The River Of Life

I live near a river, and one of my favourite things to do is to walk alongside it. Recently, I was inspired to film some footage of the river in a quiet, secluded spot where you can get right to the water’s edge. Using my iPhone, I tried to capture the river’s energy. I found myself lying on my side at the water’s edge, phone in hand, trying to record the sounds and sights of this great river. I’m not sure why; I was drawn to it, which is one of the things I enjoy doing in my art practice—following my excitement.

While I was recording the footage, I thought of a chapter from one of my favourite books, Think on These Things by Jiddu Krishnamurti. The chapter's called The River Of Life. Krishnamurti talks about how life should be like a river — always moving, exploring, pushing forward.  But instead, we get stuck in our traditions, jobs, families, and beliefs, and end up like a “stagnant pond,” as he puts it, where we just stick to what's comfortable and lose that spark for life. I've seen this in my life, especially when I find myself clinging to my career for comfort.

I rushed home and started to photocopy this section of the book, which I was reading as I watched the footage of the river. I was then reminded of a photograph of the stagnant pond my partner had sent me a few years ago.

I then started to write beside this image all the reasons I could think of that led to us falling into the stagnant pond:

• Career

• People pleasing

• Clinging to things

• Property (mortgages)

 I don’t really know what this work is about yet. Still, it served as a timely reminder to follow my excitement continually, moment by moment.