William Oldacre Photography

Tag: responsibility

  • Spontaneous Living

    Spontaneous Living

    Light Signatures series, day, colour photograph, art, abstract, abstract expressionism, creative, city street, urban, downtown, cityscape, speed, blur, movement, motion, turquoise, blue, red, muted, swooshes,, pattern
    Billowing Red Orange Traversing Blue Green, 2013 – Light Signatures :: (click to see more)

    For a long time I’ve noticed a malaise among my friends and associates. I had attributed it to an increased burden of responsibility that comes with acquisition, children and age. But what if it’s something more fundamental?

    When we’re young(er) our lives are freer. We need that sheltered nurturing environment in order to develop and blossom into strong adults able to cope with the world and life. But with the gradual assumption of the yoke of life’s responsibilities comes an erosion of spontaneous living. My friend nailed it when they said the problem is a lack of spontaneity in our lives.

    I picture it as the regimen we follow in order to complete things on time – meet commitments and responsibilities. Day after day, week after week, month after month we live a similar routine out of necessity that drags our spirits down. We long for the freer past but not at the cost of our hard won acquisitions and achievements.

    There has to be a way to balance the seemingly unchanging regimen with spontaneous living – something less soul crushing and more hopeful – or perhaps we have to give up the things that demand a regimen.

  • Ride The Wave

    Ride The Wave

    Light Signatures series, day, colour photograph, art, abstract, abstract expressionism, creative, city street, urban, downtown, cityscape, speed, blur, movement, motion, yellow, orange fuchsia, turquoise, muted, streaks, pulsing, pastels, pattern
    Orange Pulsing Over Green, 2013 – Light Signatures :: (click to see more)

    I’ve not been too happy with the way my life has been going lately. I’m on a terrible treadmill of responsibility and timelines – jam packed with little or no down time. It’s all important – to me, so not a question of filling my time with useless or wasteful things. But the pace – while I feel certain I could keep it up if I had too – is not so pleasant or rather not as full of joy as I would wish.

    As Stephen, my studio mate just said, our lives are so fast paced, we have to figure out how to ride the wave. We have to find joy in the living of our lives and somehow lower the anxiety over the responsibility for doing and completing things. Personally, I need to convince myself to let go and relax – sit back and enjoy the ride – at least somewhat. I’m in the right place, doing the right thing, as best as I can execute it. I’m responsible by nature and practice, so I can afford to stop exerting so much control over that aspect.

    Perhaps doing this will leave room for an upwelling of inherent joy to manifest itself so my life can be spontaneously fun(ner) again.

  • Nothing To Fear

    Nothing To Fear

    Light Signatures series, day, colour photograph, art, abstract, abstract expressionism, creative, city street, urban, downtown, cityscape, speed, blur, movement, motion, orange, green, muted, streaks, squares, trailling, waves, patterns, shapes
    Green Oscillating Line On Orange Green Streaks, 2011 – Light Signatures :: (click to see more)

    Oh, if that were only true. It seems my life is governed by fear. In reflection yesterday on my general fear, I began to itemize the main issues I’m fearful of. Without airing my dirty laundry – too much: fear of money, fear of relationship, fear of age/death, fear of failure. Did I miss any of the big ones out? I know you think I’m crazy. Well, I guess I am.

    My body is so cramped up from my constant preoccupation with fear that I can hardly bend over. I’m like a hunched over stiff prematurely old man. This nonsense has to end in my life. Its taking up far too much of my precious time and effort.

    I repeat my mantra – don’t be afraid – constantly lately, but I don’t feel a change. Could it be loosing its power with regular flippant repetition, or is it that the changes in me are so slight and ongoing that I am unable to see them. The latter I hope. Whatever the situation, fear has got to go or at the very least be put into perspective – rather than occupy an overarching position in my psyche.

    There have been times in my life when I was completely without these fears. I had much less responsibility. I was free to think and do. I’ve assumed some heavy burdensome responsibilities that I’m not coping with too well. I’ve woven a tangled web of interconnecting dependencies that make it difficult/impossible to easily extract any one of these things from my life. Perhaps that is best, since I find all of them an essential and necessary foundation for my future.

    I need a way to effectively cope with my burdens. I see my friends, family and associates are laden with similar burdens and struggling in their own ways. Coping mechanisms abound – all of them involve crutches of one form or another. I’ve seen no one with a solid reliable solution – not even in the wider world – other than be meditative, introspective and aware.

    Is this the only effective answer to the pain of life?
    Is this what it means to be mature?

    If so – I’m not impressed.