Shuttlecocks and Tennis Balls

Memoirs

It is man's ability to remember that sets us apart. 

We are the only species concerned with past; concerned with the fragments of our history that stab and draw blood from every mistake we’ve made, glisten with the sweat that it needs to produce the few worthy memories that we frame in our minds, and hope that one day the good will overcome the bad, or burn the photographs of people we hope to forget, but never can. 

Our memories give us voice and bear witness to our history, the only record of what’s truly happened to us lies within our minds. 

Memories enable others to celebrate our triumphs, learn from our mistakes, be warned from our failures.

The ways that define our fragile existence are endless; there are many ways to give it meaning, but it is our memories that shape its purpose and give it context.

Our private assortment of fears, loves, regrets...

...and it’s the cruel irony of life that we are destined to hold the dark with the light, the good with the evil, success with disappointment. This is what separates us, what makes us human.

And in the end, we must fight to hold on to them, because without them, we are nothing.

Branches

There is good and there is evil. Right and wrong.

And if we're blessed with wisdom, then there are glimpses between the cracks of each where light streams through.

Sunlight filters through the branches of evil. We wait in silence for these times when sense can be made, when meaningless existence comes into focus, and our purpose presents itself.

And if we have the strength to be honest, then what we find there, staring back at us, is our own reflection, bearing witness to the duality of life.

And each one of us is capable of both the dark and the light, of good and evil, of either, of all.

And destiny, while marching ever in our direction, can be rerouted by the choices we make.

By the love we hold onto and the promises we keep.

Dark/Light

On the sixth day God created man in his own image, so now it’s up to us to figure it all out. Right, wrong, good, evil. 

In each of us is the capacity to decide what drives our actions. So what is it that makes some choose selflessness, the need to devote oneself to something greater while others know only self-interest, isolating themselves in a world of their own meaning? 

Some seek love even if unrequited while others are driven by fear and betrayal. 

There are those who see their choices as dark proof of God’s absence while others follow a path of noble destiny. 

But in the end, good, evil, right, wrong, none of it matters. What we choose is never what we need, for that is the ultimate cosmic joke. 

That is the real gift that God has left behind.

Captions from Heroes.

Four Flames

 I was always facinated by fire - don't get me wrong burning things isn't a passion of mine - it was just that fire was so amazing to look at. The way the flames jumped and flickered as if alive...it just made a really interesting subject for my photos. I call these ones "Four Flames".

 “Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”  The Buddha

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