REFLECTING ON DEATH SHADOWS

in #shadowhunters3 years ago (edited)

“There is no knowing darkness without the light and no knowing light without the darkness.”
~Nine

Lately, life has visited ever increasing challenges to navigate. Where I reside, excursions out have become increasingly restricted for over a year now. It’s brought me to a place of routinely grieving losses that have occurred and are continuing to occur, both within my personal life and all over the world for everyone. These experiences are the inspiration for this post.

So, I’m going to take you on a shadowy walk with me to an eerie place that is one of my favourite haunts. Like an old friend, it’s always waiting around the corner for me.

Each visit opens me up to new visions that I have not previously seen or experienced. This enlightens my path and reminds me that I have one foot in this world and one foot out.

As I walked through the cemetery, I noticed the increased number of people now using it as a park and a way to be outside, while still under heavy restrictions of movement. Since I have also been going for regular walks there and comparing how it was before, it is obvious that people are grasping for any respite, even if it means walking among the dead. At least this year, people have stopped staring at each other as if any contact, no matter how distant, is instant death, such as the way it was last year at this time.

It’s the new normal to constantly hear about death, think about death and be utterly terrified of death on an extremely elevated level. Seeing so many people choosing to spend time in a cemetery as an enjoyable outing was incredibly ironic to me. No one ever wants to ponder that inevitable aspect that goes with life, DEATH. At least, this is what I have encountered with people for years.

In my way of perceiving the world, any time there is an opportunity to explore the shadow of death is an opportunity to be taken. In the present time, most especially, it is crucial in order to resolve one’s fear, accept the temporary nature of life, be fully present and live life to the fullest, regardless of one’s circumstances. Avoiding fear of the inevitable translates into allowing fear to rule one’s way of thinking, one’s choices, one’s life, and is a cage of one’s own creation.

CURLY GATES I
01_curly_gates_i.jpg



CURLY GATES II
02_curly_gates_ii.jpg


CURLY GATES DETAIL
03_curly_gates_detail.jpg


TREE FRAGMENTS
04_tree_fragments.jpg


WEB SPECTRUM
05_web_spectrum.jpg


BIRCH PUDDLE
06_birch_puddle.jpg


VIOLETS IN SHADOW
07_violets_in_shadow.jpg


SHADOW NOBLE
08_shadow_noble.jpg


SHADOW EMBRACE
09_shadow_embrace.jpg


ANGEL REFLECTIONS I
10_angel_reflections_i.jpg


ANGEL REFLECTIONS II
11_angel_reflections_ii.jpg


ANGEL REFLECTIONS III
12_angel_reflections_iii.jpg


CHAPEL SPECTRUM
13_chapel_spectrum.jpg


Many thanks to @manouche for inspiring me to use my own quote in a post with photos.

All photos taken by Nine with a Pentax digital 35mm camera and 90mm Tamron Macro lens.

This post is an entry to @ocd's contest highlighting the @shadowhunters community. The contest requires the participant to post a minimum of 3 shadow-focused images that explain their daily lives in at least 250 words.

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What a catchy title! I liked your writing, too, very much. I love how you talked about outings during lockdowns and then threw quite the twist when you mentioned your destination. Then the whole thing pivoted smoothly into a musing about the impermanence of life. Bravo! ...and you kept it engaging, too, as I didn't want to stop reading! This would also be worthy of the #thoughtfuldailypost tag, the brainchild of @wesphilbin

The photos are wonderful, and so well composed. I think "WEB SPECTRUM" is probably my favorite shot — the depth-of-field is awesome! Great job on that! Also, "CHAPEL SPECTRUM" is a very clever shot; love what you did there! 😉

Thanks, I had to let that title ferment before it came to the surface! I appreciate that you liked my writing, being on Hive is my first ever attempt at writing like this. I'm really not sure what will come out when I start writing. 🤣

I must look at that brainchild of @wesphilbin, looks interesting. I haven't gone there yet, so many good things on Hive.

I like that you pointed out your favourite shots. Web Spectrum was a very tenuous shot to get. It's a reflection in a tiny shard of broken mirror found on the ground. Chapel Spectrum was also a challenge to line up, but a bigger surface area and initially an experiment that I wasn't sure would work out. Always worth trying though. Thanks! 😀

DAMN!

I just love how moody all these pics are, you really captured the death and peaceful atmosphere of a cementery. Loved the writing, we all really need to embrace death and get out of the cage :) it should be the reason why we gotta live to the fullest!! hahah

awesome post 💙

Thank you @ailindigo. I'm kind of in this moody space a lot these days, good word choice! It is very peaceful there, although, so many people go there because they are forbidden to do most everything, it's lost some of that peacefulness.

