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amul1. What is the most essential lesson you have learned in the last year (the one you most want to hold on to)?
To accept, to let go, and to hang on tight all at the same time, without breaking myself or anyone else in the process.
If you need to know how, you haven't been paying attention.
2. If someone asks you, do you still identify yourself as Hindu, and if so, why?
I am Hindu, and usually wear an Om around my neck to mark me as one for anyone who can see. I'll beg off if someone looks like they're going to be irritating about it, although lately I've been more willing (if not eager) to start those conversations.
Hinduism has never (and I mean that pretty literally) been about temple attendance or ritual adherence. In fact, there's an entire philosophy of Hinduism that doesn't require ever entering a temple in order to attain enlightenment/salvation/improved karmic rebirth.
Allow me to quote:
3. Career wise, where would you like to see yourself five years from now, vs where you actually think you will be (assuming they are different)?
I'd like to be earning a full time, stable salary with the use of a camera. My life is currently in such a whirlwind of change that I cannot allow myself the luxury of examining this question any more deeply than this.
4. What character trait do you still identify in yourself that you want to change, why do you want to change it, and how might you go about doing it?
Oh, gods! How much time do you have? In no particular order, I wish that I....
didn't fall in love at the drop of a hat.
could practice self-discipline better.
stood up when it counts and sat down when it doesn't.
was in better physical shape, more fiscally responsible
was a better housekeeper, artist, photographer, lover
had a better relationship with my parents
dressed better, more often
went out more, did more things that allowed me to meet a wider range of people
stopped smoking
laughed louder
smiled more often
looked up from my map more often (that's a giant metaphor I've been using a lot lately)
wasn't so dependent on constant social interaction
.....there's a ton more
5. How has the geography and energy of Chicago affected you in contrast to those same qualities in Pittsburgh?
I feel a lot less constricted, more able to breath. In Pgh, I always felt like I was either Deep In The Valley or merely Scanning The Horizon. I've got a much greater sense of the big and small picture, and can switch between views much easier. I think this picture pretty accurately captures how Pgh always made me feel - there's stuff going on deep in there, amidst the lights, but I can't see it. I'm too far away.
I feel a greater sense of possibility. The job sections, the Help Wanted signs everywhere, the people talking about what they're Doing rather than what they'd Like To Do. The nooks and crannies of this city are alive with promise, and beacon with fingers clad in rings of options, many-faceted and glowing with a thousand unique lights.
I feel more alive, more artistic. More Hindu. I've stepped into a part of myself that I'd been denying I could ever have, in ways I never imagined.
I feel whole again. How much of that is being free of Christine, and the rotting flesh of that relationship, I'll never know. Much of it would never have been possible, without Roo or Achingly Defiant, but they simply showed me that such things still existed in the world. Chicago brought these possibilities into my home.
Anyone wishing to interview me, or be interviewed by me, should feel free to ask.
To accept, to let go, and to hang on tight all at the same time, without breaking myself or anyone else in the process.
If you need to know how, you haven't been paying attention.
2. If someone asks you, do you still identify yourself as Hindu, and if so, why?
I am Hindu, and usually wear an Om around my neck to mark me as one for anyone who can see. I'll beg off if someone looks like they're going to be irritating about it, although lately I've been more willing (if not eager) to start those conversations.
Hinduism has never (and I mean that pretty literally) been about temple attendance or ritual adherence. In fact, there's an entire philosophy of Hinduism that doesn't require ever entering a temple in order to attain enlightenment/salvation/improved karmic rebirth.
Allow me to quote:
"To achieve [spiritual] union with the Supreme Soul (Brahman), there are believed to be three main paths, Bhakti Yoga (through Bhakti or devotion), Karma Yoga (by Karma or action) and Jnana Yoga (the path of wisdom or spiritual enlightenment). The most common of these three paths, which is chosen by the vast majority, is the path of Bhakti or devotional worship....The second path to God-head is through Karma Yoga, or union with God through Action. This path is chosen by the few men and women for whom selfless service in their profession is their chosen goal. Karma Yoga teaches that work for work's sake is the aim and not work for its rewards. Nishkama Karma or action with attachment to the fruits of one's actions, is the highest goal of this path....A Karma Yogi is a person to whom no work is inferior, as action is his means of attaining God, and work is his form of worship....."
-Hinduism: An Introduction, by Shakunthala Jagannathan
3. Career wise, where would you like to see yourself five years from now, vs where you actually think you will be (assuming they are different)?
I'd like to be earning a full time, stable salary with the use of a camera. My life is currently in such a whirlwind of change that I cannot allow myself the luxury of examining this question any more deeply than this.
4. What character trait do you still identify in yourself that you want to change, why do you want to change it, and how might you go about doing it?
Oh, gods! How much time do you have? In no particular order, I wish that I....
didn't fall in love at the drop of a hat.
could practice self-discipline better.
stood up when it counts and sat down when it doesn't.
was in better physical shape, more fiscally responsible
was a better housekeeper, artist, photographer, lover
had a better relationship with my parents
dressed better, more often
went out more, did more things that allowed me to meet a wider range of people
stopped smoking
laughed louder
smiled more often
looked up from my map more often (that's a giant metaphor I've been using a lot lately)
wasn't so dependent on constant social interaction
.....there's a ton more
5. How has the geography and energy of Chicago affected you in contrast to those same qualities in Pittsburgh?
I feel a lot less constricted, more able to breath. In Pgh, I always felt like I was either Deep In The Valley or merely Scanning The Horizon. I've got a much greater sense of the big and small picture, and can switch between views much easier. I think this picture pretty accurately captures how Pgh always made me feel - there's stuff going on deep in there, amidst the lights, but I can't see it. I'm too far away.
I feel a greater sense of possibility. The job sections, the Help Wanted signs everywhere, the people talking about what they're Doing rather than what they'd Like To Do. The nooks and crannies of this city are alive with promise, and beacon with fingers clad in rings of options, many-faceted and glowing with a thousand unique lights.
I feel more alive, more artistic. More Hindu. I've stepped into a part of myself that I'd been denying I could ever have, in ways I never imagined.
I feel whole again. How much of that is being free of Christine, and the rotting flesh of that relationship, I'll never know. Much of it would never have been possible, without Roo or Achingly Defiant, but they simply showed me that such things still existed in the world. Chicago brought these possibilities into my home.
Anyone wishing to interview me, or be interviewed by me, should feel free to ask.