View allAll Photos Tagged selfreflection
And yet routinization is like spiritual poison: “This is the tragedy of every man: ‘to dim all wonder by indifference.’ Life is routine, and routine is resistance to the wonder.”13 One of the crucial tasks of religion, Heschel therefore insists, is to struggle against the anesthetizing effects of our over-familiarization with life and reality, and to instill in us a sense of “perpetual surprise,”
-Abraham Joshua Heschel: The Call of Transcendence by Shai Held
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“ideological fervour is a distraction from the fundamental task of all seekers of truth which is to explore what lies in the complex and needy hearts of human beings – our own first”
-Etty Hillesum: A Life Transformed by Patrick Woodhouse
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Behind the Mask
Behind white beams I do hide
Within shadows will be a gaze
Never shall I step in front of the mask
To render a deeper truth
Reserved is this inner I
Spiritual flesh protected from tear
Securely, I have stepped back
Exposure held behind this concrete
Peering out I do perceive
Powers waiting beyond sight
Quietly, I turn my head
Where a vast desert invites
Am I torn between these worlds?
Preferred is this inward landscape
-Robert Cowlishaw
shot for Renato's challenge introspective/meditative/contemplative over at the clobal camel committee.
strobist info.
main photo: one flash to the right through 80cm umbrella, another on the left through mini softbox.
framed photo: single flash subject left, throug grid. used the umbrella from the main shot to reflect a bit of light to the dark side of my face. Both shots combined in PSE 8.
Sure I believe in all the right things. I even try to do the right things. But really now. Is it real? Is my heart into it? How many times a day do I say to myself, "that wasn't how it is supposed to be?" I don't try to be a saint. I just wish I could really be me!
There is a story about a saintly Rabbi who lived about 300 years ago, Rabbi Zushia of Anipoli. He was very very modest and humble. He would say, "When Zushia goes to the heavenly court, they won't ask why you were not like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, or Moses. They will ask why you were not Zushia!"
The rules change at 40 piersey.com/hormones-humbled-me-at-40/ Hormones shift. Cravings get weird. Stress lands heavier. This post breaks down how I stopped fighting it and finally built a lifestyle that made sense for this season of life.
from time to time one cannot resist, especially when being surrounded by such superbe piece of architecture :)
© Ruby Huang, All Rights Reserved
"Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny."
-Mahatma Ghandi
I have been reviewing some Vietnam scans and came on this one which I never bothered with before because it was kind of ordinary. Until I realized it might be an accidental selfie. (A word that did not exist in 1967) If you look closely at the very right of the frame you can see me, reflected in the window.
A solitary woman stands beneath a large flowering tree silhouette on a gentle hill as the sun sets, creating a peaceful, contemplative scene that evokes nature, calm, and quiet reflection.
Let's take a break from all the flower photos recently. This is probably my weirdest photo so far :D I shot it while standing on one leg in a yoga position + it was dark in the room and I pretty much shot it while losing balance, hence why it's so blurry. But in this case I think it gives a nice mysterious effect. At least something different. :)
I slip away to where the soul unfurls alongside the first spring flowers.
A moment, a flicker of will, a pinch of imagination — and I melt into serene unity with nature, leaving the mundane rush behind. Here, breaths grow deeper, exhales turn whisper-soft, and thoughts slow their frantic dance, shedding the weight of needless noise. Whatever storms may rage beyond — I am anchored here and now. All that exists is mind, body, and the primal dance where I become spring’s partner.
The chill breeze still carries winter’s echoes, but March sun kisses the earth with gilded rays. Light wraps around my being like a silken shroud. Flesh seems to dissolve into radiance — warmth seeping into every cell now surges outward, merging with sunlit sparks.
I am a ray caressing the meadow where snowdrops bloom skyward. I am a stem drinking the cold soil’s moisture and sunlight’s vital sap. My leaves, petals, veins — fragile bridges between two realms. I am Darkness and Light’s child, born of their eternal embrace. Is this not Love’s truest dance? Wordless. Unconditional. It needs no language — only colors splashed across thawing snow, only the tremble of a sprout straining toward life…
The wind brushes me, and I recognize an ancient companion. Then a new touch — a delicate tickle on my petal. Is it a bee, bearing my pollen in golden leg-baskets? Or a gnat weaving my essence into its flight? I no longer separate them from myself: their wings are my wings, their hum — my heart’s song.
I become the grass’s whisper and the woodpecker’s call in the distant woods. I am the spark within a dewdrop, the shadow cast upon a stone, the quiver of an aspen leaf. I am spring’s hymn, sung by every shoot, every drop of sap, every whirling pollen grain. Here and now, boundaries vanish — only life remains, flowing from form to form.
Time to return? But how can one depart from Home? I am where I’ve always been: in the roots’ murmur, the hawk’s glide, the earth’s steady breath. Here and now is no mere place. It is eternity’s heartbeat — where I am the world itself.
A hundred years ago Brussels was a majestic city, as we can still see in the museum of fine arts. The visitor is welcomed by some imposing examples of the collection...
Part of a triptych - Larger than life and Selfreflection can be found here.
