“I began to realize that my identity depended not upon any beliefs I had, but on how much attention I was paying to things that were other than myself. And as you deepen this intentionality and attention, you start to broaden and deepen your own sense of presence. And I began to realize that the only place where things were actually real was at this frontier between what you think is you and what you think is not you. That whatever you desire of the world will not come to pass exactly as you will like it.” ~ David Whyte, On Being

I want to tell you a story about yesterday. I had a lot of work to do, putting the finishing touches on a presentation that I’m giving today and writing this blog post, among other things. My intention was to write about the weekend I just experienced with the poet, David Whyte, who explores the “conversational nature of reality” through his poetry. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do that. Something in me said “take a walk first.” I wasn’t sure that this was a good idea considering all I had to get done, however, it was an unusually warm and very windy day for October and I was aching to get out. I thought maybe I’d get some ideas for this post.

As I started out, I was thinking about how Whyte says that we have to meet reality as it is; how the conversation shapes us just as we shape the conversation. This is exactly how I think about photography. The image is a symbol of our conversation with reality. So, I decided to meet the windy day as it was and fired up the slow shutter app on my phone. I would feel the wind and see how it was shaping everything in its path.

This exercise truly reflects the way David Whyte speaks about having a conversation with reality. The app has a time delay on it, so I never know exactly when the shutter will click. I choose something to photograph and move the camera, or in this case, let the wind do the moving. I let go of control of the final image. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t.

Below are a few of the images from my conversation with the day, combined with David Whyte’s words from the weekend.

“Go to the place where the conversation is occurring and let the conversation have its way.”

“In a confrontation with reality, there is nowhere to go, and somewhere to go.”

“Be traumatized by beauty.”

“Follow the path of vulnerability. Ask for visible and invisible help.”

“Faith is a powerful connection with the horizon that’s calling you.”

“There is no path. You make the path by walking. By walking, you make the path.”

“Crack your heart open in the right way and let the wind take it.”

“Stop shaping your heaven or hell. Let the world shape you. That’s enlightenment – a conversation with reality.”

Learn more about David Whyte at his website or listen to this On Being podcast.