The Unity of Chaos

The Freedom Tower.

The older I get, the more I realize how complex and unpredictable the world is. Just look at the people around you. We are all inherently confused and uninformed organisms. I think that the majority of people, myself included, often carve out a box consisting of specific ideas and routines. One example of this is a group of tight-knit friends that make a conscious effort to shield each others backs and reciprocate in kind deeds to one another. And while this may sound naive or narrow-minded, if you take a step back and consider the alternative, suddenly rational ignorance doesn't sound all that bad. The only context that I can think of in which we as humans have any morsel of control over our surroundings is that of the home environment. In nearly every other sphere of life, especially in the urban landscape, there are literally millions of factors and forces that affect us on any given day and there is simply no way to even begin to realize all of the variables that are out of our control, much less control the variables themselves. In science they call this an independent variable. In a bittersweet sort of way, the fact that we all live in this chaotic world means that we all go through it together, and thus a sort of harmonious, coalescing vein weaves throughout every individual and to the next, and when we love we are tapping into that communal tie. Chaos knows no social classes or races, since nobody is exempt from havoc. While we as humans may try to convince ourselves that we can determine our own destinies and that we can simply go out there and seize the day, the truth is that we rarely have the luxury to predetermine the outcomes of all the occurrences that take place right before our eyes. The good news is that we have two powerful means of dealing with the events that unceasingly reproduce: the first is reaction, and the second is retrospective. The way we react to something ultimately depends on the attitude that we choose to employ in the situation. If we choose to make the most of the outcomes, regardless of whether or not it is the ideal one, then the outcome will have been fully expedited and therefore stewarded to the best of our abilities. The other tool with which we can clarify this unclear world is retrospective. Hind-sight is 20-20, so remember that it always pays off to look back on the things we experience and learn from them what we can.

I want to conclude by sharing with you a couple of quotes that I feel are both relevant and encouraging.

"The curious tasks of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design." F.A. Hayek

"I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Relive

Perhaps one of the most powerful abilities that photographs possess is to act as a catalyst for the memories of our mind. While I have not experienced this effect firsthand very often (since 90% of the time I am the one behind the camera creating the memories for people to enjoy), tonight I enjoyed reliving the happenings of yesterday by looking through the prom pictures of our group.

No matter how hard one tries to live in the present and to make the most of everything, eventually every experience is archived into the deep library of the mind. By looking at photographs of past significant events, a pungent yet pleasant nostalgic vignette can be resurrected. So remember to hire photographers like me to capture significant events in your life because even Bob Dylan knows that "the times are a-changin'."

Reminisce

     I can say with confidence that after cultivating and pursuing my passion for the medium of photography a little more than 3 years, I have come a very long way. I've delved into dozens of books on the topic, as well as hundreds and hundreds of articles online, and a myriad of videos on the topic of photography. While I still feel that I have a lot to learn, along with an immense amount of growth which I must undergo in order to be a professional photographer, I take pride as I look back at how far I've come.

     It's important to reminisce on the past, but dangerous to get buried in it. I think that we as humans often hurt ourselves by not congratulating ourselves and giving ourself a pat on the back for what we've accomplished, whether big or small. By acknowledging personal triumphs and learning from our mistakes, we are chiseling out an otherwise shapeless piece of marble into a defined and emotive sculpture called Character. When we fail to learn from the past, we might as well be blindfolded, aimlessly striking a chunk of marble, disillusioned as we hope for something gorgeous to emerge; conversely, by asking ourselves, "What have I learned?" after we undergo any sort of hurdle -whether good or bad- we are delicately and beautifully chiseling a figure like that of Michelangelo's David.

Taken with my iPhone 3G, while sitting in the passengers seat. Edited with Camera+.

Taken with my iPhone 3G at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Edited with Camera+.