My wish is for her to grow up in a world where people are judged for who they are, and not by the color of their skin, not for who they love, who they worship, by their gender, or the size of their bank account. My wish is for this world to become our world, where ‘live and let live’ is only the starting point, and where my children, your children, all children become ‘ours’ to educate, to heal, to care for so they are prepared and able to help make our world a better place.
NAOMI BALTUCK ~ is a Contributing Editor and Resident Storyteller here at Bardo. She is a world-traveler and an award-winning writer, photographer, and story-teller whose works of fiction and nonfiction are available through Amazon HERE. Naomi presents her wonderful photo-stories – always interesting and rich with meaning and humor – at Writing Between the Lines, Life from the Writer’s POV. She also conducts workshops such as Peace Porridge (multicultural stories to promote cooperation, goodwill, and peaceful coexistence), Whispers in the Graveyard (a spellbinding array of haunting and mysterious stories), Tandem Tales, Traveling Light Around the World, and others. For more on her programs visit Naomi Baltuck.com
A black and white photo is light and dark, its sharp contrasts easy on the eye.
Perhaps black and white is easier on the mind as well. No difficult decisions, no wavering, no questioning right from wrong. But real life is in color, with many subtle hues and shades. Condemned prisoners who crossed over The Bridge of Sighs in Venice got one last peek at their beloved city. Did they see their world in terms of black and white, or in color? Perhaps one’s perception depended upon whether one was looking in or out, whether one was coming or going.
It is easy to cast judgements, until you have walked a mile in another person’s shoes, looked into her eyes, heard his story. The world is not black and white. It is the color of flesh and blood, with many gray areas. What is the color of a human tear?
All images and words by Naomi Baltuck, copyright 2012
NAOMI BALTUCK ~ is a Contributing Editor and Resident Storyteller here at Bardo. She is a world-traveler and an award-winning writer, photographer, and story-teller whose works of fiction and nonfiction are available through Amazon HERE. Naomi presents her wonderful photo-stories – always interesting and rich with meaning and humor – at Writing Between the Lines, Life from the Writer’s POV. She also conducts workshops such as Peace Porridge (multicultural stories to promote cooperation, goodwill, and peaceful coexistence), Whispers in the Graveyard (a spellbinding array of haunting and mysterious stories), Tandem Tales, Traveling Light Around the World, and others. For more on her programs visit Naomi Baltuck.com
Once, when we were running late, I was waiting impatiently to lift my little boy Eli into his car seat, while he studied a bug on the driveway. “Hurry up!” I said. “We’re going to be late.”
Puzzled, my little boy looked up at me and said, “Mommy, why are you using that tone of voice?”
Such a grownup expression from the mouth of the babe! And it took my breath away.
“You’re right, honey,” I told him. “It’s not the end of the world if we’re late to pre-school, and it wouldn’t be your fault, if we were.”
Eli and I had a good look at the bug, while I quietly reflected upon what kind of parent I wanted to be. Which memory of me would I want my kids to look back on and remember me by? My mother once told me, “The best friends you’ll ever have are the ones you raise yourself.” Bless her! Bless them! Bless us all!
I love that tee shirt that says, “Please let me be the person my dog thinks I am.” But I aspire always to be the person my kids think I am.
All words and images copyright Naomi Baltuck
NAOMI BALTUCK ~ is a Contributing Editor and Resident Storyteller here at Bardo. She is a world-traveler and an award-winning writer, photographer, and story-teller whose works of fiction and nonfiction are available through Amazon HERE. Naomi presents her wonderful photo-stories – always interesting and rich with meaning and humor – at Writing Between the Lines, Life from the Writer’s POV. She also conducts workshops such as Peace Porridge (multicultural stories to promote cooperation, goodwill, and peaceful coexistence), Whispers in the Graveyard (a spellbinding array of haunting and mysterious stories), Tandem Tales, Traveling Light Around the World, and others. For more on her programs visit Naomi Baltuck.com
When we traveled to Ireland we visited Skellig Michael, a monastery founded by Christian monks in the 7th century. Life there was remote and harsh, the weather often severe. The monks collected rainwater to drink, raised a few animals and imported soil from the mainland nine miles away so they could grow vegetables on that barren little island.
If a monk made a rare crossing to the mainland for supplies, rough weather might strand him there for a week or a month. To return to his spartan life in a cold stone beehive hut, he would have to climb 700 feet up these winding stairs, bearing whatever supplies he had fetched home.
On our life’s journey most of us earn our bread, raise our families, and pursue our passions. Sometimes, like water flowing down a hillside, we take the path of least resistance. What in your life do you care enough about to be willing to make this climb?