I'm a big fan of getting out of the "mind" cage and embracing death is part of that. Celebrate life to the fullest! Cheers!!! 🍻💙

In my way of perceiving the world, any time there is an opportunity to explore the shadow of death is an opportunity to be taken.

Got so many things and winks to say about this - Well, I'm boutta take another nap and this was indeed worth the read... Should prolly take a parachute back to this post again tomoz, turn it into a comment-warzone! ... Sleeps in Death

...!LUV ...!BEER ...!WINK, we should create a wink-token, eh?

Things and winks, eh? Yes, a wink-token****😜
Did you wake up from your nap yet 😉?

Did you wake up from your nap yet 😉?

I'm still tryin' to wake up from bein' awake and... idk...

Waking up from being awake, you've got to explain that one one more. I'm all 👂's and FLUTTER WINKIES ;)

What an excellent post for the OCD Shadow Contest! Your writing is brilliant and I love each one of the photos. Thanks so much for entering this!

Thank you for your kind comments. This is my first attempt at writing, so it's really great to get feedback about it. I appreciate you checking out my post and that you enjoyed the photos also. 😄

I feel like I must tell you that you were in the running to win, if only you had responded to the comments on your post at the time we did the judging. Your photos are wonderful and you did a marvelous job putting this post together.

Rule number 5 was

  1. Engage within the community. This will be given consideration during the evaluation of your post(s)

But I'm very happy to see that you are being engaging now! I hope to see more of your great posts in the Shadow Hunters Community!

Thanks for telling me that. I was aware, however, I have ongoing personal limitations that influence both my time and ability to respond quickly. It's not something I am comfortable with speaking about publicly, so I will leave it there. I know that will mean I lose out at times; but, I accept that.

I appreciate your words, kindness and support. I particularly like Shadow Hunters Community, it's a match for me.😄

This is incredibly poignant and beautiful! I'm so happy to see something emerge from our comments section, taken to real life, and brought back here through this post. Not only are the pictures so well-taken, but the whole idea is inspired. It's true that we don't like to talk about death and to be able to explore it like this is poetic.

Avoiding fear of the inevitable translates into allowing fear to rule one’s way of thinking, one’s choices, one’s life, and is a cage of one’s own creation.

Frame that too, hehe!

It was interesting to read that people are using cemeteries as outdoor places. I remember when I was cycling by the Loire in France, we used to stop at cemeteries because it was a constant source of fresh water for us to refill and refresh. This is my favourite post amongst all those submitted for the contest.

Thank you so much and I share your happiness! 😃 I was thinking about the linear forms in your photos today when I was outside taking pictures. The whole thing is pulled directly from what I'm experiencing. I didn't mean to take so long to reply to you and others here. Creating this post has been the most difficult one I've done. I value your comments, so beautifully expressed.

Hahaha! You've given me another theme quote to work with!

Avoiding fear of the inevitable translates into allowing fear to rule one’s way of thinking, one’s choices, one’s life, and is a cage of one’s own creation.
Frame that too, hehe!

I love this, perhaps we can keep this momentum up and also inspire others?
People have become quite desperate where I am, but it was also a surprise to me as well.

I love the idea of keeping the momentum up and inspiring others too! I definitely need some insipiration myself after a hard week. Let me see what I can bring to paper today :)

It has been a hard week, I agree, same for myself. Focusing on creating recharges and releases so much. May that magic open as you approach the paper 🤗

Un fuerte abrazo virtual, felicitaciones por tan brillante reflexión, la muerte es un proceso natural de la vida, donde en ocasiones la aceptación se torna difícil y tienes razón cuando haces énfasis en que hay que:”Aceptar la naturaleza temporal de la vida, estar plenamente presente y vivir la vida al máximo, independientemente de las circunstancias”, sabias palabras, a veces nos dejamos envolver por el miedo y quedamos paralizados, pero es importante escuchar esa voz interior, donde la resiliencia es la pieza clave para seguir adelante, me encanta cuando resalta que: "Permitir que el miedo gobierne la forma de pensar, las elecciones y la vida de uno, y es una jaula de la propia creación", ciertamente en la vida se generan diversas situaciones, es aquí donde resalta la resiliencia , gracias por deleitarnos con tan extraordinaria publicación, éxitos y bendiciones.

