If I’m not photographing architecture, playing in my darkroom, or hanging out with my family, you might find me teaching yoga at Ahimsa in Berwyn.  One of the themes that I find myself discussing again and again, as I lead the class into stillness, is the idea of contentment. This comes from the Niyama, Santosha, which roughly translates from the Sanskrit as “complete acceptance.”

Personally, I unpack this concept as understanding who I am in a particular  moment and allowing myself to be happy with that. To pursue Santosha is to seek happiness, but that concept can be a difficult thing to wrap one’s head around.  Does the pursuit of contentment preclude ambition or the desire to better ourselves?

Not at all.  There’s nothing wrong with wanting to grow and push ourselves towards new goals.  But, often, we do this from a place of negativity, seeking only to better ourselves from the perspective of dissatisfaction with our current state or position.

Dissatisfaction can be a powerful motivator, but I believe that it feeds on itself, creating a vicious cycle that never allows us to be satisfied with what we’ve attained.  If you can begin each day by accepting and appreciating what you have and who you are, then you have a solid foundation to move forward from.

When I talk about my photography, I would often say that I was never satisfied with the work, that I always found things I could have done better, composed better, lit better.  Having recently pored through my archive from the last ten years, I’ve found new self-respect. I’ve done some damn good work since I left Hedrich-Blessing.  

What I’ve achieved provides me with great satisfaction, and this is the foundation—the building blocks—that the rest of my career will grow from.

Namaste.

©