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Kategori: Musings

  • Look for the Silver Lining

    Look for the Silver Lining

    Look for the silver lining
    Whenever a cloud appears in the blue
    Remember, somewhere the sun is shining
    And so the right thing to do is make it shine for you

    A heart, full of joy and gladness
    Will always banish sadness and strife
    So always look for the silver lining
    And try to find the sunny side of life

    A heart, full of joy and gladness
    Will always banish sadness and strife
    So always look for the silver lining
    And try to find the sunny side of life

    When sitting beside a pond high in the Norwegian mountains and just soaking in my surroundings and experiencing a fantastic feeling of happiness and being alive and part of nature, this song came into my head. The song was written as far back as in 1919 by Buddy de Sylva, and one of the more well known versions was recorded by Chet Baker.

    It speaks directly to me where I am now in my life and where I have been for the last few years. It is so important to look for the silver lining, to find the sunny side of life even when there are elements in life that works towards darkness and despair. When people close to you are having problems that only seem to get bigger and bigger without them being able or willing to do the right things to come back on track. When you try the best you can for years to convince them and help them and you don’t get any response.

    At this point you have two choices:

    1- continue to bang your head against the wall in the hope that some day you’ll succeed (which you never will, because the other person really has to find the motivation themselves) and therefore burn yourself out and develop depressions and what not.

    2- take a grip on your own life, take care of yourself first, and also if there are others in this close circle, take care of them. Place yourself on the sideline. Focus on the good things in life.

    I have found it essential to choose number 2. Only then you can get some energy to follow up the one with problems to a certain degree. But remember that you are in charge only of your own life, others are in charge of their lives, no matter how low they are. And only you can decide how much to get involved.

    Another good analogy I have thought a lot about is when you have boarded a plane and the crew goes through the safety routine. They tell you that if the oxygen masks come down, you should put on your own mask first, then help others.

    Have you ever experienced any of this? While you’re thinking and writing a comment, have a listen to Chet Baker here:

    https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/4Pk8rZ5l4a21Vib3VjWLKf

  • Happiness and Photography

    Happiness and Photography

    I have just had the most intense feeling of happiness that I have had in a very long time, maybe several years.

    Engrabben_0120_2048
    Cloudberries and mountain. 10 mm f/16, 1/50 s, ISO 100, Sigma 10-20 mm f/3.5,

    Way up in the Norwegian mountains, the midday sun is high in the sky, white, puffy clouds drifting by. The air is still, with the occasional whiff of a light breeze. The dominant sounds are from the birds flying around me and between the trees. Insects are buzzing different tones from the high pitched mosquito to the more flapping sound of the dragonfly. From where I am sitting I can hardly see any sign of human presence, but I hear them in the distance. Happy children, caring parents. The sound of tools, somebody is working around their cabin. A car passing on the gravel road. But every now and then complete silence, only broken by nature’s own sounds.

    Engrabben_0125_2048
    The pond of happiness. 16 mm, f/11, 1/50 s, ISO 100, Canon EF-S 15-85 IS USM

    In the middle of all this, I sit on a tussock of moss by the edge of a pond. After walking around for a while, taking some pictures, I sit down, camera bag beside me and the camera ready in my hands, to photograph whatever my eyes find. I feel completely at ease, free from problems and expectations. Whether the images are any good is not so important. It is this feeling of being a part of nature, being friends with the little spider on my knee and the ants that crawl under my shorts. Watching the dragonfly patrol the shoreline round after round, always the same route.  I try to capture it with my camera, but it is always too quick, its movements too unpredictable. And the auto focus of my telephoto lens is too slow.

    Engrabben_0141_2048
    My best effort to capture a dragonfly. 225 mm, f/5.6, 1/600 s, ISO 500, Canon EF 70-300 IS USM

    Some reeds form a heart-shaped reflection in the water. Makes me think of the ones I love, and the love that is no more. I am privileged, and I know I have made some right choices in the last year even though there were some tough decisions to make. And I am grateful for all the support I have received from everyone around me. So today, sitting here for hours on end just soaking in the wonderful feeling of being alive, I can’t wish for anything else.

    Engrabben_0134_2048
    Reeds and reflection. 200 mm, f/5, 1/800 s, ISO 100, Canon EF 70-300 IS USM

    When was the last time you felt immensely happy?

  • The Sound of Silence

    The Sound of Silence

    Our hectic lives are filled with so much sound. Noise of all kinds, from traffic, from planes passing low overhead, the neighbour’s lawn mower. People talking, be it work mates, family or friends. Overly enthusiastic kids on the bus or that businessman who just has to let everyone listen to his very important phone call in the quiet zone on the train.

    We also (at least many of us) fill our lives with sound by our own will. Music in our ears wherever we go, in the city or out running. Many people say they are afraid of the silence. They need to have sound in the background to feel comfortable.  I have never understood it. I use to say that the best sound of all is the sound of silence. Silence gives me room to be, to think and to feel.

    Merratjern_0013_2048

    By silence, I don’t necessarily mean complete absence of any sound. For example in nature, it is rarely complete silence, but if you sit down and listen to the silence you hear all the sounds of nature. The wind whispering through the treetops, the singing birds or the splattering of water in a stream.

    A couple of days ago I grabbed my camera and went out to shoot sunset at this tarn, not far from home. It had been a warm and cloudless day, so I didn’t expect too much. But as I got there a cloud cover had appeared, and the low sun spread this gorgeous light above the trees. There was not a breath of wind and the water lay still as a black mirror. Nobody else was around, only an abundance of birds, that I could hear but not see. And that’s all the music I need when I’m out. It makes me feel connected to nature, to the universe. It makes me relax and gather energy to cope with the everyday struggle.

    Now, after this rather philosophical piece, turn of your music, listen to the silence and enjoy these two images from a late evening in the forests of Eastern Norway.

    Merratjern_0001_2048

  • Time for Christmas shopping!

    Norsk utgave av dette innlegget kommer om noen dager.

    It’s November, and you may have started thinking about Christmas gifts. Perhaps you should give someone a beautiful photo to hang on the wall this year. Or why not treat yourself to one? If you buy now you can be certain that you recieve your photos in time for christmas. (mer…)