– Naomi Baltuck
All words and images (including the portrait below) copyright 2013 Naomi Baltuck,All rights reserved
NAOMI BALTUCK ~ is a Contributing Editor and Resident Storyteller here at Bardo. She is a world-traveler and an award-winning writer, photographer, and story-teller whose works of fiction and nonfiction are available through Amazon HERE. Naomi presents her wonderful photo-stories – always interesting and rich with meaning and humor – at Writing Between the Lines, Life from the Writer’s POV. She also conducts workshops such as Peace Porridge (multicultural stories to promote cooperation, goodwill, and peaceful coexistence), Whispers in the Graveyard (a spellbinding array of haunting and mysterious stories), Tandem Tales, Traveling Light Around the World, and others. For more on her programs visit Naomi Baltuck.com
Contemplative photography is a practice I try to observe. So often, I end up reserving it for vacation times. However, with the advent of phone cameras and the increased capabilities they have, contemplative photography is at my fingertips every day! I am reading a book on contemplative photography and would like to share some of the thoughts it is stirring in me and the information it has. The book is Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice by Christine Valters Paintner. You can find her at Abbey of the Arts.
Contemplative seeing is described by Carmelite William McNamara as a “long loving look at the real.” Let’s think about what each one of these words means.
Long – to see, we need to slow down and notice our surroundings, immerse ourselves into the moment
Loving – to see clearly, we need to have a compassion filter that sees beauty in all things, the horrible and the joyful
Look at the real – to see things as they are, not how we want them to be
Contemplative seeing also requires a journey from the head down into the heart.
In Buddhism, there is a practice of contemplative photography called Miksang. This is Tibetan for “good eye.” Miksang has the goal of looking at the real without judgement or distinctions like “beautiful” or “ugly.” The goal is to see things as they are without attaching value judgments and to appreciate it. This opens up a third space, seeing things in a creative new way. I am reminded of a visit I made to the women’s prison. It was a spectacular Pacific Northwest day. Brilliant blue skies. Inside the prison, walking across the grounds, I looked up and saw the razor wire. At the same time it was incredibly beautiful and incredibly repulsive. That is the tension that the “good eye” brings.
robin sitting still
between barbs of sharpened steel
her spirit will soar
In Christianity, this “good eye” is termed the “third eye” by Richard Rohr. He describes it as the moment when “our heart space, our mind space, and our body awareness are all simultaneously open and non-resistant. I like to call it presence. It is experienced as a moment of deep inner connection, and it always pulls you, intensely satisfied, into the naked and undefended now, which can involve both profound joy and profound sadness. At that point, you either want to write poetry, pray, or be utterly silent.”
The monk, Thomas Merton, started practicing contemplative photography and he said, “How the blank side of a frame house can be so completely beautiful I cannot imagine. A completely miraculous achievement of forms.” Perhaps the good eye or the third eye is simply seeing the miracle.
All this is quite a lead up to the offering I have today of a contemplative photograph. I am going to offer an image and then I encourage you to visit one from Thomas Merton he titled “Sky Hook” and described as the “Only known photograph of God.”
After entering the photograph(s), please consider sitting with the feeling that is created when you shift from head seeing to heart seeing. Gaze lightly into the distance without focusing on any one thing. Be present to the real. After you have considered these photographic offerings, perhaps you would consider gazing around you, holding compassion in your heart and seeing something beautiful. If you have your camera, great! If not, consider the magical moment of holding the image in your heart and then releasing it.
Community
Reflection: What, if anything, has changed? How was the journey from head to heart?
TERRI STEWART is Into the Bardo’s Sunday evening chaplain. You can expect a special post from her each week. She comes from an eclectic background and considers herself to be grounded in contemplation and justice. She is the Director and Founder of the Youth Chaplaincy Coalition that serves youth affected by the justice system. As a recent graduate of Seattle University’s School of Theology and Ministry, she earned her Master’s of Divinity and a Post-Master’s Certificate in Spiritual Direction with honors and is a rare United Methodist student in the Jesuit Honor Society, Alpha Sigma Nu. She is a contributing author to the Abingdon Worship Annual.
Her online presence is “Cloaked Monk.” This speaks to her grounding in contemplative arts (photography, mandala, poetry) and the need to live it out in the world. The cloak is the disguise of normalcy as she advocates for justice and peace. You can find her at www.cloakedmonk.com,www.twitter.com/cloakedmonk, and www.facebook.com/cloakedmonk. To reach her for conversation, send a note to cloakedmonk@outlook.com.
There is a spiritual practice called SoulCollage®. The main focus of this practice is to put together a collage that represents various things to you… your inner committee, your community, world archetypes, or totems and chakras. Below is an example of a card I created that represents various voices on my inner committee.
One of My Committee Cards
It isn’t simply the making of the card that is the point, but it is exploring the card. If I look at the card and the various images, I can settle into one (or more) of the images and complete the following sentence. I am the one who….
