I can’t help but think of the Tarkine this morning. Sometimes I do that when I am stressed and need to ground myself. Today is one of those days. Do you ever do that to ground yourself? Imagine yourself being somewhere else?

It is so interesting that there are two components of mindfulness. One is becoming aware of your body, your breath, your aches and pains, your presence. Concentrating on breathing is often touted as one of the most important ways to do this quickly. The other side is connecting in with where you are. What is going on around you. The air temperature on your face, the wind that blows, or the sounds that are being made. For me this happens the most beautifully when I am deep in a lush rainforest. One that is deeply green and wet, oxygen rich. One full of birds and is alive with animals, creatures, and growth.

So when I am feeling a little disconnected from myself, and my mind is racing. I stop and breath and listen to my body, connect with it, and as I relax and feel myself, I can allow my mind to wander to that beautiful place.

Better still is to go somewhere natural and connect directly with yourself there, and then with that place.

Being more mindful is the single most recommended thing by people to improve your creativity. From this relaxed state it is so much more easier to go into the flow state of creative obsession, where nothing else matters other than the art and the experience of making art has.

The two photos accompanying todays thoughts, are from last years tour of the Tarkine, in Tasmania. The place is on my mind for three reasons. One to ground me today. Another is with sadness that it is still being logged and mined indiscriminately at the peril of many endangered species. And lastly, because I am working on a book of the area. Today I hope to make a bit of start on it.

Apparently its not so good to tell people what you are gunna do. As you get a little dopamine hit from doing so. It is way better to just do. Though I find talking through what I am doing, is incredibly beneficial. We have started a little group to help support each other in the process of making some art books together. I am so grateful of that opportunity.

By the way, we are past the half way point in bookings for the Tarkine next year. Just in case you are thinking of joining us, there are only a handful of places left. https://www.lensschool.com/workshops-tours/p/tarkine-photography-tour

Photographs and text copyright © Len Metcalf 2024