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Writing * Photography * Contemplation

Keeping It Simple

Ah, simplicity.  The very idea makes me sigh with relief.  Too much to look at turns into too much to think about, too much work to focus on.  And if it’s your house, too much to clean!

As I’m preparing for a major life transition, I find myself needing to clean out, rearrange, reorganize, and yes, simplify.  Not an easy task.

I find myself thinking and evaluating everything:
But so and so gave that to me… 
But I bought that in a special place.. 
But that brings back special memories…
But I don’t know how to store that properly… 
I don’t know how to organize those in a way that makes sense…

It’s quite a lot of work.  Hard work.  Mental work.  Even emotional work.  It’s hard to let go.  But as I look around my living room and start to see open space with less on the walls and shelves, I find myself breathing a little easier.  I feel the sigh of relief growing and that’s what keeps me going.

A complex photograph can be a beautiful thing, but so can a simple one.  What are the important elements to the photograph?  Eliminate everything else.  Allow the viewer to easily focus in on your vision.  Let them absorb the subject, appreciate the lighting, the shape, the colors.  Allow them the luxury of not having to choose what to look at but to simply look and enjoy.

Therese Kay is an author and photographer residing in Massachusetts. She loves the contemplative practices of visio divina and contemplative photography. She often writes about and teaches them to others.

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. Hi Therese,
    This is exactly where I am now, too…
    Thank you for the insight and the forward thinking of simplicity. Keeping the focus on the important things eliminates all the clutter.

    Lori

  2. Hi Lori! Thanks for stopping by. I didn't think about the whole idea of keeping the main thing the main thing when I was thinking about simplicity, but that too is true. You can have as much clutter in your brain as you do in your house! I guess that's why people like to meditate. I try to meditate, but the clutter of my thoughts keeps attacking me. LOL. I think too you could have a clutter of words. Lots of hot air but nothing to really say. We could really riff on this!

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