Waking up in the morning is better than anything

I started this in childhood, running outside, bare feet on the grass. The feeling is much more intense as I age, especially since having cancer 20 years ago – wow, I say, another day to enjoy, so precious!

I recently read Anne Carson’s narrative poem “Autobiography of Red”. Carson’s work was suggested to me for photographic inspiration. It did make me think, and may lead to some interesting art, but the process is still ongoing. There are lots of ideas to work through. Page 60 discusses “that blurred state between awake and asleep when too many intake valves are open in the soul”. Is this what leads to the joy of early morning outside?

On page 98, another phrase grabs me. “We would think ourselves continuous in the world if we did not have moods.” But, my mood is good on those mornings when I rush out of the house, camera in hand, feeling at one with at least my immediate universe. Towards the end of the book, on page 135, the hero observes that “raising a camera to one’s face has effects no one can calculate in advance”. So I hope for inspiration, even though it is not always immediately apparent.

Sometimes kids have some fun by throwing old metal stuff into the water. Sometimes it stays there for years, until other kids have some fun by pulling it out. Then a photographer comes along to have some fun with weird angles. Who knew that an old bike could produce so much enjoyment for so many years?