©2018 IBKimage

It’s so easy to allow the distortions of reality to become the reality that we often proceed from … whether in major transitions or the familiar repeated patterns of our daily habits. External and internal conditions can draw us to false conclusions.

Years ago someone told me a story about a fear of driving over a mountain pass to get to her place of employment in a neighboring town. This was not an unfamiliar route, but the weather conditions were more challenging and she was very fearful. “What if I slide off the road and no one finds me; what if I wreck my car and can’t” … and so on. She then stopped these thoughts and asked herself: ” If this is my last night on earth, do I want to live it being fearful?” With that reframe she proceeded on her way, able to drive on in wonderment of what the moonlight revealed with every new turn down the mountain.

That story changed me. I was afraid of heights and a few other things … when we leave the present for the past we often dance regret; too much time in future anticipations attracts doubts and fears. Author Jan Phillips says this: “We are vulnerable to fear only when we leave the present … It’s in the present moments that I belong. Only there do I feel my balance, find my oneness with all creatures, with all life, with the meadows and mountains.”

Jan’s book is about contemplative photography and as I slowly work through it, I understand again that when I bring the camera to my eye … the peace I feel in that moment in time is the privilege of presence.

Todays image is a deliberate distortion taken from the outdoor track of the Hyatt Hotel in Downtown Denver. Taking a photo at high noon on a sunny day is usually not very realistic, but by shooting into the reflections that the tall buildings provided … conditions changed … it was a dance in the moment delight.
IBK