Shake Your Tree

 

Into photography? Getting too comfortable? Chase Jarvis, a professional photographer, shows you how to get your creativity and mojo back...

While this is mostly about photography, I feel you can take these ideas and apply them to many areas of life. He is stressing the importance of immersion in photography and creativity. Don't worry about the gear you do or don't have (well my camera is broken and thus I don't have one at all, so that's not always true, but you get the gist) and just JUMP (!!) two feet into whatever it is you want. If you enjoy it, this will come extremely easily. If it's a chore then it's not sparking the flames of your passion and then what's the point in the first place? Sheer enjoyment the whole process through is a good indicator of what makes you happy. I read a quote and I don't remember who said it but they said something like "When you love something, you will have an endless supply of energy for it." Do what you want with that but pay attention to what you feel you could do for days and you can't go wrong

More Big Sur Pictures

 

 

 

Bixby Bridge, the pianist, and the medals we all got.

Philosophy: The Socialization of Guilt

 

Neuroscientists say that we are always being conditioned. Our whole lives involve conditioning of some sort. Freud had the idea that we are socialized in a way that creates guilt when we do things that are not acceptable to the society we live in and that this guilt, when we are very enmeshed in our culture, affects the thoughts we have. We can become so efficient at functioning in our Western society that we will even feel guilty about thinking things that are not acceptable. I am positive that we all feel this way at times. Sometimes it gives me a feeling of imprisonment. The privacy of mind is there but is also so heavily affected by what is expected of us, whether we realize it or not, accept it or not. Furthermore, grief is another aspect of human life that creates a great feelings of guilt at times. We inhibit ourselves from smiling because it might mean we don't miss that person. But what we must remember is the miracle of human resiliance and that we were created to smile. A smile is a universal symbol of happiness or pleasure. It goes a long way. Which reminds me, Neda and I have been meaning to watch Pay It Forward. Until then, I will brood and hopefully look as awesome as Freud does in his cigar photo.