The Creative Spirit: An Open, Aware Heart

“Life is your art. An open, aware heart is your camera. A oneness with your world is your film.” – Ansel Adams

What the great nature photographer Ansel Adams knew and showed us in his haunting, elegant black and white photographs is that there is so much to be seen and experienced in the world if we only slow down and pay attention — not only to the image in front of us but to the light and shadows that surround, encompass and overlay what we see. Adams would hike miles, laden with his heavy equipment and supplies, to get to the perfect place at the perfect time of day. Then it became his job, to paraphrase the renowned words of the poet Mary Oliver, to “stand still and learn to be astonished.”

There’s lesson in that for us somewhere, surely.

Over the past few years, I have developed a passion for walking. For its physical, mental and spiritual benefits, it has become my exercise of choice. I can put my head down and speed through a few miles around campus on my lunch hour. But more often than not — and especially when I have more time — my pace slows and I allow the world around me to seep into my eyes, brain and soul as I walk.

The truth is, we need both movement and stillness to remain wholly healthy. We need exercise. We need to get outside and breathe fresh air. But we also need quiet, contemplative time that puts us into closer contact with the natural world, with the people around us and, for those who believe, with the God who made it all. We may be re-energized by a brisk walk or exhilarated by a bike ride, but we also require the quiet introspection that comes from solitude, reflection or prayer, from placing ourselves before the world like an open lens and allowing ourselves to be imprinted by it all, like photographic plates or paper, by what the world is showing us.

Whether that is a luminous view of the red rocks of Sedona or the downcast eyes of a work colleague who just needs to be listened to, we have the responsibility to pay attention. We are called to a life of paying attention and being astonished by what we see. Perhaps most importantly, we must allow ourselves to be moved into action in response. Whether that response is gratitude for the beauty of the day or the decision to listen to and serve those around us, it is the same. It is a response imprinted on our hearts in those moments of standing still, those instances of wonder when we come to know that we are not meant to be alone, those times when we are reminded that perhaps the best we have to offer is the act of putting ourselves second. Maybe third.