In a Liminal Space

With the mild late fall days we’ve been having I feel as if I am living

In a Liminal Space

not quite winter, but not really fall anymore either. And I am embracing this in-between space between fall and winter. Yesterday I went out to Carver Park to photograph the bare trees and to play with ICM (intentional camera movement) and in camera multiple exposures.

It was chilly but not so cold that my hands froze as I took off my gloves to work my camera. The colors this time of year are muted but present. It’s not all gray and brown as my mind remembers late November and early December, but shades of gold, russet, brown, and black. Even some green remains though much muted.

Lakes that are often invisible behind a curtain of leaves are now visible through the intricate bare branches of the trees.

The question is not what you look at, but what you see. It is only necessary to behold the least fact or phenomenon, however familiar, from a point a hair’s breadth aside from our habitual path or routine, to be overcome, enchanted by its beauty and significance.
― Henry David Thoreau

Seeing Through a Different Lens

This respite between the seasons is allowing me to see the world through a different lens. Rather than bemoaning the bare trees I am embracing the grace and fractal beauty of their bare branches curving and dividing, reaching for the sky.

White tree trunks stand out in a landscape of browns, russets, and golds. In another season their stark white trunks would be hidden in a sea of green leaves.

The simple grace that is often hidden in plain sight during other seasons, stands out waiting for us to notice it. When I walk through a bare forest I feel as if I am seeing the bones of the landscape. I can feel the essential life force that abides and waits for its time to burst forth again.

It is not just seasons of the year that create liminal spaces in our lives. Changes, losses, and illness also bring us into this often uncomfortable but fecund place. I’ve noticed that the most uncomfortable and painful experiences in my life have become the most surprising and beneficial learning opportunities of my life. And those experiences transformed me into who I am today. Like the metamorphosis of a butterfly, liminal experiences can be difficult and challenging. But out of them comes growth. Wishing you comfort and peace if you are in the midst of a challenging life event.