Liberal Arts Education

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A value-added ingredient for success  however  it’s  defined

In classical Western antiquity the study of the liberating arts consisted of subjects considered essential for a person to be whole, well-rounded and take an active part in civic life. Today these include history, literature, ancient and modern languages, ethics, theology, mathematics, fine art, musicology and more. Today, these are considered the “humanities” as distinguished from the empirical sciences, professional, and vocational subjects.

I chose this theme because of an article I read entitled Science Is Not Enough: Politicians Trying To Dump Humanities Will Hobble Our Economy. (Scientific American. October, 2016. p. 12) It’s a critique by the editors of a U.S. governor and senator who don’t want to subsidize subjects in the liberal arts. The senator, a candidate aspiring to the office of president, “put it bluntly last year by calling for more welders and fewer philosophers.” I understand that this man wanted to promote jobs. But in looking so hard at numbers, he overlooked the fact that forests are constituted of diverse and differentiated trees, each with a unique and necessary contribution to the ecosystem. All work is needed and important toward making a social system whole.

As I see it, the goal of a liberal arts education is to expose students to diverse ideas and cultures and cultivate the ability to think critically and organize and integrate information meaningfully to construct an intelligent life that cultivates sensitivity, awareness, appreciation, wisdom and responsible action in the world. Basically, to contribute to the realization of higher values and constructive activity.

I attended a technical university (Rochester Institute of Technology) and majored in a subject (photography) that had application throughout my professional and teaching careers. I will forever be grateful that the lion’s share of our required courses were in the humanities. Why? Because they helped me to recognize and realize my fuller potentials and widen my perspective of the world, all of which helped me to become a better and more professional person, a more creative photographer, filmmaker, television producer and educator.

The Scientific American editors pointed out that Steve Jobs “was neither a coder nor a hardware engineer. He stood out among the tech elite because he brought an artistic sensibility to the redesign of clunky mobile phones and desktop computers.” Jobs once declared: ‘It’s in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough—that its technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the result that makes our hearts sing.”

Their select observations make the point that the ideal, well balanced, curriculum would provide liberal arts subjects along with vocational training:

  • “The student who graduates after four years of pursuing physics plus poetry may, in fact, be just the kind of job candidate sought out by employers.”
  • “In 2013 the Association of American Colleges and Universities issued the results of a survey of 318 employers with 25 or more employees showing that nearly all of them thought that the ability to “think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex problems”—the precise objectives of any liberal arts education—is more important than a job candidate’s specific major.”
  • “Those same skills, moreover, are precisely the ones for marrying artistic design with the engineering refinement needed to differentiate high-end cars, clothes or cell phones from legions of marketplace competitors—the type of expertise, in fact, that is least likely to be threatened by computers, and other job usurpers.”
  • “Consider America’s vast entertainment industry, built around stories, songs, design and creativity, wrote commentator Fareed Zakaria, author of the book In Defense of a Liberal Education… “All of this requires skills far beyond the offerings of a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) curriculum.”
  • “Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg became avid student of Greek and Latin when he was only in high school, in addition to setting about learning programming languages.”

The editors concluded: “The way to encourage high-tech industry to move to Kentucky—or any other state—is not to disparage Voltaire and Camus. Rather the goal should be to build a topflight state educational system and ease the way financially for students from even the most humble backgrounds to attend. The jobs will follow, whether they be in state government or in social media start-ups.”

My teaching experience backs this up. In my Lifestyles and Workplaces in Television and Film classes we visited local television stations, production companies, sound studios and post-production facilities, even the suppliers of high-end production technologies. Often, the owners and managers indicated that, rather than hire someone who has had a lot of production courses, they would prefer that a candidate have a solid background in the liberal arts. Especially, they expressed a need for trustworthy people who could speak and write. Many said they could teach new employees how to operate a camera and edit according to their needs, but they couldn’t teach them to stand on their feet and articulate ideas, put together well-reasoned arguments, write for clarity, or organize thoughts and images that follow a logical flow. Because the electronic media are in the business of selling ideas through images—often within a limited timeframe—owners and managers were looking for candidates that demonstrated honesty, responsibility, intelligence and creativity, beyond the technical skills they bring to the table.

