What if you just turned off the TV?

Just turn it off, Graffiti in Tel Aviv, Israel, November 2012, Nikon D600 with FX 28-300mm VR lens, 
32mm, 1/100 sec @ f3.8, ISO 400, 0 EV, no flash © Steven Crisp  [Click on the photo to enlarge]

No, really.  What if you turned off the TV?

    Not - watch less of it.

    Not - just keep it on "in the background".

    Not - save it only for your favorite shows.

    Not - play it back from a DVR and therefore skip through the ads, on your own schedule.

    Not - only catch up on the news.

What if you just turned it off, and never turned it on again?

    "Oh, that's just not possible.  Why in the world would I do that?"

Ah, but it is.  At first I didn't think so either.

I knew I never really liked watching the tube.  For me, it was all consuming.

My wife, however, really could have it on in the background, and still do other things, like quilting, embroidery, and amazingly to me, even read a book.  Right there on the sofa, while the TV is blaring away.

But me?  I just could not multitask in this situation.  If the TV was on, I was watching.  Even stupid shows.  Mindless, lowest-common-denominator stuff.

And then one day, it just happened.

The TV was turned off, and it was never turned on again.  I credit my wife for this decision.

The TV wasn't evil to her; just a tool, like the internet.  But I guess she too noticed it somehow had become a time sink.  And so, when I came home from work one day, the TV was off.  After dinner, the TV stayed off.  And it was never turned on again.

And instead, in the evening, after an unbelievable home-cooked vegan meal (I am such a lucky man), we tend to read now.  And during the day, and on weekends, we have more free time to pursue our interests, or spend time outside in nature.

So did turning off the TV profoundly change our lives?  I'd say, "yes and no".

"No," because all we did was turn off the TV.  Anyone can do it.  In fact all you really have to do is not turn it on.  So really, it is the art of just saying "no."

And "Yes," because we actually did it.  The intention was made, and the decision followed.  Bravo.

And what I realize is, this is something that can be applied to any part of your life.  You really are in control of your life.  In this case, where and how you choose to spend your free time.

And if you can control that aspect of your life ... what other changes do you long to make?  Perhaps with the additional quiet time now available to you, there will be more time for introspection and reflection.

And this can allow you to create the life that you have always wanted.  Or just follow your nose to see what the next surprising decision might be.

Just by turning off the TV.

Water Color

Water Color, Amsterdam, Netherlands, May 2012, Nikon D5000 with DX 18-200mm VR lens, 
300mm, 1/100 sec @ f5.6, ISO 200, 0.7 EV, no flash © Steven Crisp  [Click on the photo to enlarge]

My eye doctor fine tunes my prescription by dialing in lens corrections until I can read the tiny letters at the end of the hall.  When he is nearly finished, he will make small adjustments and flip between them to let me identify the best.

He'll do this by saying, "Which one is better, number 1 or number 2 [flip] ... 1 or 2 [flip]"

I think of that when switching between yesterday's post, and today's post.  Yesterday or today.  Number 1 or number 2.  Please choose whichever is better for your life.

Painted Water

Painted Water, Xanten, Germany, June 2012, Nikon D5000 with DX 18-200mm VR lens, 
300mm, 1/200 sec @ f5.6, ISO 200, 0.7 EV, no flash © Steven Crisp  [Click on the photo to enlarge]

I love how this photograph looks (to me) like an oil painting.

I was out for an evening run on a business trip and just loved how the light was hitting this small harbor of sailboats.  These are the colorful masts reflecting on the rippling water.

WotD: "Sublime"

Serene and Sublime, Tucker Pond, Warner, NH, October 2006,
HP PhotoSmart R817, focal length 5.6mm, exposure 1/354 sec @ f4, ISO 50, no flash 

 © Steven Crisp [Click on the photo to enlarge]

Now this is a great Word of the Day.

sub·lime /səˈblīm/
Adjective:  Of such excellence, grandeur, or beauty as to inspire great admiration or awe.

And it describes how we felt about our day as we lounged in bed, at a late brunch on the veranda overlooking our garden, reclined in lounge chairs under the shade of a cherry tree, doing nothing and simply feeling at peace and at ease with the world.  Then an afternoon run over rolling hills through the open fields and woodland trails that characterize every town in Germany.  Followed up with a home-cooked healthy and delicious vegan dinner of cuban black beans, rice and pineapple, with roasted green beans and shallots, along with a bulgar salad with cherry tomatoes and cranberries.  So perhaps you can see why the WotD is sublime.  Yes, indeed.

