cafe vurma, stockholm
(This is a series of posts on Jan Phillips’ book, God is at Eye Level, Photography as a Healing Art. For an intro check out the first post here.)
Mindful Seeing, Mindful Being
We know that voice, that craving to dance to the inner beat, express our passions, create something new from the stuff of our lives…Jan Phillips, author
The voice…the craving…the addiction…There’s no two ways about it. I’m addicted to seeking the light, capturing a moment, an emotion, a story. I could so connect with this chapter as it reflected on that “inner compulsion.” Phillips shares stories about Dorothea Lange and Laura Gilpin. Lange, known for her famous photograph of the “Migrant Mother,” suffered from polio, was abandoned as a child by her father, failed in her marriage and had many other illnesses, yet was driven. Gilpin, known for her photography of the Navajo Indians, was 77 years old when her book was finally published and age 81 when she received a grant for a major study of the land and people of Canyon de Chelly in Arizona. Both immersed themselves and allowed their empathy for their subject to prevail.
With my eyes constantly searching…engaged…wrapped up and only concerned for my immediate surroundings in the very moment…I find myself spending hours in this mode while it feels like only minutes…resulting in a sense of balance, the feeling of belonging, and ultimately the precious moment of sharing what was found. Phillips’ sums it up in her last sentence of the chapter…It is good to remember the source of the healing, that it began in the soul of one who went looking, who brought back from the journey a mirror for us all. Well said.
Next week: Chapter Eight – New Images for a New World
Joining in for the very first time? Catch up on the previous chapters!
Chapter One – Through the Eyes of a Child
Chapter Two – Seeing Our Way Clear
Chapter Three – Shifting the Focus
Chapter Four – Looking Like No Other
This seems to be a book for me. I have surely used Photography as a healer…
It’s a fabulous book and one that I’m so thrilled to have on my bookcase! And yes, if I didn’t have my photography I would be in constant therapy! 🙂
I am reading this just after a long walk in our (momentarily) sunshiny day, Robin. This afternoon there is predicted lots of rain.
Reading how you spend hours doing what I just did makes me want to be more serious about this “practice.” I guess when Astrid and I go on our Saturday photo hunts, that’s what we’re doing. Searching. Looking. And always “short of eyes.” It IS a healing act, isn’t it.
I’m with Frida on this book: i want to have it in my own library!
I’d LOVE to bring one for you two when I visit! It is so healing…
If you bring one, Robin, that would be wonderful, and we can reimburse you here. Otherwise I would order it and pick it up in Atlanta next time I visit there (August).
I love the photo. I want to live in that room, but that would mean I would have to pack and move again…NOT! MORE! GH
Oh VK, you would’ve loved this cafe!!!
You’ve got me re-visiting this book…this one that I read years ago. There’s another – The Tao of Photography – that is similar. Love what you’re doing here!
Thank you so much Marcie! I put the Tao book on my Amazon wish list!
Looks you found the perfect book for you. Makes my heart happy. I so enjoy your photos and the stories you put to your photos. I feel so a part of what you are experiencing. Thank you for sharing your gift with us all!! Love you MORE!