Socially, I observe recently that we’re experiencing a breakdown in civility and ethics, qualities that hold the fabric of society together. In a world of abundance and media saturation with a widening gap between haves and have-nots, the acquisition of wealth, power and celebrity has become more of a scramble, like a gasping for air. In such a climate the end increasingly justifies the means—no matter the cost to others, the system or the environment. Moral and ethical behavior, including respectful interpersonal communication, seem no longer to be cultivated in many homes. So my appreciation this week goes to parents who are exposing—especially modeling—these virtues at home—and to the workplaces and educational systems that are providing a curriculum that contributes to the development of the whole person.

Since belief determines behavior, doesn’t it make sense that we should be teaching ethical, moral values in every home and in every school in America?

Zig Ziglar, American author, salesman, motivational speaker

The arts and humanities define who we are as a people. That is their power―to remind us of what we each have to offer, and what we all have in common. To help us understand our history and imagine our future. To give us hope in the moments of struggle and to bring us together when nothing else will.

First Lady Michelle Obama

Subtle Attraction

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Paying attention to that which attracts

Drydock Boat

There are many ways that photography can feed the soul. As the print of this image was taking shape in the developer, my heart was activated before I even had a chance to reflect on the subject matter. Later, I decided to contemplate the impulse of heart activation, what I regard as a force of subtle attraction. In common parlance, it’s quite simply the energy of love.

When working creatively, there comes a pull—felt largely in the chest—that prompts a desire to explore the subject more thoroughly, to deal with it, perhaps to sustain or intensify the feeling and gain more understanding about what triggered it. Whether the initiating force is a person, place or thing there’s an urge to explore the experience further so it can be repeated.

By delving into the minutest details of attraction, connoisseurs of wine, restorers of vintage cars, collectors of all kinds and animal lovers engage their subject with a passion. Whether or not it’s financially profitable as an investment of time and energy, the engagement itself is its own reward. I don’t know who said it, but I appreciate the definition of a true artist as one who is compelled to do what they do, irrespective of money, expectations or pleasing or provoking others. They create because they have to. Many artists don’t know why. I suspect it’s the craving of a hungry soul.

The act of creating is engagement with the energy of attraction. Love actually. For some it’s intensified by exploring the nature or appearance of the subject matter. For others the process itself, just working with the materials can activate and deepen the initial attraction. I venture to say that for most, it’s a combination of these. For me, one of the wonderful things about the film process as opposed to digital photography, is that there are greater challenges in terms of craftsmanship, more elements to deal with to reach the impeccable.  As opposed to manipulating pixels and printing images on machines, the process of making gelatin silver photographs is more tactile and arguably more engaging. And because the materials and processes require specialized knowledge and skill in handling as well as a discerning eye, there’s always more to learn and greater care to be taken. I photograph with a digital camera as well. But I derive more satisfaction from making rather than turning out prints.

The virtue of the camera is not the power it has to transform the photographer into an artist, but the impulse it gives him to keep looking.

Ken Royster

Like opening a can of soup, I could have simply printed Dry Dock Boat digitally. But watching the paper emerge from an inkjet printer would have been a flat experience. Contemplating it afterward would have been enriching, no doubt. But as I watched this image blossom in the developer, it engaged my heart. Love immediately. Subtle, but nonetheless. And the experience continued as I moved the prints through the archival solutions, spotting and provenancing. Years later, I still get a jolt of WOW! and THANK YOU! whenever I pull such prints from their envelopes. I refer to such prints as “numinous,” because they elicit a spiritual experience.

In my formulation of the creative process, attraction directs attention, which prompts exploration (consideration, testing, playing) which in turn can lead to eros that says, “This is nice. I’m getting somewhere. I’ll keep at it.” It’s love with hope or expectation. With further deepening (actually it’s an ascent) comes appreciation born of refinement—engagement in the details which, when accompanied by feelings of gratitude can lead to agape or selfless love, an appreciation of the thing itself. Love without expectation. Deeper yet is the domain of experiences, aesthetic among them, where the sensation of fullness, completeness and unity prompts identification with that energy. Even the mundane, approached with awareness or appreciation, can take us there. It’s not about the thing or the process. It’s what happens inside when we’re searching and receptive, open to be moved.

