I went to Paris. I fell in love with the city, its architecture, history and thoughtful beauty. I walked and walked and walked. It felt as though I could have taken the rest of this lifetime to familiarize myself with everything that makes Paris magic. Sure, there was the language barrier, maybe a few people were a little more kurt because I was an “American” — but what do I know, I could understand them! When I travel I the try to have the sense that I’m a part of the place where I’m visiting, a local. It’s easy to trip from city to city, country to county and bombard your senses with the top places that everyone must see while a guest. More of a challenge while on a trek is to visit the “must-see” places and more interestingly, the places in between that are overlooked and taken for granted. Some may see them as mundane, the bustling sidewalks that are quiet in the hours before the morning rush or the gardener tending to the park outside the Louvre. The image of the daily activity, the quietness that goes to create the backdrop of an experience is what I’m looking for and thankful to find. I went to Paris and stopped near the Louvre and captured an image of gardeners. I went to Paris and it’s still with me.
‘Don’t you often feel buffeted by the gusts of “coming attractions” clamoring for your attention?’ -Lama Surya Das
