Sunday, January 23, 2011

People finding words for my thoughts part 1 - photography, attention & contemplation

I found this post by Jonny Baker fascinating... because it helps to explain my love of photography - photography has increased my awareness. In the post, Jonny quotes from a book entitled Thomas Merton: a master of attention by R Waldron...
to become a contemplative one must develop the spiritual eye of attention and what in modern life symbolises more fully and exactly what the life of a contemplative life entails than the camera

solitude and silence are the sine qua non of being a contemplative. in fact a photographer is a contemplative in his own right: he too must become a master of attention

if we had to reduce merton's 'a vow of conversation' to one theme it would be 'learning to see'

for much of the world's beauty we have only one chance to look
This is really meaningful to me and I am grateful to Jonny for sharing it. Photography has helped me to "see"... and it continues to help me to "see".

I give this to the Lord and ask Him to help me see what He wants me to see... to see His hand in the ordinary as well as the extraordinary... the natural and the supernatural... and to help others see it too.

Thanks Jonny.

Tx

1 comment:

Angus Mathie said...

This is an excellent piece and very thought-provoking. We miss so much in the busyness of life but your photos are helping us to look at even the "ordinary" things and benefit from what we see.

It touches on some of the simple spiritual disciplines we do not practice, of prayer, intercession, meditation, etc., in silence and solitude. We are lost rather in activity.

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