As with most refinements, I’m talking about very subtle energies here. These are not exciting, emotional or dramatic experiences. The world is full of these. Feeding the soul is not like taking a pill. Neither is it an exercise that requires a substantial commitment of time, money or discipline. It’s a matter of simply paying closer attention and attuning to whatever stimulates a pull, the energy of attraction. Love.

If I love the world as it is, I’m already changing it: a first fragment of the world has been changed, and that is my own heart.

Dumitriu Petru

 

Immensity

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Approaching the perennial questions

Sky & Buildings

A mind game that has enhanced my appreciation of the scope of the universe began when, on a clear day somewhere in the 60s, I sat on a park bench overlooking the Ohio river. Having recently read about laser technology, I pointed an imaginary laser into the sky and wondered how far the beam would travel before it would hit something solid. Practically, of course, this wouldn’t happen because gravity would bend the beam as it neared massive objects and a black hole would actually suck it in. (Being a mind game however, I could change the rules).

Irrespective of my position on Earth and no matter where I pointed the laser—and assuming it would travel in a straight line—there’s so much matter in the universe it would eventually contact something solid. It would never move on infinitely, despite the current estimate that only 5% of the universe consists of solid matter. The picture this painted for me then, was of a universe that had some solidity to it. It appeared to have a boundary. But now, there’s the idea that it does not. The simple act of thinking about immensity generates deep wonder, appreciation and an ever expanding perspective because at both ends of the spectrum, micro and macro, matter vanishes into mystery.

According to physicist Brian Greene, “If the entire cosmos were scaled down to the size of earth, the part accessible to us would be much smaller than a grain of sand.” On the one hand, that unfathomable scale and the awesome beauty it evokes can make human beings, even the Earth, seem insignificant. On the other hand, we experience an inner universe which, according to some spiritual traditions (notably Hindu Vedanta), regards consciousness and matter as One, constituted of pure awareness.

My fascination with immensity transfers to photography, often by pointing my camera up. If I had access to an electron microscope I would likely be photographing down as well. The photograph of these buildings in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio are an example of the former. In contemplating it, I regard their vertical lines as vectors that extend into the atmosphere and then space, indefinitely going, going, and going perhaps to the Big Bang.

Scientists regard that as the origin of our local universe, but if there’s an eternal multiverse as is being postulated by some scientists, there wouldn’t be a beginning or an end. The idea was recorded millennia ago by Indian Vedantists, authors of the Vedas, who saw (and see) the manifest universe as a projection or expression of One consciousness.

The nameless, formless Reality, the transcendent awareness in which you are now permanently awake, is precisely the same Reality that you perceive blossoming around you. Brahman is not different from Shakti. The perfectly peaceful Absolute is not different from the playful relative universe. They are simply not two realities. Nor are they two dimensions of the same reality. They are not even two perspectives. Not two! Absolutely not two!

Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Hindu mystic 

(Brahman is pure consciousness or God. Shakti is the fundamental creative dynamism that gives rise to universes).

Given these perspectives, I wonder at the fact that we are creatures who walk on the surface of a magnificent and beautiful planet, while overhead there’s unimaginable immensity there to be witnessed just by looking up. To my way of thinking, it will take the integration of both science and spiritual wisdom—objective investigation and subjective experience—before we can even come close to answering the perennial questions: Who are we? Why are we here? How does the universe work?  What does it mean? Are we alone? Is the universe (literally, “one being”) finite or infinite?

If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea. 

Antoine de Saint Exupéry, French writer, poet, journalist, aviator

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My other sites—

Love And Light greetings.com: A twice-weekly blog featuring wisdom quotes and perspectives in science and spirituality intended to inspire and empower

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com: Black and white and color photography

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique 

smithdl@fuse.net

Cultivation

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By our works we are known

Corn Field

Blunt, South Dakota

When I photographed these orderly rows of young corn extending to the horizon, I was thinking about the farmer and his work, evidenced by the tractor tracks and the amount of time, money and energy it took to plant this enormous field. Reflecting on the image now, I appreciate the contribution of all growers and marvel at the process of cultivation, from conceptualization and planning to planting and harvesting. Having had no experience with farming, I hadn’t given much thought to cultivation. But now, I realize that it’s a sacred process of deciding what’s wanted or needed, planting seeds and following through to realization.