Day 10: He loves me, he loves me not

He loves me, he loves me not, Böblingen, Germany, September 2010,

Panasonic DMC-ZS7, 35mm focal length equiv. 25mm, Exposure 1/30 sec @ f3.3, ISO 200, no flash, 

© Steven Crisp [Click on the photo to enlarge]

Have you ever picked a flower with petals, and then pulled them off one at a time, enquiring "he (or she) loves me, he loves me not"?

And if you didn't get the answer you were looking for, perhaps you picked another flower and tried again, until you got the "right" answer ;-)

Techniques such as this are actually useful to get at your own subconscious thoughts or beliefs.  If it validates your belief, you will likely stop.  If not, you will likely want to keep trying (best 2 out of 3? ;-)

What are some of your deep-seated beliefs?  Are they serving you well?  If so, that's great.  But if not, why don't you pick another flower, and begin the process of challenging those beliefs.  Deep contemplation and reflection are usually required.  But in the end, remember, they are just beliefs -- they are not who you are.  

It is your choice -- today, right now -- what beliefs you choose to let guide your journey.  Relish your opportunity for deep reflection and wise choices.

• Donation:  Mothers without Borders.  Another good cause pointed to me by Carlo, just an "ordinary guy".
• Exercise:  An aborted Frito walk with Carol -- Frito heard the woodsman in the forest, and decided to beat a hasty retreat ;-)  (30 mins)

What do you believe?

Face in the Wall, South Garden below the Castle, Prague, Czech Republic, May 2010,
Canon PowerShot SD870 IS, Focal length 6.14mm, Exposure 1/50 sec @ f3.2, ISO 80, no flash,
post-processed with iPhoto © Steven Crisp [Click on the photo to enlarge]

I’ve had a feeling for some time. Twenty years, maybe more. But I wouldn’t call it a belief — I mean, maybe I am wrong. Who really knows, ya know?

But I think I just got a push. I mean, c’mon. Either you believe it, or you don’t. And what’s the worst that can happen — you end up changing your mind; revising your beliefs. That’s not the end of the world, right?

OK, so here it is. You know the expression, “You are what you eat”? Well, I’ve really come to believe that recently. My wife and I have taken the plunge. We’re all about fresh produce, avoiding any packaged foods. Thank God for my wife — she is willing to cook from scratch, and oh-my-God it is all so delicious. And healthy. We now buy organic. Cook with lots of fresh herbs and lots of spices. Really. I mean, it’s better to eat at our house (tastier and healthier) than dining out. Trust me.

OK, so what else is like that? What else do we consume on a daily basis? How about the news? How about TV? How about movies? How about video games (well, maybe not us, but our kids)? So here’s the deal: not only are you what you eat, but you are also what you read, what you listen to, what you watch, what you play ... you get the idea.

What food is to our bodies, so too is this external stimuli to our our minds, our psyches, and our souls. They are what we "consume" into our minds. So what are you consuming? Are you reading inspirational, motivational, reflective, wise material? Or are you gorging yourself on all that other garbage that is out there? You know what I’m talking about. It might be the message itself, or all of the advertising that surrounds it. It might be the gossip, the petty thoughts, the cheap shots, the sarcastic comments, the talking behind one’s back.

So how about trying a different approach? Find sources that speak to your heart. Cultivate those, and eschew those that taste bitter or spoiled.

Here’s a story I think you will enjoy. Please take a look and see what you think of this person’s incredible passion and heartfelt emotion. It reinforces my faith in humanity. And I know it is the truth. Or at least that is my belief. What is yours?

Reflections on reflections

Stillness on the water, Tucker Pond, Salisbury, NH, October 2006, HP Photosmart R817, Exposure 1/800 sec @ f4.5, ISO 100, no flash © Steven Crisp [Click on the photo to enlarge]

I collect quotes. Don’t ask me why — I don’t know. Whenever I read something that affects me, or has a ring of truth (or irony, or humor), I tend to file it away. For later. For when my mind is elsewhere, and needs to be re-grounded.

Lately my mind has been everywhere, except here. That’s not good or bad, it just is.

But I came across this today, and just felt like sharing. The world is a reflection of us, and we of it. It is quite difficult at times to distinguish the reflection from the reflected. And so it should be. For there is no difference. Really, no separation between the two. We understand this when the water settles, and our mind is clear and free from distraction.

The world is your mirror.

