Wednesday 21 July 2010

We Dare Not Move the Question of Our Place, Or Know Not What We Are.

This is what you've been looking for, but you don't believe it. Just life, as it is, whether it is judged or not. However, judgment may appear to disperse if seeking appears to drop away. This life, this being, just now, is what is sought, for it is always now; whether focused on internal matters (or appearing to do so) or immediately aware of what the senses seem to display. Lost in thought, trapped in projection, subject to a miasma of a thousand conditioned responses is what is, or what seems to be, "sometimes". This, as well, can be unjudged, by no one, by what it is - itself. Great effort may be expended to strip away the conditioning. This, too, is what is. Help may be sought from many sources; wisdom (a judgment) learned, great and worthy (more judgment) disciplines perfected; this, too, is what is. Overwhelming disaffection may arise; violent responses may appear to be what happens; dismay, discomfort, disease; fear. This is what is, no matter how anathema to sweet (another judgment) and all-embracing love; for sweet and all-embracing love embraces all. Great change may seem to ensue; this is what is. A stillness, a calmness, peace may be the goal, or the destination reached; this is what is. All is what is, no matter its apparent form or quality. If it is, it is. And all that seems to be, to feel, to see, to hear, to think, to suffer, to love is what is: here, now, just as it is. It is that simple. It is simpler than that. There is nothing to be done except what is done, whatever that seems to be. It can be relished; although appreciation is yet another judgment, and by far the "easier" way.

This clip is self-indulgent (another mass of judgment in the term "self-indulgent"). I am a sucker for good steadicam work - and this is one of the best examples. Steadicam removes the last barrier between the viewer and the picture and seems to put you right there in the action - a good analogy for seeking vs. being. (And I love how James Cameron used steadicam harnesses and rigs for the big guns in Aliens that Vasquez and Drake carried, implying they were too heavy and unwieldy without such support - more movie magic.) There are fascinating production stories behind this scene along the lines of tight schedules and incredible organisational difficulties - and just think of the pressure on each and every major player and extra to be in exactly the right place at the right time! Kudos to the director, Joe Wright. The film is Atonement. The scene is the evacuation of Dunkirk in WWII. Please relish.

17 comments:

tom sullivan said...

If it is, it is. --- Good one!

jmbsol said...

I'm pretty sure i bought a non-organic peach by accident (the sticker doesn't say organic, nor the register receipt, and usually both do) and i cannot seem to accept the what-is-ness of this. Because non-organic peaches are known to have high level of pesticides. i don't know whether to eat or not to eat. I'm so neurotic. This is my neurosis of the day (along with a few dozen others) Oh yeah...it's also been 95F or higher nearly everyday for the last 8 weeks in Charlottesville VA, a place where we usually only see a few days that hit 90 per year. This also is challenging my ability to accept what is as it is.

No One In Particular said...

Hi Tom, I'm trying to think of something a little snappier and vernacular: how about "if it be's, it be's" or "it is what it be"?

No One In Particular said...

Hi Jonathan, luckily agonising over your peach dilemma, sweltering in the heat and not accepting whatever-it-is is also what is. "You" can't get it "wrong". Whew!

Colleen Loehr said...

"This is what you've been looking for, but you don't believe it." That hits me right between the eyes- a knock-out punch that feels good.

God knows I've been looking, looking, looking, but it is always not at THIS that I am looking. I look away from THIS, I try to escape from this moment, this reality, this sensation, this perception, this thought, this circumstance, I look away from this in search of greener pasture...I look away this, mistakenly assuming it does not hold what I yearn for.

I suppose, as you say Suzanne, that even the fact that I "don't believe it" (that THIS is what I've been looking for) is also indivisibly one with THIS. Brings to mind a kind of infinite regression or hall of mirrors. I love this post Suzanne, for unswerving clarity, and for noticing all the judgments (which are usually unnoticed and assumed not to be judgments but reality).

I love the artwork too, because it looks like what the inside of my head feels like- multi-layered, textured, tapestry-like, a mysterious and beautiful mush.

No One In Particular said...

Hey Colleen, a "mysterious and beautiful mush" just about covers it!

tom sullivan said...

How 'bout, "It be what it be" ?

tom sullivan said...

I should point out that for people my age 'hip' usually refers to a replaceable body part.

No One In Particular said...

Hi Tom, "It Be What It Be" could just be that elusive non-duality title that pulls in the 18-24 demographic!

Anonymous said...

It do be what it be, my maid. Tis ow theym talk down yer all the time. Devon's full o' folk who baint lookin fur nuthin cept ow t' get away from they toorist types. All ov'm thinkin' whatever theym missin might be down yer. Taint o'course. Nuthin missin, cept knowin nuthin's missin.

No One In Particular said...

Hi Anonymous, currently the story is about being one of the tourist types the locals are trying to avoid, or trying to get to buy goods and services. Guess what? That thing everybody is seeking...it's here, in Crete!

Anonymous said...

Well plainly that ole pooter's there with you too. A pooter? On yer 'olidays? Hmmph. Don't sound like much of an 'oliday......
You sure you aint some sort of an addict....?

No One In Particular said...

Hey Anonymous, the unfulfilling fix delivered by mucking about with the tiny keys and vast loading times of my husband's Blackberry is enough to cure me! But I guess if it's fun, it' fun. There's nothing to have a holiday from.

Anonymous said...

Hi Suzanne,

can't help wondering if there is a connection between the Dunkirk clip and the rather prominent way in which a Union Jack seems to be hidden in your picture - or am I the only one seeing it?

By the way, I like your pictures very much, in a puzzling sort of way, but I guess that's part of the intention. Furthermore, I find the headings of your articles even more puzzling, but very interesting and quite challenging. For somebody like me, whose native language isn't English, some of your headings are downright cryptic! Some I'm still busy to decipher... ;-)

Enjoy your time in Crete!

All the best Burghard :-)

No One In Particular said...

Hey Burghard, one my daughter's friends was wearing a Union Jack dress in the picture that somehow became more prominent after I'd messed with it in Photoshop. I made the connection between the clip and the picture but not until after I'd published them! The titles are all Shakespeare quotes, I peruse his full works until a likely quote jumps out at me. Don't worry-even native English speakers have trouble fathoming Shakespeare! That he understood about the game of life is in little doubt.

Nirdosh said...

:)))))))))))))
thanx for the clip too.amazing shot!!!

No One In Particular said...

Hi Nirdosh, the director is definitely grandstanding but he pulls it off - it's amazing.