The Chinese philosopher Chuang Tzu uses the word yu, which means to wander, or a wandering. He describes a metaphor for life as a "totally free and purposeless journey" (p 6). This is how man should wander through life, just enjoying creation and not becoming attached to anything material. Another part of his philosophy was the idea of wu-wei, or inaction. This is "a course of action that is not founded upon any purposeful motives of gain or striving. All human actions become as spontaneous and mindless as those of the natural world" (p 6).
Reading Tzu's work has been really beneficial to my work and has aided me in furthering what I'm doing. I really like the quote about human action becoming spontaneous. That is kind of the direction my work has been going the past few times I have been shooting. I go places, not intending to shoot something in particular. I end up just wandering around, till I feel comfortable wherever I am. Sometimes this doesn't take long at all, other times I have to sit there, in silence, meditating or writing or just thinking. When I start shooting, it is very spontaneous. My camera ends up feeling like an extension of my hands. Everything I have been shooting is very organic and in the moment, which is something I really enjoy.
Zhuangzi, and Burton Watson. Basic Writings. New York: Columbia UP, 1964. Print.
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