Tracing this field back, I imagine that the farmer’s decision to plant a certain kind and amount of corn was motivated by a variety of factors among them family, economics, climate, soil conditions, insects, impact on the local community and politics. Even at this early stage, the field in this image provides evidence of the choices that were made made, including the thinking, caring and persistent hard work of the farmer. And doesn’t that hold true for individuals, families, communities, schools, businesses, corporations, states and nations as well? A close examination of these social and corporate entities—their “fields”—provide evidence of their collective consciousness, including their worldview, values, choices and actions. Every creation reflects its creator.

So what am I planting? What am I cultivating? And collectively, what are we causing to grow at work and in society? Especially I ask this of the fields that are most formative in our children’s lives—education, movies, television, advertising and social media. And what are we creating in the fields of energy, environment, health and health care, food production and national security? As individuals and as a nation, what are the values, behaviors, manners and speech customs that we are planting in our national fields—and consciousness?

It’s an important question, for “as we sow, so shall we reap.” The consequences of our thinking and choosing today, show up tomorrow. The fields of our lives, where we live and work and come together to collaborate, provide the context and opportunity to plant new, more hearty, robust and nutritious thinking, valuing and processes for ourselves and our children.

And what about the quality of what we’re planting? Does it contribute to growth? Mentally and physically, by absorbing the product of our planting, will we be stronger and more resilient against diseases of the social/global mind, heart or body?

Another consideration, is the field that I tend and the labor I put into it, giving me joy? Just as a good cook becomes so by cooking with love, so we can become good stewards of the earth by doing what we do with love—and loving intention.

I like the analogy of soil cultivation and what we’re sowing in our families, occupations and society, not only because it encourages reflection and assessment of the present, but because it also provides the opportunity to start over and plant that which we truly value.

By their works they shall be known.

Matthew 7:15-20

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My other sites—

Love And Light greetings.com: A twice-weekly blog featuring wisdom quotes and perspectives in science and spirituality intended to inspire and empower

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com: Black and white and color photography

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique 

smithdl@fuse.net

Of Seeds And Roots

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How to grow a living system—like a business

Celestial Roots

Often in my contemplations there are both practical and ephemeral considerations. On the practical side, this image represents a critical lesson that, in my professional life, took me years and many trials to learn. It’s a lesson in strategy when trying to create a social entity such as a business or non-profit organization. Simply put the lesson learned is this: birth begins with a seed. Bottom up. I tried and was disappointed twice because my time, energy and money were invested in top down strategies, that is, developing business plans and initiatives to raise the money to purchase existing “trees” (television channels) instead of planting and nourishing seeds.

In each instance, the vision was so clear, beautiful and sound from a business perspective, I and my colleagues assumed it would be an easy sell. On paper it looked great. But no matter how grand the vision, no matter how thought out, researched and presented, if there isn’t an established track record of financial success, investors will be reluctant to take the risk. They want potential that has been demonstrated to some extent, not a vision.

Growing from a seed is a hard lesson to learn, particularly when the envisioned outcome is so obviously desirable. Those who can see it want it to become real as soon as possible. Were I to start again, my strategic model would be the oak tree. Find an acorn—a seed idea taken from an initiative that has already enjoyed sustained success, modify its purpose and design (DNA) appropriate to the vision, plant the seed by creating a start-up operation that’s as small as possible so the life force can emerge, nurture it according to its growth needs, cut out the weeds (naysayers) and let it grow. In business terms, learn through failures, establish cash flow, keep modifying the design according to what works, and expand only when necessary.

Another aspect that I think is critical when growing a collaborative enterprise that’s unique, is to constantly empower and engage the vision holder, title or no title. The Apple “tree” that Steven Jobs envisioned, birthed and continuously refreshed has been successful because his colleagues (fighting tooth and nail,)honored his vision and commitment such that they kept him in the top decision-making position. It was a rocky road, but in doing so they built a tree that’s robust and resilient.

On the more ephemeral side, this image points me to the unification of the three worlds—celestial, terrestrial and underworld—envisioned by indigenous peoples. Also, the stained glass window standing in as “roots” evokes a sense of the strength and light that are conveyed to the body of the tree. Or person.

