Hi friends!
We are back with part 3 of 5 of our collaborative fun! Every Wednesday for 5 weeks (October 23-November 20), my dear friend Amy (of Tao Te Ching daily) and I will collaborate on a set of essays with a pair of photos. We each are writing on the topic that the photo evokes and then briefly responding to what the other wrote, so you’ll get to read both essays and see both photographs. The response to our first post was amazing and we are both so filled with delight that so many of you enjoyed it.
Amy and I recorded a very short audio introduction to our series, which you can listen to here. I thought it would be super weird to listen to my voice, but it sounds pretty awesome, I think! Have a listen.
The inspiration for this week’s post came from my two photos combined with this quote from Chapter 25 of the Tao Te Ching:
There is a primaeval force
that existed before Heaven,
Before Earth was born.
Tranquil. Formless.
Standing alone yet never changing –
It permeates everything and never nears its end.
It could thereby be considered
the Mother of the world.
I do not know its name –
I call it Tao.
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Amy has written beautifully about silence as the natural state of existence. Read her words here and then come back and read my response:
As an introvert and an HSP, I rely on silence and alone time to rejuvenate/recover from a flurry of activity. Weekends in our house are usually full of goings and doings with my family which are wonderful and fun, yet I keep in mind like a beacon the upcoming quiet of Monday morning to help propel me through them.
I’m told that extroverts get their energy from being around other people and introverts are the opposite. Only in stillness and calm do I find my center and connect with what is important to me. Only after all the people and energy have left a space can I process what happened. I’m great (maybe it’s my Gemini nature) at putting forth a tremendous amount of energy to organize an event and being “on” in a crowd, but I find it completely exhausting.
There was a time about 12 years ago when I resigned from a long-held job that was outwardly community-focused and called for event after event after event like this with continual community exposure. I couldn’t even go get my haircut without running into someone and having to discuss “work” ideas. I imagine it’s like being mayor or clergy, where there is very little separation between personal ideals and working with others around you to implement or maintain them.
And yet… I would be the last person to sign up to live alone on an island for an extended period of time. It is only in moderation that I appreciate the lulls. Too much and I begin to despair. There must be a happy medium between the push and pull of such isolation.
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What do you think??? Please share your thoughts with us. We will be back next Wednesday with Part 4 of our series. Oh no! You missed Part 1 and Part 2? No worries…
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Amy Putkonen writes regularly about the Tao Te Ching at her blog, Tao Te Ching Daily. She challenges you to reflect on Taoist principles in real life situations and see where it takes you. Stop by and say hello!
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Naomi Wittlin is a photographer, blogger, and artist who lives in Houston, TX with her husband and 4-year-old daughter. She welcomes visitors and new subscribers at poeticaperture.com.
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Our collaborative photo-essay series will feature 10 of Naomi’s photographs, all of which are available for purchase as a pack of blank greeting cards. To see all the images and for details, please click the photo to the left. They’re sitting right here next to me, waiting for you to ask for some!
What a lovely post you and Amy wrote. Absolutely stunning photography Naomi. I need silence, lots of it and I love being at home. I hate being out in crowds, parties and busy places where there’s lots of people, action and noises. I used to be a lot more tolerant when I was younger and enjoyed going out a lot more.
Today I decided to take my sister up on her offer for me and her to get away at her new cottage that her family just bought… I will have 3 days of nothing to do except self-care, reading, resting, walks in nature, and silence… bring it on! 🙂
Suzanne McRae recently posted…Time in nature to fill my soul!
Naomi what a great effort you are bith putting in. The mountain photos are really beautiful. I loved the quote you chose to go with them. Just perfect.
Haha you got to my blog before it was finished. I forgot to hit unpublished. Still have a lot mire to do but I totally appreciate your visit.
Oh good because I want to know more about the other titles too. 🙂
I enjoyed your essay and agree, silence is essential. I dislike having the radio on for hours on end and I can’t stand much television. It’s impossible for me to ignore a TV. I followed your link to the sensitive person website and skimmed the quiz, and I think I’ll have to admit it applies to me also. I think we all need our personal balance of social interactions and peace. I am glad that my job isn’t nearly as intense as yours was. Our office is mostly silent, just the sound of computer keyboards, and occasional conversation.
Susanna, thanks for visiting. I think HSPs are intuitive and empathic by nature, gifts that help us tune in to other people’s emotions. It’s a good thing. Your office sounds quite peaceful. 🙂
Hi Naomi,
You and I are so alike. I could totally relate to your old job – that is a lot what mine is like, although thankfully the work stays at work. My entire days are filled to the brim with requests for my time. I could take it as a complement to be so needed, but it feels much more like a burden most days as I try to get people to go elsewhere for help and get some load off my plate. So the island? Sure. Sign me up! Just for a month or so, and then I would be ready to face the world again. Eager, even.
Amy Putkonen recently posted…Photo Essay #3 with Naomi Wittlin
Well, if you’re there, could I come too? I’ll be quiet. 🙂