Coneflower, Unfolding – Beautiful in Her Glory and Her Imperfection

Coneflower, Unfolding © 2014 Bo Mackison

Coneflower, Unfolding © 2014 Bo Mackison

“There is something perfect to be found in the imperfect: the law keeps balance through the juxtaposition of beauty, which gains perfection through nurtured imperfection.” ~ Dejan Stojanovic

There was a time, a time spanning many years, when I would have processed this photo in a way so that the wrinkled, brown area on the front petal would have been invisible. Or I would have searched for that one flower that already looked perfect, and photographed that one.

We look at a perfectly formed flower and marvel at its beauty, admire the face of a model made perfect in the post processing stage, choose the perfect landscape perspective that hides the telephone pole.

Today I choose to photograph the flower with its imperfection. To see the whole. To study the lovely curling petals on the verge of opening. To marvel at the juxtaposition of the orange and the pink.

This does not imply that I did no post processing – I did. I softened the background, added a vignette to emphasize the flower. Played with the photo until I liked the artistic interpretation AND I chose to show the flower as it is – perfect in its imperfection.

You Were Born with Wings – Fly Towards the Light

In Search of Light © 2014 Bo Mackison

In Search of Light © 2014 Bo Mackison

You were born with potential.
You were born with goodness and trust.
You were born with ideals and dreams.
You were born with greatness.
You were born with wings.
You are not meant for crawling, so don’t.
You have wings.
Learn to use them and fly.”

~ Rumi

There is “No One Way” – Only a Multitude of Options to Explore

Looking at the Details © 2014 Bo Mackison

Looking at the Details © 2014 Bo Mackison

“Life on earth is a whole, yet it expresses itself in unique time-bound bodies, microscopic or visible, plant or animal, extinct or living. So there can be no one place to be. There can be no one way to be, no one way to practice, no one way to learn, no one way to love, no one way to grow or to heal, no one way to live, no one way to feel, no one thing to know or be known. The particulars count.”

~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

Woundedness as the Source of Strength – Growth in Difficult Situations

Volcanic Tree © 2014 Bo Mackison

Volcanic Tree © 2014 Bo Mackison

Nobody escapes being wounded. We all are wounded people, whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. The main question is not “How can we hide our wounds?” so we don’t have to be embarrassed, but “How can we put our woundedness in the service of others?” When our wounds cease to be a source of shame, and become a source of healing, we have become wounded healers. ~ Henry Nouwen

This tree is a testament to growth in the most challenging and demanding of situations. Growing in the volcanic ash, this tree survives. Not without cost. Not perfectly. But still it grows.

You might think that volcanic ash would not be a hospitable growing medium, black specks, supporting little life. Yet, once the heat of the fire of the ash has cooled, life gradually returns. With rainfall, plants begin to grow. Animals return to the devastated area.

Volcanic deposits can eventually develop into some of the richest lands on earth.

Nature does not hide its woundedness. But it serves as a reminder that, given time and healing circumstances, growth ensues. Life continues.

In Search of Adventure and Ongoing Discovery

Windows of Time © 2014 Bo Mackison

Windows of Time © 2014 Bo Mackison

The best way to promote growth and healing is to take a trip, to go in search of  adventure. Travel through space, whether by land, sea, air, or mind, is the universal metaphor for change. The hero(ine)’s journey creates new futures. New patterns and possibilities emerge.

Many cherished beliefs come into question. New strengths, insights and talents unfold.

When the journey is over and you return to where you began, you are faced with new beginnings. You are at a turning point, a place where new paths make themselves known.

If the journey is successful, you return a changed person, a hero(ine) in your own eyes.

~ Jeffrey Kottler