All things must come to the soul from its roots, from where it is planted.

                         St. Teresa of Avila

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My other sites—

Love And Light greetings.com: A twice-weekly blog featuring wisdom quotes and perspectives in science and spirituality intended to inspire and empower

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com: Black and white and color photography

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique 

smithdl@fuse.net

Energy And Expansion

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Early Morning Pond

Drop a pebble in a pool of water and waves ripple out. Drop a word or  and idea and these ripple out as well. So also emotions, behaviors and the products of creativity. At some level, given enough time, everything affects everything. And everyone else.

This is the entire image that I use for my home page. I share it here because it illustrates a fundamental property and process of the universe and everything in it—energy and expansion. From photon to cosmos, whatever the matter or medium, energy characteristically expands. It radiates in characteristic wave frequencies.  I find it fascinating that, in this image, it’s not the water that’s radiating, it’s the energy moving through it. Had a cork been floating three feet from the center, it would have bobbed up and down and remained in place.

Although physicists don’t actually know what energy is, they know a lot about its properties, effects and measurement. The textbook definition of energy is the capacity of a system to perform work. And “work” is defined as the movement of force through a distance. That being the case, it seems to me that force is movement itself. Nothing in the universe stands still. Even the atom and its myriad of sub-atomic particles (more appropriately considered fields although they are still talked about as particles) are constantly in motion.

This begs a fundamental question. If the substantive characteristic of energy is movement, how did it get started? What got it going? What sustains it? And what is it that actually moves? I believe that consciousness is fundamental. Whatever it is, it precedes matter. So could it be that within matter there is—both grand and rudimentary (as in rocks)—a “desire” or “intention” to expand? To express? I like this idea because it ties to “affinity,” attraction or love energy, which binds and seeks expression by expanding.

Of course these ideas raise questions that cannot be answered definitively, but expansion of this kind of internal energy (call it yearning or attraction) helps us create meaning and approach the Great Mystery. Where there’s a question there’s always the potential for an answer. And that provides some satisfaction. In this regard I observe that the surface of the pond in this image is largely obscured by fog that’s in the process of clearing. As a species we may as yet be seeing through a fog, but what we are seeing so far is exquisite beyond words.

On a more personal level, the radiating waves evoke in me a quiet and soft sensibility that speaks to the potency of influence that occurs when the thoughts and expressions that ripple out are coherent with the deep currents of life, as opposed to the big splashes that are so bold and dramatic they interfere with or distract us from the underlying currents.

An example of this would be the energies of  hype, glamour and trash-talk in the mass media. Of course there’s a time and place for both excitement and calm. Wisdom, on the other hand, is expressed with calm, discernment and balance.

Any being with energy will disperse that energy. To radiate is the law of the universe. And this is true of all manifested reality… The universe cannot contain the magnificence it houses. Instead, it is compelled to express itself in ten million different ways.

Brian Swimme, Cosmologist

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My other sites—

Love And Light greetings.com: A twice-weekly blog featuring wisdom quotes and perspectives in science and spirituality intended to inspire and empower

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com: Black and white and color photography

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique 

smithdl@fuse.net

Confidence and Trust

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The safety of system’s syntropy against the forces of entropyGuard Rail

Obviously, guard rails are intended to keep vehicles from running off the road and to reduce the severity of injuries when they do. Not so obvious is the observation that their presence indicates a lack of trust. Appropriately so. Bad accidents, even death, may have occurred had we trusted—ourselves and the other guy. This image reminds me that, because human beings cannot be trusted, safeguards are necessary, increasingly so in proportion to the level of distrust, which in highly mobile societies increases with population density and social complexity. Without safeguards, the odds of breakdown increase as more people are on the road with more distractions.

At the same time, the presence of guard rails on roadsides generates a (largely unconscious) bit of trust. These metal barriers actually have served their purpose. Systemically speaking, they are “syntropic.” They reduce the effects of entropy, which is the tendency of systems to dissipate heat. In other words, break down. In the case of a highway system, entropy amounts to the dis-integration of roadway integrity. If entropy goes unchecked by safeguards such as improvements in the areas of car design, road maintenance, guards and signage, more and more severe accidents will occur. The many innovations, requirements and regulations surrounding car and passenger safety are prime examples of how syntropy reduces the frequency and severity of mayhem and catastrophe.

