Hi friends! We are back with part 4 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 are collaborating on a set of essays with a pair of photos. We’re taking turns 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. (Catch up here: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3)
Amy and I recorded a very short audio introduction to our series, which you can listen to here. 
The inspiration for this week’s post came from my two photos combined with this quote from Chapter 56 of the Tao Te Ching:
The Highest State of Humankind
Those who know, do not speak.
Those who speak, do not know.
Close your mouth.
Shut the gates.
Be soft.
Untangle your knots.
Soften your brilliance.
Become one with the dust.
This is the profound union.
No one can get close to you,
yet they cannot be distant either.
No one can help or harm you.
No one can honor or disgrace you.
Thus you achieve the highest state of humankind.
– See more at: http://taotechingdaily.com/tao-te-ching-chapter-56/#sthash.8mGmuZEB.dpuf
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Every so often you come across something in nature for which there are no words… when speaking at all is pointless and ineffective at conveying your respect and wonder. Marvels of creation like the glaciers we saw this summer in Alaska bring me practically to my knees in humbled awe of the grandeur of our natural world. I’ve written already, with photos from our trip, about why an iceberg is blue and how a glacier continues to change, but there is really no effective way to convey the sheer grandeur of a mountainous field of ice that goes on and on for miles.
Perhaps someone else would have felt insignificant standing before something this splendorous. For me, I felt a rush of reassurance that I am even a tiny fraction of such a glorious world… a world that contains senselessness and devastation, but also holds space for forgiveness, rebuilding, potential, progress, magnificence. Surely there is something greater at work here than anything I could imagine. That gives me peace.
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Read Amy’s response here. What do you think??? Please share your thoughts with us. We will be back next Wednesday with the last post of our series.
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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!
The blue is just so perfect!
Katherine E Bland recently posted…Students Prefer Us Because They Are Grateful for Our Responsibility
I am always in continuous awe over how nature has a way of bringing us to our knees. I think we as humans get a bit full of ourselves every now and again and there is nothing greater than a reminder from mother nature to let us know who is really in charge.
Beautiful picture!
Nice!
How wonderful to feel one with the world, that has such magnificent things as glaciers. Maybe the more common reaction springs from a feeling that people are not natural and are in competition with nature. Chapter 56 is quite magnificent also. Thank you!
Hi Naomi!
I loved what you said here. That is an amazing shot. The blue is just so perfect! What a contrast to the heat of Texas! 🙂
Amy Putkonen recently posted…Photo Essay #4 with Naomi Wittlin
For some reason, I had not seen the Tao Te Ching chapter that went with this one, so my essay doesn’t really have the chapter reference but I love how yours ties in there! Yes!
Amy Putkonen recently posted…Photo Essay #4 with Naomi Wittlin
Oh my goodness, yes. I was so happy to escape part of our summer, although it wasn’t very cold in Alaska then. Today, we finally have a cold spell here and you should hear the complaints! I LOVE IT.
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