Back to the Basics

As I began picking up my camera again this week after a brief period of inactivity my passion for seeing the sublime in ordinary scenes is being rekindled. From tiny scenes in nature that serve as gateways to bliss to working on images and figuring out how to make my vision a reality, the joy of creating is back.

I Find Joy Going Back to the Basics

It’s interesting to me to see how my motivation for creating gets clearer over time. When I began making photographs full time, I felt a need to create a “successful” business to prove something to myself, I suppose, about my worth. I read about how to use social media to promote your work and created this blog. And I tried many social media techniques suggested on Facebook and other social media but it often feels false and unhealthy to me. It does not bring me joy.

Despite my knowing that it is the act of creating that brings me joy I am seduced by thoughts that equate the worth of something with its monetary value or popularity. If I create and do not sell my work then is it of any importance?

For me the answer to that question is YES! But I often forget and equate value with popularity or dollar signs. Perhaps this is the challenge my soul wants to master in this part of my life. I certainly revisit it often enough. I am reading a book called An Audience of One: Reclaiming Creativity For Its Own Sake by Srinivas Rao. He suggests ignoring external rewards and creating for yourself alone. He suggests that everyday creativity lets you explore your identity, form new relationships, cultivate competence, and reflect critically on your world. Being creative contributes to one’s physical and mental health.

I’ve become more and more selfish about what it is I want to do, what I find satisfying. Because if you make yourself happy, a little bit of that sunshine can spread onto others. — David Bowie

Here is what I know for sure

I am happiest when I focus on doing what brings me joy. When I seek and find joy I also find a way to be my true self and to bring whatever my unique gifts are to the world. Writing this blog brings me joy. Making, editing, and sharing photographs brings me joy. Trying to get my work seen or sold and using social media does not.

I plan to shut down my Facebook account and business page this week. If you rely on Facebook to see when I post new blog posts, I suggest that you subscribe to my blog instead. Then new posts will be emailed to you.

I believe that using social media is harmful to most people. Things like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are designed to trigger small releases of dopamine in the brain. So using social media creates little drug hits to the brain that we begin to crave. Being distracted by the latest drama on social media also keeps us from engaging with life in the here and now. Being constantly connected on our smartphones means that checking email, social media, etc. is at our fingertips all the time.

I am certain that social media and other internet distractions that create a sense of urgency or upset do not bring me joy.

The things that are urgent are seldom important and the things that are important are seldom urgent. — Dwight Eisenhower

I am reading a book called Deep Work by Cal Newport. Newport cites 2012 McKinsey study data that found that the average knowledge worker spent more than 60 percent of the workweek “engaged in electronic communication and Internet searching.” In the six years since 2012 I would guess that number has increased as more and more of us use the internet to shop as well as for information. In the book Newport suggest three practices to adopt to build our ability to work and think more effectively:

1. Work deeply —Schedule blocks of time to disconnect from the internet, television, and all other distractions. Focus deeply on one project. Do not multi-task. This will not be easy, especially at first.  We are trained to focus on the urgent instead of the important. Sometimes we derive great satisfaction from being busy, whether or not our busy-ness is creating something of value in our lives or not. Doing deep work is something I have needed to come back to again and again in my life. For me deep work is associated with feeling joy. Being intentional about doing what brings me joy means embracing fear and uncertainty. It means stepping outside my comfort zone. And it means becoming more present and noticing what is true, real, and valuable to me. I have found that when I focus on the joy of doing instead of focusing on a particular outcome that joy grows and expands.
2. Embrace boredom —It is important to wean your mind from the need for constant distraction. As Newport says, “If every moment of potential boredom in your life—say, having to wait five minutes in line or sit alone in a restaurant until a friend arrives—is relieved with a quick glance at your smartphone, then your brain has likely been rewired to the point where…it’s not ready for deep work—even if you regularly schedule time to practice concentration.” Also if much of your time is spent multi-tasking (yup, that’s me) you are not capable of doing deep work. Stop multi-tasking. Focus on one thing at a time.
3. Quit social media — Examine what benefit, if any you get from using social media. My guess that it’s a distraction or a time filler. Instead focus on choosing activities that bring you real joy. Here’s a hint: joy-filled activities are often more challenging and the results do not provide instantaneous gratification. I recognize joy by feeling a fizz of excitement in my belly, experiencing feelings of wonder and astonishment, and simply feeling fully and totally present and alive in the moment.

We are marvelously adaptive creatures. Our brains and habits are created by what we do each day, not what we intend to do. Exertion and hard work create growth. I believe that when we focus on joy we will naturally begin to deepen our work and to grow and change. Think about how you can go back to the basics in your work and recreation. And as always, follow your joy simply for the sake of joy.

“Ironically, some of our most stubborn habits and disorders are products of our plasticity.”
― Norman Doidge, The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science

Here are some of the photos I created last week at French Regional Park while following my joy, along with a few older photos that I re-worked last week.

May you walk in beauty. May you experience deep joy doing deep work.