Most people, cameras in hand, capture endless photos the exact moment when the sun lowers on the horizon. Unfortunately, those people simply leave and end their moment on capturing that quintessential sunset. However, the moment after the sun sets is truly when the magic happens. An array of colors burst out of the ether as if the heavens above express the amount of love and positive vibrations they have for us earthlings. Enjoy each and every moment of a sunset and your life, not just the highlights. Photo captured from the Humboldt Lagoon State Park Visitor Center at Stone Lagoon. Humboldt Lagoons State Park. Humboldt County. Late August 2013.
The task of depth theology, by contrast, is “to keep alive the meta-symbolic relevance of religious terms”; concepts “must not become screens; they must be regarded as windows.”
-Pramuk, Christopher. Sophia: The Hidden Christ of Thomas Merton
Photo captured via Minolta MD Celtic 28mm f/2.8 Lens from Samoa Beach in the census-designated place of Samoa. Humboldt County. Early November 2013.
Challenging the meaning of life is the truest expression of the state of being human. Viktor E. Frankl
Photo of Mount Shasta captured from U.S. Highway 97. Siskiyou County. Far Northern California. "State of Jefferson." On the first day of January 2013.
Photo captured via Minolta MD Celtic 28mm f/2.8 Lens from the Woodley Island Marina on Humboldt's waterfront. City of Eureka. Humboldt County. Late October 2013.
What beliefs are you hanging onto that are weighing you down?
One of the most beautiful parts of creativity IS the ability TO CREATE. Creativity is not bound to something or limited by something. It is free, ever changing, ever growing. Only you can set the boundaries of how far you wish to explore your creativity. Some choose a smaller piece to work from and grow to be amazing at their craft. Others will have no bounds and be forever curious as to what their imagination can create.
My art is entering a very exciting period of freedom. This freedom has come from freeing myself of beliefs that I have accumulated that don’t serve me. You see, opinions can be a valuable tool to be taken into consideration but they are just that and not a life sentence. You are not sentenced by what someone thinks or feels about you. Of course, unfavorable opinions can hurt and as human beings we want to fit in… but at what cost?
Up until this point in 2020, I was accepting every opportunity that I could and clinging to it because I felt like I was not doing enough to support my family. Quarantine taught me how wrong I was. I started to work on myself and on the idea of setting myself free by releasing what no longer serves me or what has never served me – whether that be material possessions, thoughts in my mind or emotions. Let me tell you, this kind of purging is not easy. It takes a great deal of work and courage but the key is to take it one day or layer at a time. Yes, my mind is still cluttered and yes, so is my home but every day I take one step closer.
@dandapanillc taught me this year that one’s call in life should never be dependent on someone or something and this just struck such a strong chord with me. He went on to say, “What happens when that one thing or person go away? You find that you have no purpose now.” For the longest time, my purpose was to help others and then it changed to “be a successful artist.” But after giving this some thought, my life purpose is to love myself just as I am because the being that I am is perfect. And so, with that insight, I was able to set myself free.
✨What is your life purpose?✨
In a time when nature and well-being are seen as ideals to strive for, it's hard not to be drawn to them, yet the pressure to follow through can feel overwhelming. The image reflects an internal struggle—between desire and inertia—where the urge for change exists, but taking the next step remains just out of reach. The lilies, symbols of purity and renewal, contrast with stillness, embodying the tension between aspiration and hesitation.
Photo of Mount Lassen captured at Lake Manzanita--Lassen Volcanic National Park via the HDR method of photography. Shasta County. Late October 2012.
Ordinarily, I use a polariser all the time to control reflections, however, I removed my polariser for my walk around London to avoid the half- to full-stop of light loss. I used a lens hood to keep the optics safe instead, which also helped with eliminating extraneous light.
Viewed through glass, a restaurant interior reveals the scene within; customers at the bar and staff serving food. The reflections merge me as the observer with the scene, blurring the boundary between outside and in. This makes the image more a study of watching and being watched, with the window becoming a membrane rather than a barrier. The reflection makes explicit what is usually implicit in street photography: the photographer is not invisible, merely displaced.
Taken using Panasonic Leica 42.5mm f/1.2 lens on my LUMIX G9II, developed with DxO PhotoLab 9 and stylised using ON1 PhotoRAW MAX 2026.
Copyright © Dave Sexton. All Rights Reserved.
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Photo captured via Minolta MD Celtic 28mm f/2.8 Lens from Samoa Beach in the census-designated place of Samoa. Humboldt County. Early November 2013.
Photo of Luffenholtz Beach captured via Nikon 50mm f/1.8 D AF Nikkor lens (~f/8) in the census-designated place of Westhaven-Moonstone via Scenic Drive, County Road 4M310. Humboldt County. Mid August 2013.
Self Reflection for Me Again Monday.
I've missed MAM the past couple of weeks ...hey I better get used to that pretty soon!
This is a phone pic/selfie in the mirror of a Vespa ^_^
I thought I would just use this shot as I know taking a 'real' selfie tomorrow just wouldn't happen.
HMAM!! \ ^_^ /
Photo captured via Minolta MD Zoom Rokkor-X 75-200mm f/4.5 lens from Samoa Beach in the census-designated place of Samoa. Humboldt County. Early November 2013.
Day 10. This particular 365 is mostly about having fun for me, but I also wish to challenge myself a bit more than I have in recent years. I don't have a fantastic camera nor do I have professional lighting. I don't really care to be honest. While all of that would be fantastic, I can't let that stop me from exploring my own personal goals here. If the camera gods ever descend with better equipment then that's terrific too but until then, let's have a good time.