I've travelled about a bit in me time.
Of troubles I've seen a few.
I found it far better in every clime
To paddle me own canoe.
Me wants they are small. I care not at all.
Me debts they are paid when due.
I drive away strife from the ocean of life,
And paddle me own canoe.
And I have no wife to bother me life,
No lover to prove untrue.
The whole day long I laugh with the song
And paddle me own canoe.
So love everybody, trust only the few,
As the world I go travelling through,
And never sit down with a tear and a frown,
But paddle your own canoe.
I rise with the lark from daylight to dark.
I do what I have to do.
I'm careless in wealth. I've only me health
To paddle me own canoe.
And I have no wife to bother me life,
No lover to prove untrue.
The whole day long I laugh with the song,
And paddle me own canoe.
It's all very well to depend on a friend,
That is if you proved him true.
You'll find it better by far in the end
To paddle your own canoe.
To borrow is dearer by far than to buy,
A saying though old still true.
You never will sigh if you only will try
To paddle your own canoe.
Though England has ruled our small little land,
And many's the country too,
Just take my advice and never think twice
To paddle your own canoe.
It's better I say to make your own way,
As the world you go travelling through.
You never will sigh if you only will try
To paddle your own canoe.
I don't know who wrote this fair poem but I suspect a Scott. It pretty much sums up my philosophy of living. But, then there is a good deal of the Scots blood running in my veins.
Kinsey Barnard
Showing posts with label philosophy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label philosophy. Show all posts
22 March 2012
15 December 2011
PHOTOGRAPHY IS A LOT LIKE LIFE
I am by nature a ponderer. Winters in my little patch, here in Montana, are the perfect time to catch up on my ruminations. Often the days are so cold it behooves me not to go wandering alone in the forest lest I run a cropper and end up a crispy critter. Lakota, of course, is ever by my side but I’m afraid he might not be able drag me all the way home. I do carry a cell phone but it often has no service. I also carry a GPS gizmo called Spot. Seriously, who wants to hang around in 10 to 20 degree weather waiting to get rescued? Not me. Pondering before the fire has much more allure.
This week I was thinking how much photography is like life itself. We all know that photographs are unique moments in time. As a photographer I know that you don’t ever say, “Oh, that’s cool. I’ll get it next time.” Without living to regret it. The trouble is there is no exact next time. Often there is no next time at all because the scene no longer exists. Even though I know better I have done it a hundred times much to my chagrin. My mother used to say, “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” As usual my mother was right.
What got me to thinking about these things were a couple of photos I came across whilst I was working in my galleries this week. The first image “Kootenai Cabin” is of an old settlers cabin that I found on the trail that takes you down to Kootenai Falls. Fabulous falls if you’ve not seen them. I’ve got photos .... somewhere.
As I was admiring the image I suddenly realized how lucky I was to have it because that particular scene no longer exists. The power company has since come through and made what was once a lovely hiking trail into a road. None of the foreground exists today. That foreground adds immeasurably to the mood and quality of the image.
This next image “River Wreck” is of an old jalopy that somehow fell into the Tobacco River and got lodged in the grass along the banks.
This old guy was wedged into that grassy bank for a number of years. But, last winter was so big, the runoff so huge and the rivers so high this wreck just got swept away never to be seen again. It most likely now rests at the bottom of Lake Koocanusa. I am partial to old things and I am glad I have this photo because no one will ever get another chance to capture it.
This last image “Winter Camouflage” is of a little gal I came to know as Floppy. She was a blacktail deer who came to visit for several winters. Because many of the same deer return each year to winter some I have given names. Floppy got her name because one of her ear tips was broken and flopped over. Floppy is not here this year and I suspect I shall not have the privilege of her company again but I will always have this extraordinary moment of her existence to remember her by.
What does this have to do with life? I think it demonstrates how we must not take a single moment for granted. Moments are unique and priceless opportunities. We must make the most of each one as it comes. It’s about not putting off until tomorrow what you can do today because tomorrow may never come and no moment ever repeats itself in exactly the same way.
I know I will always miss photos because I was too lazy, too impatient, too distracted. It will be the same in my life. I will miss making the most of many wonderful moments. The best I can say for myself is that I am aware and I will endeavor to make the most of as many moments I possibly can, with or without the camera.
The story of our lives is the sum of all our moments. By paying attention and being present for as many as we can we will be able to live a much more interesting tale. Missed moments are missed opportunities. Capture as many as you can.
©Kinsey Barnard
This week I was thinking how much photography is like life itself. We all know that photographs are unique moments in time. As a photographer I know that you don’t ever say, “Oh, that’s cool. I’ll get it next time.” Without living to regret it. The trouble is there is no exact next time. Often there is no next time at all because the scene no longer exists. Even though I know better I have done it a hundred times much to my chagrin. My mother used to say, “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” As usual my mother was right.
