Aimlessness

" In Buddhism, there is a word, apranibita. It means wishlessness or aimlessness. The idea is that we do not put anything ahead of ourselves and run after it. When we practice walking meditation, we walk in this spirit. We just enjoy the walking, with no particular aim or destination. Our walking is not a means to an end. We walk for the sake of walking" (The Long Road Turns to Joy: A Guide to Walking Meditation p 6). 

"This world has many paths. Some are lined with beautiful trees, some wind around fragrant fields; some are covered with leaves and blossoms. But if we walk on them with a heavy heart, we will not appreciate them at all" (p 9).

I just found out about the philosopher Thich Nhat Hanh the other day in my Religions class. A lot of his teachings are going to be very helpful when it comes to my work. The above quotes are from his book about walking meditation. This directly ties into what I am doing this semester. I guess I had just never realized that my project is based around walking meditation. I spend a lot of time wandering around in my various environments, getting a feel for what's around me. The idea of aimlessness is very appealing to me when it comes to making my images. I don't like having a set direction for where I'm going. I just start walking and see where I end up. I can't wait till I have a full day or a full weekend to be able to lose myself in a new place, wandering aimlessly. I feel like this will have a huge impact on my work and hopefully will help it grow. Today during the mid-crit I almost felt at a dead-end. I'm satisfied with my images but I feel like I need to go in a new direction, whether it's a completely different environment or a different method of working, or both. I'm excited to keep researching this philosopher and his various teachings.

Hanh, Thich Nhat. The Long Road Turns to Joy: a Guide to Walking Meditation. Berkeley, CA: Parallax, 1996. Print.