Under a rock

I guess having a boyfriend keeps you busy. I haven't updated my blog since a couple days before the relationship started... as was pointed out by Natasha today. So I don't have anything profound to say other than happy Spring. When I get some profound insight, I'll be sure to post it as soon as it comes. (assuming that happens a lot. ha.)

:)

a quick look back

As the year comes to a close, I look back at the most defining moments. I think it's a little cliché, but at the same time, I inevitably do this every end of year. January seems like ages ago, but the re-occurring theme seems to be the definition of Church - what is community, why is it here, or most importantly, what is it? I've read about, heard about and talked about enough post-modern, emergent Christianity to last me a life time - and though I think it's not as new and history-changing as a lot want to feel it is - it still has been a predominant theme in the past year.

For one I'm glad so many people are tired of "sitting in pews" and are digging a little deeper for what it all really means to "church", but on the other hand, I'm wondering if people aren't spending too much time talking and complaining about it rather than actually doing anything about it. And it's not a new discovery.

I read Keith Green's bio last month and was completely floored. How many people know about the kind of stir he created in religion and Christianity back in the late 70s/early 80s? I had no idea the Christian culture and commercialism had already seeped into society way back then. And I had no idea we had someone like Keith Green to expose it for what it was. All this - even before I was born! And here we are... almost 25 years later... thinking we've got new ideas of church and new ways of extracting real Christianity out of the religion box. I wonder how long believers have been frustrated with this in the past 2000 years.

As much as nothing ever seems to be new, I suppose it's always new to us at one point or another. Regardless, it's been an interesting year - and I think as church has simplified and has been peeled back to its purest form for me, it's been enlightening me in ways that I'm sure will impress me for years to come.

Snow!

I don't know how it happened, but it had something to do with snow and wind and cold. I guess it's winter. Ugh. Comes too fast. Somehow the summer always makes me think that the winter could never come back again.

Our Sunday morning Luke-ing has turned into more of a home church. Wow. We've got more people coming than we'd ever expect. The great thing is that people get hooked from just one visit. We constantly challenge, question, explore and marvel. What a breath of fresh air. Haven't felt this good about church in 6 years.

November, typically, is the cloudiest month of the year. Usually quite drab and depressing... but for some reason, I haven't really felt the effects of it too much. Photography school is a hoot and I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be. It's a good feeling.

(except today... my windshield wiper fell off my car in the middle of a snowstorm. I've been learning to fix up my car on my own lately. Trying to be smart as a student, and breaking the girl mold, all at the same time. Yes, replacing a wiper was a big feat!)

< procrastination >

Sometimes I think that if I tuck away my assignment papers for long enough, they'll somehow evaporate and I won't have to complete them anymore.

But then reality hits hard and then I decide to get down to business. I have to write a paper assessing my "software". Meaning, my emotional state, my lifestyle, my living situation and my future outlook - so that I can have a better idea on how to get into starting my own photography business. I never thought photography school would involve this - but I suppose there's a business side to any career, even when the career feels more like a fun hobby.

No rest for the weary. I can't wait to go out to see a movie on Friday night. Sucks that Into the Wild finished playing here in the city. I suppose I'll have to wait for its DVD release - or maybe it'll pop up at the cheap seats. (the poor student in me really likes the sounds of that)

< / procrastination >

Eggs anyone?

so... a third of the world is living in poverty and tons of kids are dying of starvation. But here in Canada, kids take perfectly good eggs and decide to chuck them at your house - for fun. Yay. Happy hallowe'en. Now I have to get the mop.

treading through complacency

We all live by some sort of moral standard, a guide, some sort of code of ethics. We live by what we understand. Our actions are results of what we truly are impressed and influenced by. A lot of times, for a lot of us, there is an incongruence between what we say we believe and what our actions actually play out in our life. To say that we believe something, that we *like* a certain type of teaching or standard, and to say we understand it - yet our life is a poor reflection of that - I would say is the ultimate failure.

Success should be measured by our social and spiritual graces - our ability to relate to and love others, and ultimately our ability to express where that motivation comes from. True understanding of what we strive to follow is only successful when it is lived out in full expression. And that translation from understanding it to living it out is only possible through transformation.

I would encourage everyone to understand something powerful enough that it will transform you into a person of action and result. Anything less than that will lack in power and all the work will be left on your shoulders. And we all know how lazy we are. True impact on the world happens through authentic transformation which happens from understanding the purest form of Truth.

Our quest for spiritual awakening is not one to appease our fears and soothe our sadness - it is one of transformation and change. Anything less than God, in my experience as a seeker, is one of defeat and dead ends. Tapping into transformation and change happens with nothing less than the extraordinary. And for that, you'll need a little more than a fun hobby or a comfy Sunday morning service.

10 different ways to light a potato

Reading Week at school is more of a figure of speech. For us it meant no class - tons of assignments and all day and night to shoot. I've never done as much shooting back to back as I have done in the past 5 days. It's actually been the highlight of photography school since I've started (minus not seeing much of the students... I miss them!).

I've learned a few note-worthy things:

- the sky is an expanse worthy of more look ups than it gets from us.
- birds are extremely hard to photograph in mid-flight, in focus
- you can make a potato look romantic in the just the right light
- take the time to stop on the side of the road if you're feeling "it"
- you can say a lot about a person by adding more of their environment rather than cropping in for portraits
- the Red River smells like fish. Day and night.
- check the weather
- don't be scared to ask people if you can take pictures of them or their things
- photographing can be like dancing
- there are huge highs, and huge lows. Stop when you have to, go when you're on fire
- always, always, always bring your tripod
- don't forget to put the camera down and enjoy the people around you
- a lot of self-reflection can be done whether you're on a busy street or in a secluded field
- without sight, none of this would happen. Appreciate what you see and that you can.