Perhaps totally unintended, the greatest benefit of owning a smartphone for me is the camera app. True it’s great when coming home to find out what to pick up at the supermarket or to know who might be waiting for the traffic light to change in San Francisco or that the cutest cat in the world has just befriended a reindeer in a high school classmate’s backyard. As for being able to watch videos of whatever rock star from the ‘60’s has just died and read the rants of those supporting those still seeking presidential nomination, sure, they’re important too. But it is the camera that most enriches my life. It is the camera that puts me in touch with my non-virtual world with whole new levels of intimacy and appreciation. The camera’s ready availability attunes me more than ever to the ever-changing beauty and excitement and drama and comedy that I pass through while my mind does all it can to distract me from those things.
Whoops! I just made this a Buddhist or maybe a mindfulness thing, didn’t I?
- Be in the present when my mind wants to spend the afternoon in the past or the future.
- Observe!
- Participate!
- Leave analysis for less enlightened or more reality-avoidant.
And there’s another—I’ll say it—spiritual aspect to this: the phone-cam as link to humility:
- Look at all this that I’ve had nothing major to do with either creating or maintaining!
- Understand it all as the gift of a universe possessed of grace and in constant motion!
- Learn over and over again that beauty and excitement come spontaneously and live well outside the realm of value judgements!
My Mom loved to say that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” My little phone-cam with its constant urging to see and its ability to instantly communicate to the world what I see whispers “Behold!”
The Oculus
Morning sunlight
#2 train
Crossing guard
Norman
W 76 & Columbus
A Friend
Freeman Street #2 station
The Met Breuer
Subway Smith Street
Doing dishes
Subway: D train 167th
Central Park
Welcome! My 
thank you so much
Blessings,
*Barbara*
Dr Barbara A Simpson, Mobile 646 245 4985
Facilitator: Ethical Death Cafe 2 West 64th Street *”The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” -Mahatma Gandhi*
*”The essence of life is to serve others and do good” Aristotle*
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Cousin Graeme says:
Loved the pic of the Crossing Guard…u wanna piece o’ me!
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She was absolutely delighted to pose in the middle of a busy intersection/construction zone in the rain.
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From Abraham: Richard, your ideas and imagination put you in a sphere inhabited
by a ” spirit ” which most of us can rarely experience. I wonder what kind
of violinist you might have been? Kudos!
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From Teresa: Some very nice photos, Richard. Thanks!
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These are EXTRAORDINARY…thank you, Richard…. I would like to post these to Facebook…. Can one do that and how..In my opinion you should be published so more people could experience how the word “behold” exists in you.
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Annie, thanks! Rather than post the snaps to FB if you just copied the link, goldberg.wordpress.com, that would give others the chance to connect with the blog and read the words as well.
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Great shots. I especially like “Norman.”c
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Great shots, and “Norman” is a work of art.
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From Cousin Leslie: Super images. Have you thought of having a show?
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Back in the ’60’s and ’70’s when I was working in black and white I did have one show. Back then I was concerned with fame and fortune,so showing fit well with my desires. Now shooting my snaps and sharing them with friends and family is sufficient.
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From MJF who just rode out the earthquake in Ecuador: The
“D” train at 167th st is a truly buddhist photo, in my eyes. As for
the rest, you have always had a good eye for your city and its
inhabitant, the world in general even. so it is no surprise that your
new electronic eye should serve that beauty in you, humbly,
unobtrusively, and wholly in character. congrats
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From Friend Andy: Great photos as usual.
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From Friend Alan: Like the post and the pix. Just too far down to officially comment.
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From Friend Judy: Loved photo of Columbus in the rain.
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