I reflect on the human body, mind and spirit, which are equally susceptible to the forces of entropy—from tooth decay to depression. At base, advertisers are in the business of selling syntropy: products and services that help prevent, retard, manage or eliminate the effects of entropy. (In living systems, 100% entropy equates with death. Maximum equilibrium). So to gain more confidence in the components of our personal and social lives, ultimately to increase  health and well-being for both, regulation is essential. A social example is the national economy. It’s heavily regulated, not so the few can disadvantage the many, but to insure stability and increase public confidence, which directly influences the nation’s health and well-being.

The word “regulation” in some spheres—mine was the broadcast television industry—has been seen as a threat to individual liberty. “Don’t tell me how to run my business.” Whether the social unit is a family, church congregation, community, business, corporation, nation or the global family, without regulation entropy will inexorably result in more and more severe breakdowns. Systemically speaking, zero regulation equates with no growth. Such an entity would completely dis-integrate if nothing is done to reign in the propensity to act solely in its own self interest and preservation.

Socially, the free flow of entropy is enhanced when the members of a system act primarily in their own interest (in some instances justifying it as a “right”), as if their health and well-being are independent of the other members of the system. It’s not. Never was, never will be because humans are social beings, interconnected and interdependent physically, emotionally and economically. Independence is both an illusion and an entropic idea. So is “nationalism,” which takes independence to a grand scale. Proof of the viability of grand ideas can be had by applying them to the lowest level possible. For instance, how long can a person survive without any outside resources? How long could a family survive, and what quality of life would it have, without any assistance from outside? Interdependence is syntropic. So is diversity, because it promotes resilience in the face of social and environmental breakdown.

I tend to see systemic break downs, in part, as the impetus for break throughs. Futurist and author, Barbara Marx Hubbard, observed that “Crisis precedes transformation.” Breakdown itself signals that change is happening and for good reason, suggesting it’s time to pay attention and shift gears, to perceive and think differently about the system. Sometimes, personally and socially, we need to experience what doesn’t work in a system in order to rethink and redesign it so it does work. In physical systems we have highway guardrails, seat belts and toothpaste. The Center for Disease Control (CDC), the Civil Rights Act and the Medicare and Medicaid Acts keep social systems functioning. Religion is an example of a spiritual system. Ideally, the learning that occurs in periods of breakdown, eventually contributes to breakthroughs. If not, entropy becomes a downward spiral resulting in systemic dis-integration and death.

Trouble is, it’s easy to tolerate breakdowns and shrug them off as someone else’s responsibility—even to the point of crisis—as we’re experiencing in climate change, political division and increasing lawlessness. Social systems (democracies, dictatorships, mass media, religions) are not capable of new thinking because they have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. They just want it to grow. Evolution has shown, and the future will favor the everyday people at the bottom of the pyramid changing their minds and preferences, no longer tolerating self-centered leaders or systems, refusing to “feed” egos and short-term thinking, by deciding to live in harmony with the earth and others. Social scientists refer to them as “emergents.”

If ten people walk beyond civilization and build a new sort of life for themselves, then those ten people are already living in the next

Daniel Quinn, American author (Ishmael, the novel), cultural critic, publisher of educational texts

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My other sites—

Love And Light greetings.com: A twice-weekly blog featuring wisdom quotes and perspectives in science and spirituality intended to inspire and empower

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com: Black and white and color photography

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique 

smithdl@fuse.net

Context And Order

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Principles underlying information in human communication

Intersection

I was thinking about the complexity represented in this image when I noticed that it’s also rich in context, providing both time and space perspectives. The nighttime and elevated point of view displays pattern, while the time-exposure reveals motion. Combined, the image speaks to me of complexity, interaction, order, flow and intersection. My contemplation could have gone in any of these directions—and perhaps will another time—but for now I’m drawn to considerations of context and order.

Information theorists consider “data” to be the objective and meaningless elements presented to mind: the letters that form these words, pixels on a computer screen, notes on a music score, tonalities of light and dark in a photograph. One of my favorite quotes regarding a step up from data comes from visual anthropologist, Gregory Bateson, who observed that “Information is a difference that makes a difference.” Alone, locked between pages or in a file, a gathering of words, pixels, notes or tonalities is meaningless data. But when a mind examines that data and finds that it makes or would make a difference, it becomes information.

