Eye of the Beholder

Breathe

Like all things art is heavily influenced by the observer. I look at one of the photos I took this afternoon and see shades of dawn and beginnings. Someone else looked at it and saw violence.  And responses on my Facebook page the query of "what do you see..." included peace and dynamic movement.

We each view the world through the filter of our experiences and our souls.  Accordingly we each see and experience something slightly different.

Not necessarily a question of a glass being half full or half empty but of how we see the glass itself. Smooth or textured, clear or bubbled, blue or green. A water cup or a flower vase or a paint brush holder.  A space waiting to be filled. The act of observing in and of itself defines the observer more that the item being observed.

Several major Eastern religions, along with quantum physicists, believe everything we perceive as being an interpretation of the true reality and that by the sheer act of observing we change our reality.  Joseph Campbell, renowned mythologist, after a lifetime of study on the subject, believed that the three-faced depictions of deity to be the most accurate, with one face representing truth, the second face, at 90 degrees from truth, representing the interpretations of truth by truly enlightened scholars, and the third face, at 180 degrees from truth, representing the understanding of common man.

The idea that each of us walks with a circle of our own creation appeals to me. That each moment is empty, waiting for us to interact with it...

Of course the corresponding idea that typing a blog entry with my tablet is such a pain in the ass can be directly tied to my interpretation of, and influencing of, events is more annoying.

visit Samantha Byrnes' gallery online...

Dreams vs Goals

Peeking

This time of year the whole world seems to be abuzz with New Years resolutions. Personally I've never been a fan. The idea of starting something positive shouldn't be reserved for some arbitrarily-picked date on a calendar.

However my rant this year is a bit different. I've had several recent conversations with my younger sister about goals and the "necessity" of a five year life plan. On one hand I'm generally for whatever motivates a positive change in someone's life. But spelling out exactly what you think you want seems a recipe for disaster.

I've also had several "what do you want in life" conversations with both my partner and my friend's partner. The idea that I don't have what most people consider 'goals' blows them away.  They seem to equate "no goals" with "no drive for self growth / improvement". Two completely different things people!

One of the core tenants of Buddhism is that unhappiness stems from wanting things we don't have. And making a five year plan seems like writing that list of "don't haves" down.

Goals like "This year I'm going to get a raise, a promotion, a new job, etc..." seem, in my mind, counter-productive. In martial arts terms by stating exactly what you "think" you want you've created a post. And as any good martial artist knows the first person to create a post loses.

From my point of view my stating the thing people think they want they limit themselves to that possibility and generally miss other, better opportunities. Its like developing tunnel vision or putting on a set of blinders.

Down with blinders!!!

Even the phrase "goal" makes me break out in the heebie-jeebies. Let's call them dreams instead. Or visions. Or whatever. And they should be more like haiku, a verbal embodiment of a feeling. And never ever have an arbitrary deadline attached.

Spring rain

Under trees -

A crystal stream

.... Basho

So in that context and hopefully to inspire others to be a bit less literal in their own lists here's mine. Not for New Years or 2014 but just because...

To spend time with people I enjoy

To discover cool things and take awesome photos

To express myself creatively

To try new things

To be in balance between all the different areas of my life

To have fun every day

To be financially comfortable

And the awesome thing is that whatever form the realization of these dreams take I'm fine with.  Because I didn't limit myself to a specific job title or a bank account balance or getting into a specific art show. And if expressing myself creatively leads to black tutus and pink skull shirts then hey, I'm an artist and I've learned its okay to be eccentric :-)

visit Samantha Byrnes' gallery online...