"It is what it is" is a common phrase that my friend Grace often uses. While I've always appreciated this comment, it wasn't until reading Chapter 8 of
The Practice of Contemplative Photography: Seeing the World with Fresh Eyes, by Andy Karr and Michael Wood, that I truly understood how profound this phrase really is and how it relates to mindfulness and contemplative photography.
In this chapter, entitled "The Flash of Perception", Karr and Wood describe the experience of perception. Perception is when your eye and your mind are aligned. There is a quality of motionless, when you are not distracted, not jumping at every little thing that is happening, and not getting caught up in it. You experience stillness and groundedness. You just allow yourself to be on that dot, appreciating whatever you see.
Perception can either occur by relaxing into a feeling of being present or in a flash of perception. Flashes of perception occur when there is a gap in the thinking process, that is sudden and shocking.
The practice of contemplative photography involves finding those moments when your eyes and mind align and capturing them on film.
In learning about the qualities of perceptual experiences, I discovered what I love about photography and mindfulness. First, experiencing clarity-- perceiving sharp, brilliant images that are unfiltered, definite, and precise. Unfiltered means that the experience or image is not overlain with labels or ideas. As Grace would say, "It is what it is."
Second, there is the quality of definiteness where there is no doubt about what is being perceived. Third, there is the quality of preciseness, meaning that all of the details appear clearly, all at once. Last, perceptions are rich-- the colors and textures are unusually intense.
All of these qualities combine to create experiences where I feel completely absorbed, in the present moment, when there is no separation between myself and my perceptions.
Karr and Wood describe how I feel after engaging in contemplative photography-- "joyful, relaxed, liberating, buoyant, light." They say that all self-centeredness and preoccupation fall away.
My friend Grace's phrase aptly describes my state of mind when I am in the midst of appreciating the beauty of nature around me, fully absorbed in a mindful state of being. "It is what it is." All preoccupations and worries just melt away. All that exists is the present moment, the image, and the experience.
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To Readers of My Blog: I am interested in hearing about an experience where you were completely absorbed in the moment, when you experienced a flash of perception.
