Happy Accidents

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”

~ Confucius

Looking at the process of simplifying life, I realize it’s more than reducing the amount of things we have. It also demands a strong look at the things we do, and perhaps, those things we hope to do. Because just as a home can be filled with things that distract us, our time can be filled with things that keep us from those things that fulfill us. I know this is the case in my life. There is so much I want to do. But I have reached a point in life where I know that I will not be able to do everything, or go everywhere that I would like to.

For instance, I know I may never have the opportunity to live and work in England again. There is a good chance that I will never finish reading all eleven volumes of Will Durant’s “The Story of Civilization.” In fact I’ll never read all the other books currently in , or will be added to, our library. Still, reading is one of those things that I’ll do. It is one of the joys of simplicity. Of the many creative things that I would like to try, I know that I might only be reasonably good at one or two. I must choose where to focus so that all the other things, interesting though they may be, will not clutter my time. Like reading, the time to be creative is a joy of simplicity.

Consider photography. I love to take pictures but I don’t really work at it or study the mechanics or art of taking them. When it comes to photography, I have what I call “happy accidents.” Happy accidents are those moments when I take a picture of something, look at it, and say “um, that isn’t too bad.” It isn’t always the photograph as it was taken. It may have a good image and tweak it somewhat to get the resulting happy accident.

These are nice and I enjoy it when it happens. But it is still an accident; something that happened without my really knowing how it happened. There is little skill. I felt it was time that I really learned how to use the camera. I enrolled in Watkins College of Art, Design & Film and started classes this past Monday.

Being at Watkins is inspiration in itself. But that is a story for another time.

Ansel Adams said, “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” Taking photographs is what I have done for years. I have not made photographs. Now I am at place where I would like to consider my photographs as art, meaning I need to learn how to make them. I need to know how to write with light and thereby create art. I have learned that this will take more effort than I have previously given. Great photographs just don’t happen. They require effort. They require time. They require patience. 

Taking great photographs also requires knowing what to do with the equipment, or “the box” as my instructor calls it. If I will let him, he will teach me how to make a great photograph, in the camera. This is mechanics and it is necessary. It is what I hope to learn. Still, there are other things to learn.

I take the course to be inspired, to look at the world differently. To paraphrase what my instructor said, “As we grow up and became adults, most of us shut down our right brain. We learn how to pay bills, balance a checkbook, work on a computer, do our jobs. But we lose our ability to create. What I will teach you in these nine weeks is how to use your left brain to understand ‘the box’; know what the numbers, the settings, the dials and menus mean. Then hopefully this will give you the tools to unlock the artistry that is pent up in you right brain.”

Simple.

This too, is why I go to class. This is why I will continue to go to class. This is why I will take another class once this class is over. It may be the next level in photography. It may be drawing or mixed media. It may be creative writing. It is worth my time to explore and to continue.

This brings me back to this desire to simplify. De-cluttering my life will give me time to explore “the artistry that is pent up” in me. I must find those things in life that steal time and be rid of them. Time gives us the opportunity to pursue those things that add meaning and fulfillment to life. In my life, it is time to spend with my wife, my family and my friends. It is that time to read, to write, or to go to the symphony or opera. It is time to  be creative. And most importantly, it is time to be quiet. To be still and set in silence with God is a joy that we rob ourselves far too often. In Him we may be restored and become a child again so that we can see His creation in all its wonder. Then, if we desire, we can choose to share this experience through artistry.

~ Greg

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Speaking of happy accidents, here are a few.