What got me to thinking about these things were a couple of photos I came across whilst I was working in my galleries this week. The first image “Kootenai Cabin” is of an old settlers cabin that I found on the trail that takes you down to Kootenai Falls. Fabulous falls if you’ve not seen them. I’ve got photos .... somewhere.
As I was admiring the image I suddenly realized how lucky I was to have it because that particular scene no longer exists. The power company has since come through and made what was once a lovely hiking trail into a road. None of the foreground exists today. That foreground adds immeasurably to the mood and quality of the image.
This next image “River Wreck” is of an old jalopy that somehow fell into the Tobacco River and got lodged in the grass along the banks.
This old guy was wedged into that grassy bank for a number of years. But, last winter was so big, the runoff so huge and the rivers so high this wreck just got swept away never to be seen again. It most likely now rests at the bottom of Lake Koocanusa. I am partial to old things and I am glad I have this photo because no one will ever get another chance to capture it.
This last image “Winter Camouflage” is of a little gal I came to know as Floppy. She was a blacktail deer who came to visit for several winters. Because many of the same deer return each year to winter some I have given names. Floppy got her name because one of her ear tips was broken and flopped over. Floppy is not here this year and I suspect I shall not have the privilege of her company again but I will always have this extraordinary moment of her existence to remember her by.
What does this have to do with life? I think it demonstrates how we must not take a single moment for granted. Moments are unique and priceless opportunities. We must make the most of each one as it comes. It’s about not putting off until tomorrow what you can do today because tomorrow may never come and no moment ever repeats itself in exactly the same way.
I know I will always miss photos because I was too lazy, too impatient, too distracted. It will be the same in my life. I will miss making the most of many wonderful moments. The best I can say for myself is that I am aware and I will endeavor to make the most of as many moments I possibly can, with or without the camera.
The story of our lives is the sum of all our moments. By paying attention and being present for as many as we can we will be able to live a much more interesting tale. Missed moments are missed opportunities. Capture as many as you can.
©Kinsey Barnard
29 October 2010
You Are What You Think You Are
Today it's raining and darned wet so I'm thinking I'll do the "waxing philosophical" thing. Yes, we have no photos today!
Many years ago I read that “you are what you think you are”. For some reason that idea really resonated with me and became a very integral part of my life philosophy. What got me to thinking about this were two separate incidences that happened just his week.
The first was when my neighbor came over to give me a hand with a downed tree that was too big for me to handle alone, the base was over two feet in diameter. When you cut a tree on the ground you generally have to cut through a distance and then roll the log so that you can finish the cut without getting your chain in the dirt. If you do hit the ground you have an instant dull chain and that’s no fun. Anyway, there is no way that I can roll a log of that size by myself.
Since there isn’t much market for logs these days and all the local mills have shut down I use my timber to warm myself. Every year I split five to ten cords of wood by hand with an eight-pound maul. My neighbor uses a wood splitter has been for the past ten years. We are both in our sixties.
After we had bucked up the log he spent the next half hour telling me how I need to get a splitter because I was going to cause no end of trouble for my body if I kept on doing it by hand. He went on and on ad nauseum. I tried to explain that if one uses the maul properly there is very little wear and tear on the body. All you have to do is let go and let the tool do the work. I also pointed out that I was pretty well in tune with my body and believe it will let me know when the time comes that chopping wood is no longer wise for me. And, most importantly, I LOVE to chop wood. I find it almost a meditation being outdoors in my beautiful forest caring for nature and myself. When I come in from chopping wood I am tired and at the same time exhilarated. I fully expect to be chopping wood for many years to come. See "What Chopping Wood Has Taught Me About Life"
The next incident took place in Costco. I was standing in the checkout line when a gal came up and pitched me to join some executive club because I would get more cash back each year and my annual spending justified paying the sixty dollar fee. I was somewhat amazed I spent so much for just Koty and myself. But, the truth is I still eat like a truck driver (no offense to truck drivers that’s just an expression I used to here when I was a kid). Koty eats like a bird. Hmmm, I wonder if splitting all that wood has anything to do with my being able to eat what I want without getting fat? And, don’t go thinking I have some special metabolism. Each winter I put on five to seven pounds without batting an eye and each spring I have to curtail my epic appetite and take it back off.
I kind of hemmed and hawed so the gal says, “Oh, but you can use it to buy hearing aids.” I’m thinking hearing aids? I tell her I don’t need hearing aids. Without missing a beat she says, “Oh, well, you can really earn a lot of dollars on your prescription drugs!” I tell her I don’t use any prescription drugs. That stops her for a minute and then she says, “Perhaps you need new tires?” I thought that at least was a practical idea. She thrust an application form in my hand and told me to think it over. The only thing I was left thinking over was how sad it is people see a little gray hair and a few wrinkles and think you’ve got one foot in the casket and the other on a banana peel!
