In the late fall, I took this photo on a Sunday walk with my dog. A cool foggy morning, we headed up the hill to the old estate, now turned earth observatory. Instead of our usual weekday loop around, Barbados always seems to know when my plan is to take the long trek up the next hill. Just to make sure I’m really serious, as a last ditch effort, she will attempt distraction by suddenly finding an attractive scent in the direction she’d rather go (home), pulling me over that way a sniff at a time to get her point across. When she realizes I’m not buying it, she stops and stares at me with doleful resignation. “Are you sure?” “Yup, let’s go.” And we head off on our long hike, my Sunday morning meditation and her weekend adventure of new dogs and people.
On this particular day, when we reached the top, I was taken in by the heavy fog at the look-out point. Not that I always take pictures on these jaunts, but this time the setting was so dramatic and awesome, I simply had to! In the back of my mind was the thought, “What a great image for an inspirational quote…” Trouble was which one? Months went by and this photo just passed time on my computer desktop.
Currently, I am in the midst of reading a wonderful book entitled, Uncommon Genius: How Great Ideas Are Born by Denise Shekerjian. Although written in 1990, the subject matter is ageless, exploring the topic of creative impulse through interviews with 40 MacArthur Award winners. Recommended by my mentor, Barbara Winters as a must-read in her newsletter, Winning Ways, I knew I couldn’t go wrong. This book does not disappoint!
What does this have to do with my photo? This morning during my commute, while reading the conclusion of a chapter about Peter Sellers, I finally came across this perfect quote by Rainier Maria Rilke about the true essence of creativity. Immediately I thought of this snapshot of the Palisades in the mist. You can’t see the amazing view but you know it’s out there. The world is full of infinite possibilities. All we have to do is to open the door.
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