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Muchas gracias por ver mi post y abrazos para ti. Estoy muy conmovido por lo que has dicho. Usted realmente ha oído claramente lo que he intentado decir con este post. Sí, el miedo puede paralizar si lo permitimos. Siempre es una elección. Escuchar la voz interna es la clave. Gracias de nuevo, es maravilloso saber que mi escrito está comunicando esto bien. 😄🤗

@ocd @shadowhunters , I think this post is one of the best ones :)

Many thanks for all your support!

hi there nine. nicely woven text and photos together. personally i see huge increase in fear of death but actually no more people are dying than normal

Hey @eolianpariah! Thanks for checking out my post. Yes, very huge increase in fear of death, yet, it seems death rate has been the same here, even a little less, from reported statistics. ;)

Beautiful photos.

Thanks for checking them out! Do you have a favourite @aagabriel?

all the angel reflections. Your eye is so sharp it lets the fuzziness of the moment you are photographing be captured.

@aagabriel 😄, you win the prize! Those are my pick as well. Thank you!

What's the prize?

The prize, is of course, a piece of art I've done for you exclusively.

Hahaha, thanks, I had certain things in mind when I shot that shadow with that particular head stone. I'm betting you already got that one. ;)

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For the last year or more, life has been changing for everyone in the world, Covid has arrived and does not seem to have any intention of leaving, that is why we hear so much about the new normal.

This disease has taken away many people and it is sad some are closer than others, let's hope this will end someday.

On the other hand your pictures are great, you captured those shadows very well from different angles.

I appreciate your perspective @actioncats. Everyone is struggling right now with so many things pressing down upon humanity. We are all at a crucial point in time.

I am curious about normal, new normal and what each of those things mean to you. Would you mind to elaborate more on what those mean to you? Since all life in this world, begins, goes through its process, and ends, I am sure that all of this will also come to an end. When, how, and what that will look like is unknown.

Thanks for checking out my post. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos!

I asked myself the same questions the first time I heard about the new normality, the first days of quarantine here in Venezuela I took it as a rest, I did not go out unless it was not necessary or if I was requested from one of my two jobs to go to work, there I began to notice and internalize that this would become the new routine in which I would not attend so often to the office, on the other hand made me understand that I must have awareness and full responsibility to take care of myself, in order to take care of my own.

About a month ago I was sick, I am not sure if it was COVID, because I did not take the test, but I was very scared when I started coughing and I had no sense of smell, I had a headache, my fear was not for me, it was for my 98 year old grandmother and my 74 year old mother, This has shown me what I had already been thinking, it is not worth it to wear myself out by going to a place of work where I am not well paid, in Venezuela the salaries of the employees are extremely devalued, so between taking care of a job and taking care of my family I prefer to take care of them.

The COVID came to finish denigrating us how fragile life is, that in a second you can get infected by your carelessness or the unconsciousness of another, I use the Caracas Metro and people often do not respect the biosafety standards.

The new normality implies reality for many remote jobs, depending on the nature of the work and more dependence on technology for it.

This is likely to end, but we don't know when.

Thank you for responding and expanding on your experience. I know fear well, regardless of how it presents and can imagine, based on what you've communicated the challenges you've encountered in your personal life.

I'm not sure what the new normal means to you though, from your perspective.

Also, what is "normal"? That's a word I've given much thought to for a long time and I still have no answer as to what "normal" is. Now there is a "new normal", so I'm even more confused as to what that means.

I searched for "normal" here: https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=normal
This is the definition given:
normal (adj.)

c. 1500, "typical, common;" 1640s, in geometry, "standing at a right angle, perpendicular," from Late Latin normalis "in conformity with rule, normal," in classical Latin "made according to a carpenter's square," from norma "rule, pattern," literally "carpenter's square," a word of unknown origin (see norm). Meaning "conforming to common standards or established order or usage, regular, usual" is attested from 1828 but probably is older than the record [Barnhart].

Normality depends on each person, on the point of view of each human being, for some it is normal to get up at 4 o'clock in the morning, for others at noon, in short, things are not seen as they are, we see them as we are.

Normality depends on each person, on the point of view of each human being, for some it is normal to get up at 4 o'clock in the morning, for others at noon, in short, things are not seen as they are, we see them as we are.

So what is your own unique perspective of "normality"? You have said "normality" is dependent on each person, but you haven't answered at all what your own view of "normality" is.

I referenced "normality" here: https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=normality and this is the definition provided:
normality (n.)
"character or state of being in accordance with rule or standard," 1833, from normal + -ity.

In respect to the above definition of what "normality", it seems to me that it means changing one's character or state of being so that it matches with a rule or standard. That being said, what rule or standard have you changed your character or state of being to match with?

When answering that the normality from the each person I answered, but if that is not enough...and the only thing I will say is that the normality from 2020 to here is one and from 2019 to back is another one.