For example, the above image is loaded with information. A traffic engineer would derive more and different information, as would a police officer or legislator. Each would notice things the others don’t see. And that takes us to context, considerations of time, place and perspective including the photographer’s motivation, purpose and intent. Frames (context) such as location and time enable the development of personal meaning, which becomes the springboard for judgement and decision making. Frames themselves—all frames—communicate. The one doing the framing or providing context says, in effect, “Focus on this, not that. Pay attention to what’s within the bounded frame. There’s significance here. You may find it meaningful as well.”

As part of our quest for meaning, we’ll sometimes place our everyday, ordinary perceptions of people, places, experiences and objects in larger frames. Broader contexts enhance meaning by providing more information potential. We’re standing on the curb waiting for the light to change, shifting our gaze from a car to a child and then to an ad on the side of a truck. And suddenly, for no apparent reason, our field of view goes from close-up to wide angle, like our consciousness has instantly changed lenses. And with it, awareness expands. Instead of thinking about the ad or our next appointment, we’re watching the unfolding life of the city, a sense of humanity as a whole rather than a collection of busy individuals. Context, framing does that. It happens with any dramatic shift in perspective. It’s how film directors manipulate attention. “Look here! Now there!” Wide to extreme closeup.

For some, the above image might provide insight or trigger a memory of a particular time or place. Photographs document. They store data so information can be had and meaning generated. For others, it might express the orderly flow of traffic in a busy city. Still others might zoom in to the signs and lines on the sidewalk, the traffic lights, benches, newspaper boxes and streetlights, which could lead to an awareness of city highways, infrastructure and the individuals responsible for them. Point of view (POV) applies to the viewer as well as the photographer, particularly when the intent it to make images that are evocative.

For me, the linearity, coherence and convergence of the light trails in this image evoke the flow of unique individuals, each with their unique perceptions, concerns, experiences, ideas, potentials, desires and pursuits—and in the blending lines, their convergence. Within this frame—a hotel window around the corner from Lincoln Center in New York City—I see the myriad of diverse backgrounds and thoughts ordered and blending, a demonstration that beneath the dynamic complexity and chaos of the city, there are organizing principles at work, guiding our actions and the ascent of life. .

At the heart of the most random or chaotic event lies order, pattern, and causality, if only we can learn to see it in large enough context.

           Corinne McLaughlin, American author, educator, executive director of The Center for Visionary Leadership, Fellow of The World Business Academy                                                     and the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland.

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My other sites—

Love And Light greetings.com: A twice-weekly blog featuring wisdom quotes and perspectives in science and spirituality intended to inspire and empower

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com: Black and white and color photography

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique 

smithdl@fuse.net

What’s Your Story?

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Our backgrounds reveal who we once were and how we got to where we are

While writing my novel Soul Train, I wanted to model one of the characters after a dear friend and colleague of twenty years. He’d recently passed away and I realized that the only thing I knew about his personal life, aside from what I learned from his wife, was the university he attended. I knew his worldview and philosophy of life, but I knew very little about the experiences that had shaped it. Fortunately, after contacting some of our mutual friends and colleagues, I was able to piece together some of the amazing places he’d been and things he’d experienced and done. In the process, I became aware of how little I knew about many of the people who, on many business and social occasions, sat across from me.

When we apply for a job we hand over our resumes and curriculum vitae to strangers, but chances are members of our family and friends would be surprised by some of the items on them. Maybe we don’t share that information out of modesty, or because it would bore people. But in an appropriate context, such as informal get-togethers, the sharing of stories about a person’s family, education, employment, travels, significant others and formative experiences can promote understanding and deepen our appreciation, perhaps even provide life lessons for young people and others. It would certainly provide topics for future conversations and deepen our respect for the person’s life journey.

