The Inner Path of Photography

We yearn for the taste of the sacred…and through our cameras discover it, the world, and ourselves.
January 31, 2010

“All My Mistakes Have Become Masterpieces…”

Wow, just heard this song by Teitur this afternoon on the radio and loved the lyrics!
Had to share them…and some thoughts…

(Lyrics, artist, and radio links below)

“All My Mistakes Have Become Masterpieces.”

Hmmm…How would it change things if you entertained the thought that what you perceive as
mistakes are actually the beginning of masterpieces?

On those days when you’re looking at your photography, discouraged or frustrated, feeling like you’ve
lost your touch or can’t seem to get the image on paper to be what you see in your head…

Or when you feel stuck in your life, looking back at where you might have made different decisions…

What if those “mistakes” were actually what got you to a whole new reality, that wouldn’t have ever
happened if you didn’t make them?

You stumble on a new way of printing things, and a look that appeals to you and is unique…
because you couldn’t get the traditional color that you usually expect to see…

You meet a new person that ends up inspiring, energizing, and opening up new opportunities for you,
because you, discouraged, drowned your sorrows at a coffee house after missing an ad for a job that
you were certain would have solved your life problems…

The next time you make a “mistake,” or find yourself discouraged and listing all of the missteps
you’ve taken in your life, try telling yourself a version of your life story that paints the future as
masterpiece, rather than a disaster.

Remember the times that you thought you had blown it…and then good things happened that
couldn’t have if you had continued in the same way.
Actually, I think just living your life as best you can, staying in the game in a positive manner…
that alone is a masterpiece!

Surrendering, staying in the moment, maintaining hope, acting on your inner truth…
yes, there is no mistake there.

Mistakes do become masterpieces. It can happen. It does happen.

Let it.
Heidi

OK, the great lyrics:
"All my mistakes have become masterpieces"

Who is to say who wins or who loses
I sing to myself at the end of the day
When I know what the blues is
All my mistakes have become masterpieces

I was born in the goodness of grace
Because of faith, because of courage
Because of forgiveness
All my mistakes have become masterpieces

There comes a time
You must stay in the moment
While your heart's still bleeding

There comes a time
When you must walk away
Though your heart's still beating

Who is to say who wins or who loses
I sing to myself at the end of the day
When I know what the blues is
All my mistakes have become masterpieces

 ----- Teitur, from the CD Stay Under the Stars


Heard on KCRW Eclectic 24, an independent radio station out of


Santa Monica, California. You can stream it on your computer! Enjoy...
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January 19, 2010

Patience…As the new year unfolds

“Be quiet now and wait.
It may be that the ocean one,
the one we desire so to move into and become
desires us out here on land a little longer,
going our sundry roads to the shore.”
– Rumi

“Christmas Morning, Hammonasset”

When a new year starts,
our tendency is to feel that we should

“get back to business”
“get serious”
“do all the things that we put off during the holidays”

We become impatient with ourselves
feeling we’re not accomplishing things fast enough
Already not achieving goals as the new year speeds away

Perhaps there are things in our lives that need attention
that we would do well to bring back into our consciousness and address

But when you were talking about your new year’s resolutions
did you vow to listen to your inner voice?

Did you reflect on what it would look like to honor yourself,
to act on your desire to be that person you know you truly are?

Breathe deeply. Try not to rush.
The new year is but a date on a calendar.
Your life is a constant flow…

Do not stand on the bank.
Jump in the river with me.
As you begin the year of 2010, be patient with yourself.
In your life, in your work, in your art

Be silent now.
Say fewer and fewer praise poems.
Let yourself become living poetry.

– Heidi
(Non-italicized lines from Rumi poems)
“Pieces of a Broken Cup,” “Soul Houses”
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January 8, 2010

We all start somewhere…David Bowie’s demo recording, 1969

I was listening to mvyradio this morning as I was working, and a cut by David Bowie caught my attention. It was a version of “Space Oddity” I had never heard before…acoustic…and very personal. Before he even started playing, you heard him quietly say “I’m a little nervous.”

What? David Bowie nervous?

Turns out it was a demo from 1969, when he was first recording. Having to convince radio stations to play his music.

The DJ commented on the song after playing it. She, too was touched by the vulnerability in his voice, and shared my thoughts:

We forget that all talented people have to start somewhere….

That we all have our moments (often more or longer than we’d like) of vulnerability, insecurity, nervousness about our art.

I need to hear about other artist’s challenges, struggles, insecurity…as well as seeing how they persevere, trust their talent, and carry on with their work.

It gives me support in doing the same.

Too often we’re shown the obvious successes, and led to believe that that’s the only story…while in reality, we know that’s only part of the story. We want the highs, of course, but we also want to know that others know the lows are a part of it too. And then the successes become even more thrilling.

There’s a beauty in David Bowie’s vulnerabilty, and in the sound of his voice as he shares that he’s nervous. It makes his singing and talent even more beautiful to me.

Coincidentally, I also found this article today about David Bowie’s first fan fan letter and his response. Same beginner’s vulnerability.

May we all retain that pure innocence of simply enjoying our art, and appreciating someone else’s recognition and pleasure in it too.

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December 28, 2009

Announcing The37th Frame Contributor Access

Announcing The37th Frame Contributor Access.

For photographers looking for a place to show and write about their work, this website looks interesting….Just found out about it, so haven’t submitted anything…but I will.

Let me know your experience of it if you decide to submit too!

Enjoy…

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