Is it my imagination or is this year’s fall foliage more vibrant than usual?
Here in the mid-Atlantic region, this seems to be the case. Of course, it’s also true that whenever we bring mindful attention to our chosen focal point, the whole experience becomes a little brighter.
What’s been most exciting for me this autumn is noticing how the deepening of my mindfulness practice is translating into new ways that I approach my photography. In the early days of my meditation and photography journeys, I kept my focus trained on a very narrowly defined anchor of attention — my breath in the former, or a tiny detail of nature in the latter.
Meditation Circuit Training Strengthens Photography Circuit Training
As my morning meditation participants know, I love the analogy of circuit training for the various types of meditation we practice to deepen our capacities for attention and awareness — the states of mind we intentionally work to build in mindfulness practice.
As I’ve strengthened my neural circuity through meditation, I have noticed my photography comfort zone, style, and sense of meaning evolving as well.
Take this shot — where I tried to get as close as possible to the changing leaf.
Zooming in this close, it’s easy to get distracted by what some would call imperfections on the single leaf. We do the same thing with people in our lives — get stuck on a single flaw or two.
But people are made of so many different types of leaves — some flawed, others not. Learning to widen our lens, step back and take in more of the picture than that single chewed leaf, we see that this is a beautiful being before us, comprised of a rainbow of characteristics.
Up or Down?
We have so many choices over the course of our day about where to place our attention. As a macro photographer, my autopilot setting–at least when I had a camera in hand–had become looking down at my feet most of the time.
Somewhere along the way, I must have noticed a pain in my neck from all that downward gazing. As I’ve cultivated deeper mindfulness in nature practices the past couple of years, I have learned to look up more frequently.
Such delight is to be found among the branches, especially when you add bird song and the feel of the breeze on your cheeks to the mix of sensory experiences!
Little Picture or Big Picture?
We also have choices about whether to focus on the small stuff or the big picture. Sure, the temporary leaves are vying for our attention in their flashy party dresses, but we can also choose to focus on the grounded resilience of the forest’s sturdy infrastructure and soak that in ourselves.
And sometimes we can connect with a different type of beauty and aliveness altogether when we let go of the need to focus. Sometimes softening our gaze brings the gift of connection to another layer of energy that we might have missed by trying too hard.
OK, I’ll be straight with you. The picture above was actually a mistake. My camera setting was “wrong” for the image I had intended to create, but this is actually my favorite image of the bunch.
Shifting to the gifts and opportunities to be found when things don’t go as we plan is yet another superpower we cultivate with mindfulness practice. I’ve had great fun this year stretching into new types of seeing and creating with my camera, letting go of limiting beliefs and confining self-definitions.
If you’re curious about exploring or deepening mindfulness skills that allow you to show up for life more fully and intentionally, my final morning meditation program of the year kicks off on Tuesday, November 1, 2022. Learn more here.
And if you’d like to hear more about my photography journey this past year and potentially do some holiday shopping, mark your calendar for my 2022 Damselwings Art Show and Fundraiser on Sunday, December 4, from 4-5 pm ET. Register here to receive the Zoom link and be entered for my free giveaway. Hope to see you there!
