Photo-Heart Connection: April – Flow

Quote of the day: “May what I do flow from me like a river, no forcing and no holding back, the way it is with children.”
― Rainer Maria Rilke

Flow…

Create… Keep it simple… Stay in Play… Stop pushing and trying… Listen to your heart

These are the secrets my heart whispered to me during April. 

I planned to keep a spring photo journal in my blog, but spring just didn’t want to arrive. I tired of making photos of remnants of snow, tracks in new snow, melting snow, freezing ice, etc.

While I waited for spring to arrive—and waited…and waited—snowstorm after snowstorm blanketed the Minneapolis area with snow. At first I complained and felt stuck and impatient. “It’s supposed to be spring! If I’d known it was going to be like this I would have stayed longer in Hawaii” I complained.

Then I looked around and saw the amazing beauty that these late-season snows created.

The wet snow clung to tree branches and created amazing sculptures and scenes. The falling snowflakes were huge and lovely, the weather mild enough to be outdoors photographing. And the beauty was so ephemeral. The heat of the sun melted the snow off the branches so quickly that I needed to get up and go out as soon as possible in the mornings to capture the beauty.

And when there wasn’t new snow falling I saw beauty in a coffee mug and journal on the table. I saw lines and shapes and colors that appealed to me, all within my mundane life.

And I realized once again that each day, each moment was a gift.

I began reveling in the beauty of the late-winter snows and stopped waiting for something different to happen.

I taught a workshop on “Photography as a Spiritual Practice” at a retreat. Surrounded by snow, we spent a little time outdoors photographing but more time indoors finding beauty in the lounge where the class was held.

I could see the disappointment on class members’ faces when I suggested the next activity was to find and photograph beauty in the room we were in. For a minute or two, not much happened.

Then suddenly I saw an explosion of creativity and joy emerge as class participants “got it” and entered the flow.

I struggled to create a new exhibit from my Hawaii Walkabout photos.

As I worked on photos for my upcoming exhibit, I planned, created groupings of photos and worked and planned, made different groupings of photos, and worked some more. But the focus of the exhibit and the photos within it just would not coalesce.

Finally I let go of all expectations and listened to my heart…

This photo speaks to me. I think I’ll print it and frame it. First one photo, then another, and another until finally I selected 24 photos from my Walkabout in Hawaii. Twenty-two of them are framed and ready to hang. Two more need frames which I plan to buy today.

I am learning to find flow and follow it. There are no formulas or easy answers. It varies as much as the Minnesota weather varies.

It’s not easy to find flow in our busy lives. Stuff happens — weather, illness, work, cooking, cleaning, and other necessary things keep us busy. Beneath all the busyness, flow is always available. Breathe in, breathe out. Each moment is another opportunity to connect with your heart.

Here are the photos for my upcoming exhibit, Timeless:

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