Acknowledging and Becoming Aware of Our Instinctual Reactions

I wonder if part of the human journey is to acknowledge and become aware of our many instinctual reactions (perhaps our more primitive survival parts?), while not becoming completely controlled or overwhelmed by those instinctual animalistic parts... In an ever evolving environment, it seems some of our instincts meant to help us survive are actually counterproductive... sometimes for the individual, and sometimes for the human species as a whole.

Beautiful Ghosts

Beautiful ghosts, I see you but cannot touch you
Beautiful ghosts, you live in my world but I cannot live in yours...

What is My Story? What Path Leads to Personal Fulfillment?

There's a tendency for people to live by some kind of narrative... A narrative both lived by and promoted. Those who are lucky are able to find there own hero's journey, which puts them on a path of great fulfillment. Finding one's most fulfilling storyline is often difficult because of the many storylines we each live by.

When placed upon a path that resonates, there is increased opportunity to bloom, for the path itself is like sustenance for underlying forces waiting for nourishment. While traversing our own path can open up opportunity for creation, stubbornly clinging to our own path can be destructive. Trying to force feed what nourishes us to others can lead to a kind of starvation of the soul and spirit. Not allowing room for various individual paths is suffocating to all involved.

All that said, I continue to wonder what my most fulfilling storyline is... I guess seeking more fulfilling ways is a storyline itself. lol. So perhaps that's part of the core of my own storyline. I think learning to give more consideration to my own storyline, as well as the storyline of others is likely a strong part of my narrative... and learning how to balance and traverse the various storylines involved...

Sun, Shields, and Shadow

In photography we observe the effect of relationships between a light source, an object, and the resulting shadow. The more intense a light source is, the stronger the shadow cast will be. The further away the light source is from an object, the harder the edges, the more well-defined a shadow becomes. Moving the light source closer helps to soften some of the edges. Also, the more directly a light source hits an object, the stronger the shadow formed will be. Indirect light helps to soften and diffuse any shadow edges.

In nature, very intense light sources help to create energy, to help sustain life... yet at the same time, a very intense light source can burn, damage, and even destroy an object through overexposure.

It seems our psyches might work with the same principles seen in nature and photography... Our thoughts, our emotions, our bodies, our instinctual natures... We shield these in many ways resulting in different kinds of shadows. That which is hidden gains a kind of seductive strength in the dark, with the shadow always attached to the object.

Our own vantage points, where we cast our own light onto objects, also creates shadows largely hidden from our own sight. Where we focus our gaze can also affect the clarity of our vision and awareness. Staring directly into the sun can result in blindness... Yet trying to see in areas without light, we as humans cannot see at all. It's the interplay of highlights, midtones, and shadows that allows us to see shapes and forms.

Aesthetic Taste?

Today, after viewing photos I took... I think I've determined that my personal aesthetic taste tends to involve mixing reality with a kind of dream-state... Where different spaces meet?

Balance

Typically I have a strong need to balance out my seriousness with humor, and it's a need I'm typically aware of and pay attention to... But there's an area of imbalance that I'm less likely to pay attention to... It relates to communicating what's going on inside of my related to my own desires, wants, and areas of fulfillment... Along with not communicating my own needs, most of the time I also do not communicate any insights I might have related to the needs I perceive in others. It's like I'm withholding of that information. I won't verbalize what I see, even if I likely know what's going on.

Everyone has their own heroes journey, where they typically must endure some kind of discomfort in order to reach a new place... Perhaps the area of communication with others is one of my obstacles. (And yet as I type this I find myself stubbornly clinging to my typical pattern)

Soot

I sit in darkened smoke and I breath
I see across the horizon the cool clean air
I see the oceans edge along the bluffs
And yet I refuse to move...
Continually breathing in the ashen air...
As if enjoying the suffocating cocktail...
A miasma fueling embers below...
Searing embers I refuse to let go of