Finding things takes effort. It
is a journey that we have all taken.
First, there is the realization
that something is missing. Sometimes it takes a while for us to see something
that is missing—other times, it does not take more than minute. When this
something becomes a part of our everyday life, it is easy to forget that it is
there. That is, of course, until it is gone. Other instances, it takes a need
of said lost thing to realize that it is indeed lost. There does not have to be
a large sign when it goes missing. That small need is all it takes. Even the
smallest thing of importance can leave a hole in your heart.
So we search for it. Asking
around in our own minds—where could it have gone? What could have happened to
it? Did I lose it? …Or did it leave? For something so important, shallow
answers are clueless. To lose something that is a part of you will take effort
to find and we have to go deeper.
Giving up is not an option. If
you are not willing to journey to find it, it does not deserve to be found by
you.
Of course, the path to the lost
is not an easy one. Speed bumps and walls block the way. Diligence and focus will
get you through. You cannot doubt yourself for a second. For a split second of
doubt is a crash. You are hindered from then on. That doubt is always with you,
that doubt will slow you down. Should you give in, it will stop you completely.
But faith and desire will keep
you moving. It is important to find what you have lost. Stand up. Keep moving.
There is no weakness in asking
for help. Even the friendliest of sources can be intimidating. The doubt
returns to tell you that it is a pointless journey, that no one can help, that you
are not strong enough to do this should you ask for help. The latter is often
true. Face this head on, or you may find yourself going in the wrong direction.
We do not always find what we are
looking for. If it does not come easily, we give up. If it is not waiting for
us, we do not care. If it left, why should we seek it out? Why should we even
bother?
Why? Because we need it to face
our monsters. Perhaps it cannot be found. Maybe it was never there to begin
with—something you deluded yourself into believing that you had. Maybe it is
something you have yet to learn.
Face it. Fight it.
Find it.
Hi Tessa -
ReplyDeleteI like that you didn't do a straightforward narrative accompaniment to your piece; I think it works better that way, and it sort of makes the photographs more abstract than they initially appeared to me. That's a nice sort of move, I think. I wonder, though, if the piece quite captures the energy of the photographs? There is something so abstract about it, while you're really dealing with a kind of mythic, even epic, narrative line.
It's not that you need to turn it into a specific journey, but the photographs are funny and particular - your piece is serious and abstract. That's an appealing dichotomy in some ways, but you don't want the writing itself to come at such an abstract level that it begins to sound like platitudes. It almost empties out a little as a piece.
I think that's the part that you'll need to watch out for as you re-draft. How can you avoid sounding so abstract as to be almost overly cliched? You're getting at some interesting ideas here, but sit with it, and work with it, and push into a place where the abstractions don't take over. Let me know if that makes sense -
Kirk
More organized thoughts, less cliches. Noted.
DeleteThank you for the review. I was trying to go for a lighthearted sort of pictures, but I liked the more dramatic text that goes with it. In presenting it I was planning on putting the text under the photos. I wasn't sure which affect would be better though.
Is there anything else that you want to point out, or something that I mistook?