Category: Thoughts and Musing

Ready for take off

Back and White Photography, Thoughts and Musing

The image above was taken at Northgate Business Park in Kanawha County West Virginia.

When I look at this image I’m taken back forty some years. Back to a time before digital photography and drones. A time when many of the conveniences we enjoy today were science fiction. We used to fly kites on a ridge like this one. We learned what was like to hold the wind in your hands. I was always convinced that one day I would build a kite large enough carry me into the clouds. I would go out on windy days with a jacket and find a nice windy spot. I would open the zipper and stick my hands in the jacket’s pockets and stretch out like a kite. I would close my eyes and turn into wind catching it my jacket. I would sway and tilt just like the kites did. As I grew older, I learned that jackets don’t make good hang gliders but I never lost that dream. Even today I will sometimes open my jacket with hands in pockets and imagine that I’m floating in the wind. Perhaps that’s one reason why I like this spot. It looks like a great runway and I just happen to be wearing my flying jacket today.

Planting Seeds

black and white photography, Thoughts and Musing

The image above was taken in Kanawha County West Virginia at the Southridge shopping center.

I consider myself a forest dweller. Sure I spend most of my day in a cubicle and earn money on the internet but it’s an alien world to me. I want nothing more than just a shaded path along a babbling brook. That’s my real home. As a child I would find a stand of seedlings and try to weave them together in a little dome. The hemlock trees worked the best. They were flexible enough that you could weave them without breaking the trunk. And, they were lush enough for a good shelter. We always hoped that a natural graft would happen and we would have a permanent place to play. We wanted to shape a future. While the plan to grow seedlings into houses never quite worked the idea behind the plan is still sound. Take what resources you have and work them into a future that makes you happy.

Relationships are like trees. The kind smiles and words are the seeds we plant in lives of those around us. They are received into heart and soul of our friends and family. Those seeds of love are going to grow into warm hugs when we need them the most.

Working With Stone (And hearts of stone too)

black and white photography, Thoughts and Musing

I’ve always been interested in certain trade skills. Cutting stone is one of them. To properly cut a stone one must have to be able to read the small lines that tell you where small faults are inside the stone. Stone cutting is thought to be a very masculine endeavor. The uninitiated often has visions of the stone cutter as a muscle bound brute striking mighty blows until the stone gives way. While it takes some elbow grease to wrestle a large piece of rock into place one doesn’t have to have extreme strength. Ancient technology like A-frames or block and tackle make it much easier.

But I really want to talk to you about the actual cutting process. It’s not about strength. It’s about control. A mighty blow with Thor’s hammer would be manly for sure but it’s also going to ruin the work. The key to getting that nice straight cut is patience. It often starts with abrading a line in the place you want to cut. Sometimes you need to drill and use a wedge. Then you place your chisel on the spot and tap it with the hammer. The vibration of chisel travels into the stone weakens the spot until a crack forms.

This is also how to change a difficult situation. Or deal with a difficult personality. If your goal is to destroy a relationship then hammer away like Thor and vanquish the enemy. But keep in mind that an enemy is what you will produce. But, if that goal is to shape a relationship from raw stone then the small light taps over a long time is how it’s best done.

It’s also how to set someone free. (Including ourselves sometimes)

“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” – Michelangelo

In today’s microwave world of instant gratification we’ve lost the value of accomplishment. Some of Michelangelo’s works took decades. The investment of time and imparting of life energy is what gives value to an angel shaped hunk of rock. I guess the point I’m trying to make is that don’t be surprised if instant success leaves us with a hollow victory. Accomplishment is born from the struggle. The harder the struggle is then the more satisfying the accomplishment will be. Even Michelangelo struggled. I don’t have a source but I remember one of art teachers talking about Michelangelo’s unfinished works and that how some of were abandoned because a fault formed in the wrong spot. The lesson I learned was that to become a master is to have failures and move forward anyway. If we want success then we walk away from the ruined piece with our tools and our experience and we get to work on a new piece by making those small taps in just the right place. And, we do it again and again until the angel is free.

Holding The Light

Color Photography, Thoughts and Musing

Would you believe that I built a spacecraft in my backyard and left the Earth to get this image? No? Of course not. What you see here is a happy accident. I like to take pictures of rain on my windshield. Last night I climbed into my truck and the water droplets were just right. I pulled out my phone and snapped the shutter. But, I had forgotten to turn off the flash. Each little droplet managed to catch the flash resulting in a photo of a sun surrounded by stars. (After some manipulation 😉)

The light of God shines out from his throne in heaven. When we catch his light and hold it we stand out from the darkness. We become a reflection of Him.

The Unknown Destiny

Back and White Photography, Color Photography, Thoughts and Musing

We make plans for our lives based on our desires. When I was a young man I wanted to be fighter jet pilot. I read every book I could find on aircraft and when I was 12 I went to a summer camp at Patuxent River Naval Air test station where I got to eat lunch with the Blue Angels. I was allowed to set in the cockpit of an F-18 a full three days before the press got to see it. I knew that I was going to be the next Chuck Yeager. But I was wrong. I didn’t realize which set of tracks I was on. God had other plans for my life.

I didn’t choose the image above at random. You see, there are three sets of tracks.

One set is my plans for myself.

Another set for my plans others made for my life.

And another set for God’s plans for my life.

All three sets look as though they go to same destination but along the way there will be slight deviations that change the destiny.

Now, some will say that God robbed me of my desire to fly fighter jets. But remember, we don’t know exactly where that set of tracks ends. About the time that I would have achieved my goal America went to war. My vision for myself was to do high speed stunts for the air shows but for all I know I could have been shot down behind enemy lines. Or, I could have had stunt go wrong and crashed into a crowd.

I guess my point is that just because things don’t work out the way we imagined doesn’t mean our destiny was lost. I’ve been told that Albert Einstein said “God does not play dice with the universe.”. I agree. I believe that we have free choice but God knows what our choices will be and plans according to our choices to bring us to the place he wants us to be. I believe that along the way there will be multiple opportunities to switch tracks if we recognize them. And who knows? 50 ain’t so old. I still have a few adventures left in me. And, there’s miles of tracks ahead.