The point of all this is to tell you that people are forever projecting themselves and their paradigm on you and you’d better pay attention. The neighbor who thought I shouldn’t split wood just didn’t want me, a woman, out there splitting wood when he wasn’t up to it, or up for it, anymore. The Costco clerk just took a look at the gray hair and assumed I must be taking loads of prescription drugs and losing my hearing.
I’m a laissez faire kind of gal. I believe everyone has the right to live their life as they please as long as it doesn’t infringe on the rights of others to do the same. However, I am always leery of well meaning people who try and convince you to be less instead of more.
I truly believe you are what you think you are. And what I think I am is an extremely vital sixty two year old woman. I believe I am and will continue to be healthy and fit. I have no expectation that I will fall prey to some terrible wasting disease. I fully expect to simply drop dead when the time is right. I have no idea when that time will come so I endeavor to live each day to the fullest.
My advice to you regardless of your age, do not let other people, including advertisers and marketers, define who you are. Spend as little time as possible with people who try and make you less instead of more. Your mind is a powerful thing. Be careful how you use it and what you allow into it. You are what you think you are and always will be. Imagine the best you that you can be and be that.
©Kinsey Barnard
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Many years ago I read that “you are what you think you are”. For some reason that idea really resonated with me and became a very integral part of my life philosophy. What got me to thinking about this were two separate incidences that happened just his week.
The first was when my neighbor came over to give me a hand with a downed tree that was too big for me to handle alone, the base was over two feet in diameter. When you cut a tree on the ground you generally have to cut through a distance and then roll the log so that you can finish the cut without getting your chain in the dirt. If you do hit the ground you have an instant dull chain and that’s no fun. Anyway, there is no way that I can roll a log of that size by myself.
Since there isn’t much market for logs these days and all the local mills have shut down I use my timber to warm myself. Every year I split five to ten cords of wood by hand with an eight-pound maul. My neighbor uses a wood splitter has been for the past ten years. We are both in our sixties.
After we had bucked up the log he spent the next half hour telling me how I need to get a splitter because I was going to cause no end of trouble for my body if I kept on doing it by hand. He went on and on ad nauseum. I tried to explain that if one uses the maul properly there is very little wear and tear on the body. All you have to do is let go and let the tool do the work. I also pointed out that I was pretty well in tune with my body and believe it will let me know when the time comes that chopping wood is no longer wise for me. And, most importantly, I LOVE to chop wood. I find it almost a meditation being outdoors in my beautiful forest caring for nature and myself. When I come in from chopping wood I am tired and at the same time exhilarated. I fully expect to be chopping wood for many years to come. See "What Chopping Wood Has Taught Me About Life"
The next incident took place in Costco. I was standing in the checkout line when a gal came up and pitched me to join some executive club because I would get more cash back each year and my annual spending justified paying the sixty dollar fee. I was somewhat amazed I spent so much for just Koty and myself. But, the truth is I still eat like a truck driver (no offense to truck drivers that’s just an expression I used to here when I was a kid). Koty eats like a bird. Hmmm, I wonder if splitting all that wood has anything to do with my being able to eat what I want without getting fat? And, don’t go thinking I have some special metabolism. Each winter I put on five to seven pounds without batting an eye and each spring I have to curtail my epic appetite and take it back off.
I kind of hemmed and hawed so the gal says, “Oh, but you can use it to buy hearing aids.” I’m thinking hearing aids? I tell her I don’t need hearing aids. Without missing a beat she says, “Oh, well, you can really earn a lot of dollars on your prescription drugs!” I tell her I don’t use any prescription drugs. That stops her for a minute and then she says, “Perhaps you need new tires?” I thought that at least was a practical idea. She thrust an application form in my hand and told me to think it over. The only thing I was left thinking over was how sad it is people see a little gray hair and a few wrinkles and think you’ve got one foot in the casket and the other on a banana peel!
The point of all this is to tell you that people are forever projecting themselves and their paradigm on you and you’d better pay attention. The neighbor who thought I shouldn’t split wood just didn’t want me, a woman, out there splitting wood when he wasn’t up to it, or up for it, anymore. The Costco clerk just took a look at the gray hair and assumed I must be taking loads of prescription drugs and losing my hearing.
I’m a laissez faire kind of gal. I believe everyone has the right to live their life as they please as long as it doesn’t infringe on the rights of others to do the same. However, I am always leery of well meaning people who try and convince you to be less instead of more.
I truly believe you are what you think you are. And what I think I am is an extremely vital sixty two year old woman. I believe I am and will continue to be healthy and fit. I have no expectation that I will fall prey to some terrible wasting disease. I fully expect to simply drop dead when the time is right. I have no idea when that time will come so I endeavor to live each day to the fullest.
My advice to you regardless of your age, do not let other people, including advertisers and marketers, define who you are. Spend as little time as possible with people who try and make you less instead of more. Your mind is a powerful thing. Be careful how you use it and what you allow into it. You are what you think you are and always will be. Imagine the best you that you can be and be that.
"As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives." Henry David Thoreau
©Kinsey Barnard
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