What We Possess

When I followed the young boy (one of Renu's students from Koseli School) into his home in Kathmandu, Nepal, I didn't find things like a chest of drawers stuffed with clothes or a closet full of toys. I didn't see a shelf for books or trophies. There was no kitchen or bathroom in this home. Just two small beds and a handful of possessions including this bicycle. It spoke to me.

Each time I visit a new friend's home in a place far from mine on this Picture Hope journey, I question the quantity and value of my own possessions bit by bit. I sketch imaginary circles around "needs" and "wants" with a shaky hand. I carry a dose of guilt and shame when I let my mind wonder how I let myself get so caught up in superficial things. Stuff. I struggle with the idea of letting things go and figuring out the best way to teach my children that the value of our lives should not be measured by what we possess. Sure, I can say it, but I don't know how to demonstrate that yet. I don't know how to embrace it and really live it. But maybe this is where it starts... when someone like this young boy opens up his heart and his home to share a bit of his wisdom, and a view of his bike, with someone like me.

Enlighten us today. What are your images teaching you?

Comments

[Jen at Cabin Fever]

My photography teaches me SO much.
It shows me what I am capable of, that I have talent, and something beautiful to share with the world
It shows me what makes me content and happy to my core.
It shows me that there is always a new perspective on the world we see everyday.

...more people should take photos.

http://www.cabinfeververmont.com

http://www.nekphotography.blogspot.com

[Marcie]

What a powerful statement - both visual and verbal. I - too - often think about how much I really 'need'..and how it is I might simplify.
I think my photography teaches me that all we really need is within:
http://visionandverb.com/2010/10/walk-with-me/

[Puna]

Once again you move me with your image.

http://lifesignatures.org/wordpress/2010/10/october-12-the-grand-dame/

[LIz]

This photo is simple, "elegant" powerful imagery. This photo has moved me beyond words.

[deea]

What it is teaching me most is that I want to do it full time; to capture life's moments continually, steadily, until the end of my days. Sometimes I wish that I had a camera and a transcriptionist in my head so I could have both my thoughts and the eye's grasp of a moment set into stone (so to speak). I constantly feel that I didn't capture 'the heart' of my experience, but am so blessed I captured images that transport me there to experience it again.

[Jennifer]

Your image makes me want to reevaluate my and my family's lives and what we make important. Beautiful...would love to see an image of the boy who owns the bicycle!

My images lately have taught me to slow down and really take a look at life around me or I'll end up missing the good stuff!

http://jennyinottawa.blogspot.com/2010/10/ahhhlong-weekend.html
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RW4L0HfWPi8/TK5biW0BbTI/AAAAAAAAIdc/HX-Xhkyv-s4/s1600/Day7.jpg

[Tina]

I can't decided which touched me most...............your picture or your words.

The image linked below teaches me that anything is possible. This baby boy was christened on Sunday.
Until a few years ago his mother was an addict that had lost everything.
She has turned her life around and this angel is the result♥

http://www.flickr.com/photos/74687897@N00/5074894737/#/photos/74687897@N00/5074894737/lightbox/

[Audra Van Vliet]

My photography has taught me that I what life is really all about is human interaction. That's it. How you treat people at the end of the day is all you got. Living simply, living clean, and treating people right. For me though, my camera feels like a necessity.

http://lastpictureshowphotography.blogspot.com/

[Jess]

That image is saturated with emotion. I could stare at it all day long.

My photos have taught me to slow down, to really open my eyes, and notice details and angles and light that I would have completely missed otherwise. I see differently now, then before I knew how to use a camera.

[Jennifée]

This is an image of mine that I come back to from time to time:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85057042@N00/2912367599/

It is called "Mary, the Return", and stands in the cathedral in Uppsala, Sweden. The artist, Anders Widoff, wanted to portray Mary as someone we could recognise as being one of us. It's a touching representation, and it makes me think - how would she react coming to our world today, and what can I do to help change the badness in the world so she wouldn't have to see it?

[Suki]

Photography teaches me every day in a new way, that I have all I need despite the circumstances and rocks life throws at me. I can find my way by following the light into a place where I can and will be truly myself.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/suki_fotografiert/5075782402/

[Laura O'Hanesian]

Today's post is so poignant. Thank you! My images are teaching me to trust my eye, if I like it others will too!

[spread your wings]

photography in general has taught me that images can speak louder – truer – than words. like your image does.
my photography has opened my eyes – to appreciate God's world from it's smallest detail to it's overall whole.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/autumnsun/5073535539/

[cigi]

Beautiful image and powerful post. I am in the process of purging many of my possessions and the question of "needs" and "wants" is something I'm confronting on a daily basis. The more I simplify my life, the more I'm attracted to simplicity in the photographs I take: http://instamaticgratification.wordpress.com/2010/07/15/192365/

[kat]

oh boy...i felt the same way after a two week trip to Kenya and try to teach my girls as well that happiness is not found in material possessions!

***your photo is beautiful...it really tells a story all on it's own!***

[Jennifer]

what a powerful imagine and incredibly powerful story. You have made me stop dead in my tracks and think of the things that surround me and what I value.

[brandi]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dandelionseeds/5073720642/

I just finished my first weekend of yoga teacher training and the biggest lesson I'm experiencing has been one of letting go...

[Tracy]

such a beautiful photo.
i've been thinking about this very issue a lot. frankly, my "stuff" has become such a burden. i used to love buying things and now i just realize that i'll eventually have to do something with them - dispose, recycle, etc. and that's time that i don't want to spend dealing with "stuff". i recently read an article (from an old issue of the Oprah magazine that i randomly acquired from a friend that was moving) about a movement where many people are trying to live with as few possessions as possible in small spaces. the thing that impressed me was that the people quoted talked about having so much more time to spend doing things they enjoy like having good, real conversations with friends and being out in nature. it really got me thinking... there is so much excess in our lives, but really it can be a burden. this is something i'll continue to think about and i hope to find a way to live meaningfully with less.

[Jade Sheldon]

My images are constantly reminding me that beauty does exist in this harsh world of ours...

[Gali]

My images keep on reminding me that it's the smallest things that are the most important and that adventures are often in those small things.

[Victoria]

This post reminded me of a "Life" article I read recently:
http://www.life.com/image/ugc1126541/in-gallery/48361/where-children-sleep

After reading that article and then seeing this post I'm thinking that I want to be sure that my images tell the truth.

[Aia]

what a great story & a valuable lesson to be had...thank you!

[Prada Sneakers]

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