Motion
I’ve been attracted to patterns since I was a kid. Searching for rhythms and shapes like they would give me a code. As if the way the stove had three sets of three knobs was the key to a mystery. As if life could only be right when I organized my stuffed animals by size and my shoes by color.
But in the slow process of growing older, I’m learning more about myself than my simple likes and dislikes. 
Some months go by and we learn what we can do, in body and spirit; day after day, working towards goals and light. Other months go by and we discover what we can’t do; one day realizing the poor patterns we put ourselves in that yield no results. But to keep going, we need to understand why.
Introspection is important. The act of diving within to search for the dent in the boat or the fraying of the rope is crucial for forward motion. 
In my own search, I’ve found that the balance between movement and rest is a tough one to find. I tend to get stuck in the beat of a resting heart that just wants to keep sleeping and striving for stillness or in the rhythm of a fast paced conquering of the path ahead.
Slowing down and getting moving are where I find myself running on empty or conserving far too much energy. Both sides aren’t ideal, and each one feeds into the other in an unproductive rollercoaster cycle. 
But yesterday, I told myself to go. My body was tired from the midweek slump, but in becoming more aware of my sloth-like tendencies, I gave myself a challenge. I got on my bike and rode to the beach. A camera and journal in my backpack and sunglasses shielding my eyes, I pressed past my slow pattern. 
These photos are the visual products of my excursion. Using my lenses as a paint brush felt like the right process in the July sun. Motion and stillness with their own balances in each frame.
The motion speaks to me, inspiring me to keep going after a healthy amount of rest. Maybe these photos resonate with you too, or maybe they make you agitated and you hate them. Either way is fine with me, I just want to encourage whoever is reading to not be afraid of what is under the layers you have covered yourself in. There is no perfect balance of any kind in this teeter-totter life, but an introspective awareness is a start.
From there we find what inspires us to keep striving forward in the best ways possible. -kj