To avoid the “Do you want to talk about me or should I?” embarrassment, the host or someone else could suggest, “You know what would be great? How about we go around and each one take ten minutes to tell the highlights of your story?” My first experience of this was in a Dale Carnegie class when I was in high school. The lesson being taught was “Speak in terms of the other person’s interests.” I came away knowing the names and backgrounds of thirty adults (I was the youngest). Much later, as an adult, I experienced this again on several occasions with various interest groups. Each time it was so delightful, to this day I remember many of the people and their backgrounds. And importantly, those “round-robin” stories invigorated our conversations on other matters. 

The sharing of personal histories within the family is especially important for young people. It helps to shape their identity, ties them to the past and provides lessons for the future. Whatever the context, family, fun or business, the sharing of personal backgrounds stimulates a great deal of wonder, appreciation and laughter. 

Telling our personal story constitutes an act of consciousness that defines the ethical lining of a person’s constitution. Recounting personal stories promotes personal growth, spurs the performance of selfless deeds, and in doing so enhances the ability of the equitable eye of humanity to scroll rearward and forward. Every person must become familiar with our communal history of struggle, loss, redemption, and meaningfully contemplate the meaning behind our personal existence in order to draft a proper and prosperous future for succeeding generations. Accordingly, every person is responsible for sharing their story using the language of thought that best expresses their sanguine reminiscences. Without a record of pastimes, we will never know what we were, what we now are, or what we might become by steadfastly and honorably struggling with mortal chores.

Kilroy J. Oldster, Author, Dead Toad Scrolls

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My other sites—

Love And Light greetings.com: A twice-weekly blog featuring wisdom quotes and perspectives in science and spirituality intended to inspire and empower

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com: Black and white and color photography

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique 

smithdl@fuse.net

Reflection

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I recently encountered a metaphor relating to reality. I passed over it quickly so I’m not able to reference the source, but the image stuck with me—perhaps because it aligned with Plato’s notion that the reality we experience is akin to shadows projected onto the wall of a cave. In my reading, the author created the image of a rowboat floating on a lake. The author observed that we couldn’t see the boat, only its reflection. The boat itself represented ultimate reality and its reflection our experience of that reality. Similar to Plato’s observation, the point being made was that the reflection is not the boat; the physical universe is a reflection of  ultimate reality, the obvious example being how we are blind to the quantum dimension that constitutes and sustains the world of matter.

That was nice. But what kept me thinking about the metaphor was the author’s comment that the clarity of a boat’s reflection, our perception of it, is determined by the state of the water. When the lake is still, the reality is more perfectly reflected and there’s more of a one-to-one relationship. As the water becomes more agitated the reflection becomes distorted. The more the agitation, the more the distortion.

On a recent photography expedition to the Everglades, I went farther south to photograph some turquoise water. In Key Largo, gateway to the Keys, I asked at the Visitor’s Center where I could find the closest access to clear water. I was surprised when the lady indicated that the best place was Key West. I didn’t want to drive 100 miles, so I asked if there was any place closer. “Not really,” she said. “It’s private property all the way down.” And it was. On both sides of the divided highway it was wall-to-wall shops and trees and signs, no water to be seen. After driving about forty miles I finally pulled into a restaurant that advertised “Waterfront Dining.” Indeed, after cruising the parking lot until a spot opened, I was shown to a picnic bench where, beyond the piers of a three-story deck where people sat at a bar I could see the water—and a small beach boarded by fences with no access, no place to walk along the water. As it happened, the “music” was so loud I had to leave. After two more such places I realized that, while the Keys had plenty of entertainment venues, they were not conducive to appreciating or photographing nature. I turned around and headed north.

Reflecting on that experience, I think about the juxtaposition of the beautiful and calm, clear water and the disturbed reality just thirty or forty feet from the beach. What I learned is that, along with travel comes the turbulences of traffic congestion, noise, rushing, frustrated waiting, the anxiety of making connections on time and spoiled environments. One of the reasons why, after traveling, we say “it’s good to be home” is that it’s the place where the “waters” are calm and the reflections are clear.

You can’t see wisdom, but you can see its reflection. Its reflection is happiness, fearlessness, and kindness.

Silvia Boorstein, Author, psychotherapist, Buddhist teacher

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My other sites—

Love And Light greetings.com: A twice-weekly blog featuring wisdom quotes and perspectives in science and spirituality intended to inspire and empower

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com: Black and white and color photography

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique 

smithdl@fuse.net