G. Steve Journal

Unseeing Eyes

Coming across this thoughtful observation by naturalist and author Rachel Carson, I realized it describes the motivation that propelled my decades-long exploration and visual chronicling of the diverse landscapes of the Shawangunk Ridge.  Spend enough time traipsing through a landscape and one is liable to experience fleeting moments of beauty and wonder that provoke an urge to capture and share them, especially with those who seem oblivious to their existence:

For most of us, knowledge of our world comes largely through sight, yet we look about with such unseeing eyes that we are partially blind. One way to open your eyes to unnoticed beauty is to ask yourself, 'What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?

 

Something We Feel

For me, beauty is a physical sensation, something we feel with our whole body.

It is not the result of judgement. We do not arrive at it by way of rules.

We either feel beauty or we don’t.


                                                                                   – Jorge Luis Borges

 

What Is Essential

I just watched the recently released biopic of Fred Rogers, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” and was struck by what a unique and visionary performer he was. I never had the pleasure of viewing “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood” in real time - I was a few years past the ideal age - and I didn’t quite realize what a seminal figure he was in the advent of children’s television.

There’s a wonderful scene where Fred Rogers is testifying before a taciturn Senator Joe Pastore in an effort to secure $20 million in funding to continue. All the previous testimony has been dry and dogmatic and Senator Pastore has clearly heard enough. When Rogers’ turn comes, he speaks plainly and simply and from the heart. When he is through, there is a moment of silence until Senator Pastore announces: “Well, I guess you just got your $20 million.”

Like many artists and performers referred to in this blog, Fred Rogers exemplified the courage to follow his creative muse, despite there being no previously created template for such a show. The movie includes a particularly telling quote of his that neatly sums up his philosophy:

What is essential in life, is invisible to the eye.