ENDINGS - 2ut7w42tva9l1o4irs3tie5i-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com · ENDINGS “The wound is the place...

1ENDINGS

LimitsLimits

Mind Body Heart Soul

ENDINGS

“I had built such a wall between my experiences and how I felt about those experiences that I was incapable of reliving both simultaneously. I could talk about my traumas, even walk through them, but I couldn’t feel them. When I tried to bring it all together, when I tried to remember how I had felt, I disappeared in my own head.”

Sarah Hackely

ReflectionWhat does Sarah Hackley mean when she says she disappears into her own head? Do you have a wall between your experi-ences and the way you feel about them? How can you connect them?

ActionCreate two self-portraits. First, think of a way to camouflage yourself in an environment. Using a self-timer or a partner to help, take a photograph where you disappear into the surroundings. Second, take an extremely close self-portrait. How are they the same / different?

1fosteringrelationships.org • ahomewithin.org • © 2016 A Home Within

Limits

2ENDINGS

LimitsLimits


ENDINGS

“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”

Rumi

Reflection

What does Rumi mean by this?

Action

For one day (or part of one), make light the subject

of your photographs. Wake up as early as possible

to see the sun rise or find a place to photograph

the sunset. Watch and record how light changes an

environment, and how it changes you.


Limits

3ENDINGS

LimitsLimits


ENDINGS

“I know now that we never get over great losses; we absorb them, and they carve us into different, often kinder, creatures.”

Gail Caldwell

Reflection

How have your experiences shaped or changed

you? Can you imagine how they might be a positive

force in your future?

Action

Take a collection of photographs of different shapes

in your environment. Walk around your house or

neighborhood searching for shapes you are drawn

to. Think of how they are made.


4ENDINGS

Limits

“It’s often said that a traumatic experience early in life marks a person forever, pulls her out of line, saying, ‘Stay there. Don’t move.’

Jeffrey Eugenides

Reflection

Do you ever feel that your past controls what or

where you can go? Do you ever feel stuck because

of the trauma you’ve experienced?

Action

Take a photograph that shows someone stuck in

place/space. Then take a series of photographs of

the person moving forward through space. Use your

environment to find a setting that will help illustrate

this (ie. snow, mud, a dense forest, water, bars of a

jungle gym, etc.)


ENDINGS


Limits

5UNCERTAINTY

“Some people’s lives seem to flow in a narrative; mine had many stops and starts. That’s what trauma does. It interrupts the plot. You can’t process it because it doesn’t fit with what came before or what comes afterwards.”

Jessica Stern

Reflection

What is the plot of your life? Are there stopping and

starting points? Why?

Action

Write a new plot for your future – keep it short and

descriptive. Make an image that could be used for

the movie poster or book cover to advertise your

new story.


UNCERTAINTY


Limits

6UNCERTAINTY


UNCERTAINTY

“I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back.”

Maya Angelou

Reflection

What does Maya Angelou mean by this? What are

some positive ways you could “throw some things

back” in your life?

Action

Make a list of what you need from others. Make a

list of what you have to give back – without buying

anything. Attempt to photograph the lists.


Limits

7UNCERTAINTY


UNCERTAINTY

“There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds.”

Laurell K. Hamilton

Reflection

Do you have hidden scars? How do they differ from

the ones that show? Do you share them with others?

How do you decide what to share and what to hide?

Action

Photograph a scar that is visible. Photograph a scar

that is hidden.


Limits

8UNCERTAINTY


UNCERTAINTY

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Maya Angelou

Reflection

Who are the people in your life that you care most

about? Do they know this? How do you think you

make them feel?

Action

Make a list of the people you love. Take a

photograph of them or photograph something that

symbolizes who they are (or were) to you. Make a

small book or album of these photos.


9BEGINNINGS

LimitsLimits


BEGINNINGS

“Freedom begins the moment you realize someone else has been writing your story and it’s time you took the pen from his hand and started writing it yourself.”

Bill Moyers

Reflection

How can controlling what you share or tell about

yourself give you a sense of empowerment?

Action

Think of a favorite memory. Write it down. What

parts did you leave out? When you take a picture

you frame a scene and decide what to include or

omit. Tell the story of the memory with pictures. Write

captions for each image.


10BEGINNINGS

LimitsLimits


BEGINNINGS

“Risk anything! Care no more for the opinion of others... Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself. Face the truth.”

Katherine Mansfield

Reflection

What does “face the truth” mean to you? What risks

does it entail?

Action

Think of a roadblock in your life. What would it

take to get past it? Photograph yourself being

courageous.


11BEGINNINGS

LimitsLimits


BEGINNINGS

“Maybe your country is only a place you make up

in your own mind. Something you dream about and

sing about. Maybe it’s not a place on the map at all,

but just a story full of people you meet and places

you visit, full of books and films you’ve been to. “

Hugo Hamilton

Reflection

Where is your country? Could your country be an

imaginary one made up of all the places you’ve lived

and the people you’ve known?

Action

Write about your imaginary country. Make

photographs to illustrate this place – include people,

places and objects that are significant.


12BEGINNINGS

LimitsLimits


BEGINNINGS

““Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could have been any different.”

Oprah Winfrey

Reflection

How does forgiveness play a part in recovery?

Action

Write five sentences that each begin with

“Forgiveness is…” Illustrate each line with a

photograph.


13RENEWAL

LimitsLimits


RENEWAL

“Our duty is wakefulness, the fundamental condition of life itself. The unseen, the unheard, the untouchable is what weaves the fabric of our see-able universe together.”

Robin Craig Clark

Reflection

What takes up the most time in your days? What

takes up the most time in your mind (worries, wishes,

frustrations)? What are you missing out on?

Action

Practice wakefulness. Take your camera out into

the world. For a predetermined time, walk slowly

and look at your surroundings carefully. Photograph

everything you see or hear that you would normally

walk past.


14RENEWAL

LimitsLimits


RENEWAL

“Say no when you don’t want to do something. Say

yes if your instincts are strong, even if everyone around

you disagrees. Decide whether you want to be liked or

admired. Decide if fitting in is more important than finding

out what you’re doing here.”

Eve Ensler

ReflectionDo the opinions of others affect the way you make

decisions or limit what you do? How? Does the desire to

fit in go against what you believe in?

ActionUsing images you find online or in magazines, make a

collection of 10 photographs that show the dominant or

mainstream group within your culture and age group. Do

you fit in? If not, make an alternative version of your group

using photographs you take or find.


15RENEWAL

LimitsLimits


RENEWAL

“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”

Nelson Mandela

Reflection

In what ways do your actions have an impact others?

How can your interactions with others help or harm

your life?

Action

Think of someone in your life that gives you strength.

Take a photograph for him or her. Is this something

that would make a good gift? Why or why not?


16RENEWAL

LimitsLimits


RENEWAL

“Sometimes we motivate ourselves by thinking of what we want to become. Sometimes we motivate ourselves by thinking about who we don’t ever want to be again. Everything we do is part of who we are. How we choose to use those memories, to motivate or to submit is entirely up to us.”

Shane Niemeyer

Reflection

Who do you want to become? What do you want to

leave behind?

Action

Take two photographs – one should show who you

do not want to be, one should illustrate who you

want to become.


ENDINGS - 2ut7w42tva9l1o4irs3tie5i-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com · ENDINGS “The wound is the place...

Documents

Transcript of ENDINGS - 2ut7w42tva9l1o4irs3tie5i-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com · ENDINGS “The wound is the place...