The good you find in others, is in you too.
The faults you find in others, are your faults as well.
After all, to recognize something you must know it.

The possibilities you see in others, are possible for you as well. The beauty you see around you, is your beauty. The world around you is a reflection, a mirror showing you the person you are.

To change your world, you must change yourself. To blame and complain will only make matters worse. Whatever you care about, is your responsibility. What you see in others, shows you yourself.

See the best in others, and you will be your best. Give to others, and you give to yourself. Appreciate beauty, and you will be beautiful. Admire creativity, and you will be creative.

Love, and you will be loved. Seek to understand, and you will be understood. Listen, and your voice will be heard. Teach, and you will learn.

-- Author unknown

So, when all is said and done ... Here’s looking at you, kid. Take a gander in that mirror. You just might notice something you hadn’t seen before.

Still Water

Still water, Tucker Pond, Warner, NH, October 2006, HP Photosmart R817, Exposure 1/625 sec @ f3.4, ISO 100, no flash © Steven Crisp [Click on the photo to enlarge]

We are a generation, and a people, exposed to more information than at any time before in our brief human existence. And the rate of change has been absolutely fantastic. Truly unbelievable. Is it for good, or for ill? Well, of course, like everything in life, it is neither, and at the same time, it is both. That is, there is nothing intrinsically good or bad about this availability/onslaught (depending on your bias) of information. And of course, it can contribute to both significant good, or possible ill.

Take our mental health, for example. What is the effect of being bombarded by mass media messages of world-wide disasters, environmental peril, never-ending desire for more, juxtaposed with unimaginable poverty elsewhere in the world? It is hard for some to just turn this off -- or to consciously choose which information spigots they wish to open. But I would strongly encourage such control -- in this case, we are more in charge than we sometimes care to admit.

But what if the overhwelming message we get is one of despair? One of concern, about ourselves, our family, or our children's children? Well, if you haven't read this poem, perhaps you will find wisdom in its words. A balm for our overstimulated, overloaded psyches. Breathe deeply. Find peace and quiet. And if possible, let nature offer her suggestions:

The Peace of Wild Things
by Wendell Berry

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Swan Reflection

Swan Reflection, Imperial Palace, Tokyo, Japan, February 2007, Nikon D40 with 18-200mm VR lens, Focal length 75mm, Exposure 1/250 sec @ f5.3, ISO 200, no flash, circular polarizing filter © Steven Crisp [Click on the photo to enlarge]

Which is real -- the swan or its reflection? Of course, they both are "real", right? But you cannot have the reflection without the swan, so perhaps the swan is "more real"? Or perhaps I have to ask instead about the water, since without the water, there is no medium for reflection?

Step back further and ask about the observer. If there is no one to see the reflection, does it exist? Depending on the angle of the observer, and the sun, one may or may not see a reflection. Or one observer may see it, and one in another location, may not.

I think the answer is that the only thing which is real is the observer-swan-water-sun-reflection-etc... combination. Remove any one of this endless chain of being, and what you see here will not have ever existed. It is that level of dependency, that cocreativity, which really defines being.

So what does that mean? Well, it means, essentially, that you cannot "really" cut up the world into separate subjects and objects. The swan does not exist in isolation. Just like its reflection. Nor do you.

Think of the swan as a energy perturbation in a continuum known (for the moment) as the universe. That energy perturbation will be perceived differently by different observers (and their sensory organs). So the only correct explanation is the subject-object combination itself. And this continues ad infinitum, until it engulfs the entire universe. No subjects. No objects. Only being.

Enough of the physics (or metaphysics). What of the beauty? Is it inate? Inherent in the swan? Or its reflection? Or the photograph?

I don't think so -- the beauty is in you, the viewer. Either it is beautiful to you, or it is not. This is a purely subjecive aspect -- yes, one that can be shaped by convention and norms -- but subjective, nonetheless.

So is the beauty "real"? Surely someone can tell you they know beauty when they see it -- it is not a random occurance. It could be tested and is repeatable. And I hope this particular image represents something beautiful to you ;-)

And yet, some people say they see beauty everywhere. Even in what other people "typically" think of as ugly. In death. In squalor. In war. Why do these people see so much more beauty than the "average" person? And is that "real"? Can one be "trained" to see more beauty? Will it come about from other personal changes? From what some call enlightenment?

I don't know. But I do know that depending on my outlook, my perspective, my attention, my intention ... I will see more or less beauty. And I'm always happiest when I'm surrounded by beauty. Wherever and whenever I am.