December Photo-Heart Connection

Quote of the day: 

“Caretake this moment.

  Immerse yourself in its particulars. Respond to this person, this challenge, this deed.

  Quit the evasions. Stop giving yourself needless trouble.

  It is time to fully live; to fully inhabit the situation you happen to be in now.”

— Epiticus

As I picked my favorite photos from the month of December, I had over 100 that made the cut. I thought I might have a difficult time picking one photo for my December Photo Heart Connection. 

Funny thing though, I looked through all of my favorites and immediately picked the photo you see above. It spoke to what my heart has learned during this wondrous month of December.

I arrived in Hawaii December 3, for a 3 month adventure I am calling my Hawaii Walkabout. I had no specific goal in mind except to experience the rhythms of life on the Big Island, get a better sense of what it is like to live in Hawaii (as opposed to just experiencing the typical tourist fare), and to make photographs.

I chose to stay for my first month at Akiko’s Buddhist Bed and Breakfast, a very basic accommodation flavored with Akiko’s reverence for all life, belief in simple living, and zen practices.

The photo above shows part of the back door to Akiko’s house. The shoes represent the fact that we don’t wear shoes in the house. It is a sign of respect to remove one’s shoes at the door.  The old rug on the bench reminds me to live simply, using things up, wearing them out, wasting as little as possible. The empty basket reminds me to let go of attachments to things or the way I want things to be and to embrace what is now, this moment. The prayer flags remind me to live my life as a constant prayer.

Each morning and evening Akiko rings the temple bell outside the Japanese temple that sits high on the hill behind her place. Three evenings a week and two mornings a week, she sits zazen in the zendo in her house. Anyone is welcome to sit with her during these sessions. This morning at 5:15 AM I was there, sitting, counting my breaths, being.

My experiences here during the month of December have been so much richer than I expected. From a rocky start with a lot of pain issues, missing home and family, discomfort with the high humidity, almost constant rain (for about 10 days), and other woes, I’ve moved into a spacious awareness and appreciation of just being.

Goals, plans, and to-do lists have dropped away. Each day I wake up early and decide what it is I will do based upon the weather, how I feel, and the opportunities that arise. I have learned to appreciate my very simple surroundings. And I am now enjoying the lack of cell phone signal and limited internet access where I stay. With no television, no radio, no news, no weather forecasts, I live in the moment.

My heart is full of joy with this new-found freedom. Each day I work a little doing something in the house or garden. Each day I take care of my simple needs. Each day I see beauty all around me and feel the spirit of this place. And each day I make photographs.

Sometimes I go out somewhere, but often I just wander around Akiko’s property. Every time I drive down the road to Akiko’s little village in the country I feel as if I am going to a place outside of time. My heart is full of appreciation for the Aloha I have experienced in Hawaii and for everything I am learning.

Like the internal learning of my heart, I am also continuing to learn about simplicity in my photos. How simple can I make this? How much can I leave out and still tell the story? What speaks to me now — and now — and now? Letting go of the rules. Making photos that please me because of the meaning I experience in the moment. This I want to hold in my heart and bring with me to all the photographs I make.

Light through prayer flag