Brassaï, Cathedral, sometime in the 30s. From melisaki.
Ansel Adams, Saint Francis Church, Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico, 1950. From melisaki.
Window
St. John of the Cross compares man to a window through which the light of God is shining.
If the windowpane is clean of every stain, it is completely transparent,
we do not see it at all: it is “empty” and nothing is seen but the light.
But if a man bears in himself the stains of spiritual egotism and
preoccupation with his illusory and exterior self,
even in “good things,”
then the windowpane itself is clearly seen by reason of the stains that are on it.
Hence if a man can be rid of the stains and dust produced within him
by his fixation upon what is good and bad in reference to himself, he will be transformed in God and will be “one with God.”
~ Thomas Merton from Zen and the Birds of Appetite. By way of the extraordinary collection at The Beauty We Love.
Jock Sturges: Nikki, Montalivet, France, 1998. Courtesy of melisaki.
We’re in a free fall into future. We don’t know where we’re going. Things are changing so fast. And always when you’re going through a long tunnel, anxiety comes along. But all you have to do to transform your hell into a paradise is to turn your fall into a voluntary act. It’s a very interesting shift of perspective … Joyfully participate in the sorrows of the world and everything changes.
Joseph Campbell, Sukhavati (Thank you, liquidnight)
for fear you will be alone
For fear you will be alone
you do so many things
that aren’t you at all.
—Richard Brautigan
Thank you, goodpoetry & awritersruminations
Bill Owens: Street with Boy and Dog, 1972. Thank you, melisaki.
Near Isfahan, Iran; details unknown. Thank you, touba.
Thank you, nevver. Photo by Robb Siverson.
Larry Silver: Bronx, Subway Station, 1950. Thank you, gacougnol, regardintemporel and chairofbullies.
