Lost in the Universe of my Mind

  I ponder a lot of things during the daytime hours but even more by the light of the moon.  It often seems that on the nights that I cannot sleep, for one reason or another, problems loom larger or solutions seem much easier.  Other times, I ponder something that has no apparent purpose other than being an idea worth pondering.  Sleepless nights can see me solving the world's gigantic problems or firing up the imagination on an art project that has yet to be attempted.  My nighttime contemplation usually turns into a game of "Charades" being played out in my brain.  My imagination runs amok creating quite a mess of inane instances that might or already have occurred.  Experts say dreams are merely repressed memories from our childhood but I find this hard to believe.  My dreams are, more oft than not, repressed memories from just the day before.  I guess my brain has a problem digging too deeply into the dusty, old diaries and photo albums otherwise known as my memory.  

  What do all these ramblings about dreams and thoughts have to do with today's photographs?  Not a thing, actually, except for the fact that I find the first picture of the sun filtering through young pine saplings quite inspiring.  Any artist can tell you that a project does not have to be great flash of ideas to pull you into the fantasy world of creation.   Just a mere hint of mystery can jog one into a different world where bliss can only be obtained by releasing a suppressed idea. Inspiration and creativity come together as one to evoke a huge burst of exhilaration.  The conscious mind has no hold on the vividness of ideas wafting about on a sleepless night.  

  The second photograph screams of the multitudes of ideas that blast endlessly about the universe otherwise known as my brain.  These ideas trail like great comets or shooting stars through the ebony space.  Each star, each tiny speck of dust revolves in a huge vortex with a fiery core.  This maelstrom whirls and twirls around in the brain until one small artistic endeavor breaks forth.  All is put on hold while the hands try to recreate what the brain's eye sees.  Try as one might, it never happens.  The image held in the brain never comes fully to fruition but rather stays as an illusive thought just out of reach and always beckoning.  This is so like those thoughts that are pondered at two in the morning.  Always, always just out of reach, yet, so near.

  To be honest, I took neither photograph.  Mark wandered the hillside without me today.  His company being only Ms. Ez, the dog and my camera.  I spent the afternoon rambling about the kitchen with my son.  Together we prepared our evening meal.  He, doing the creative cooking and I, sometimes doing no more than being in the way,  I am sure.  As the sun started to slip behind the pines, Mark snapped several amazing shots.  One of my favorites being the closeup of pine needles backlit by a brilliant sun.  It is one of those photographs that draws me into a fantasy world of mythical beings and faraway realms.  I almost feel if I could just step through the branches, I could finally enter an up-to-now dominion.  The second photograph is a creative misstep.  He, not being familiar with the camera, forgot to remove the zoom lens while trying to get a closeup of the pine needles.  The sun bouncing backing into the lens illuminated all of the dust, grime, nicks and scratches on the glass lens.  My already overactive imagination refused to see this as a result of a piece of neglected equipment but rather as representation of an artist's universe..that vast space crammed with specks of creative endeavors yet to come.  Dreams, imaginations and creativity come smashing together as one sleepless night...one long, yet, far to short night.