I am the one who dreams
I am the one who prophesies
I am the one who walks towards a voice that calls
I am the one who is grounded
I am the one who flies
I could continue on. What became clear to me after I put these images together is that the holy and the worldly are held together in one place for me. That I need the child-like dreamer to be the one who confronts injustice and demands change. That the holy ferris wheel in my head holds together joy and the sacred. That being grounded allows me to fly. And I could still continue on!
Now it is your turn! I have taken a few photos of various situations, people, animals, things. I am presenting them here. I ask you to locate one photo (maybe more), and enter it and complete the statement: “I am the one who ___________________ .”
What did you discover?
How was the process for you?
“The greatest hazard of all, losing one’s self, can occur very quietly in the world, as if it were nothing at all. No other loss can occur so quietly; any other loss – an arm, a leg, five dollars, a wife, etc. – is sure to be noticed.”
― Søren Kierkegaard, The Sickness Unto Death
“You are — your life, and nothing else.”
― Jean-Paul Sartre, No Exit
Sydney lives in Singapore from which my son and daughter-in-law recently returned. They were enchanted and vow to go back. If Singapore is anything like Sydney and his blog, everyone would be completely charmed.
The Buddha said, “Fashion your life as a garland of beautiful deeds.” Sydney has fashioned his blog as a garland of beautiful posts. You will see from this one that he is so genuine and enthusiastic about life that he’s irresistible. This particular post warmed my heart. It is loving, respectful, tender.
Today, it is an honor to share Sydney’s visit with his parents here. Thank you, Sydney! Jamie Dedes
To day, my family and me spent half a day doing prayer to my ancestors and deceased parents. The littleBuddhist temple located at Paya Lebar road, where tranquil and serenity lived.
This is the place for holding the prayer for the deceased and the tablets.
My parents are somewhere at the left near the front.
But strangely, I couldn’t see them!
I walked to the back yard, saw a young papaya tree waved and said hello to me.
And walked further, asked Phalaenopsis,” where are my parents?”
She just smiled at me in return.
I asked the pearl drop, do you know where are my dearest parents?
I approached the aging bench.
I feel a balmy and gentle hand pat on my shoulder, and I looked up.
I saw daylight resting on the leaves. I saw them!
Dad and Mom said:” son, not to worry about us! We have friends, many friends here!
You should take good care of yourself and live meaningfully each day!”
I kept nodding in sob.
Raindrops witnessed and shared with me this moment.
My dearest Dad and Mom, I missed you!
SYDNEY FONG(Add Grain on Earth) started blogging in July of 2012 and focuses on photo essays with accompanying music and short narrative interludes. He is the sweet voice of Buddha-like gentleness and a self-described “visionary.” He earns his living as an architectural illustrator. Of his blog he says, “My blog entails categories of my interest, joy, upheaval of life and its destiny. Every post has its own characteristic. It conveys a story of its own, and the life of its owner.” I am pleased to welcome Sydney as a contributing writer to Into the Bardo.
A dear lesson offered in story and photograph by the talented writer/blogger/world traveler, Naomi Baltuck, whose daughter is attending college just down the road from us. The link will take you to her blog to see the whole piece. Naomi is the author of a novel “The Keeper of the Crystal Spring,” which is available in English, German, Spanish and Italian. Her anthology of storytelling , “Apples From Heaven,” is an award winning collection. Jamie Dedes
A friend said to Hodja Nasruddin, “Look at all these dandelions! I’ve tried pulling them, poisoning them, starving them, digging them out by the root. Nothing works. I am at my wit’s end!”
“That’s a shame,” said the Hodja. “They are not a problem for me.”
“Really? Please tell me your secret, my friend!”
“It is very simple,” said Nasruddin. “I have learned to love them.”
Dandelions are native to Eurasia, but have traveled all over this world. In France they were called “Dent de Lion,” or “Lion’s Tooth,” because of their toothed leaves. In England they were, “Piss-a-Beds,” for their diuretic properties. In Germany, Russia, and Italy they are “blowing flowers.” In Catalan, Poland, Denmark, and Lithuania they are “milk flowers,” “milkpots,” and “sow’s milk,” after the flower stem’s milky sap. In Finland, Estonia, and Croatia, they are “butter flowers.” In China, they are “flower that grows in…
That is my wish.
NAOMI BALTUCK ~ is a Contributing Editor and Resident Storyteller here at Bardo. She is a world-traveler and an award-winning writer, photographer, and story-teller whose works of fiction and nonfiction are available through Amazon HERE. Naomi presents her wonderful photo-stories – always interesting and rich with meaning and humor – at Writing Between the Lines, Life from the Writer’s POV. She also conducts workshops such as Peace Porridge (multicultural stories to promote cooperation, goodwill, and peaceful coexistence), Whispers in the Graveyard (a spellbinding array of haunting and mysterious stories), Tandem Tales, Traveling Light Around the World, and others. For more on her programs visit Naomi Baltuck.com
The BeZine 