Monthly Archive for September, 2008

It Takes A Long Time to Become Fully You. ~ Björk

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Sometimes a message travels across time and seems to wait for you on the other side. If the message is exactly what you need to hear at the time, it can produce an “Ah-ha” moment and anchor itself in your mind for weeks or months. Recently this happened to me without warning through stumbling upon an old interview of the Icelandic musician Björk, and her words struck a deep chord of truth within me:

It takes a long time to fully become who you are.
~ Björk Guðmundsdóttir

Inspontaneously True

When I first heard Björk say that, I instantly knew it to be true based on what I’ve been experiencing in my own life and my experience of growing this website. For someone like me, I find her words relieving. If you’re reading this site, you must have a bit of right-brain creativity in you, otherwise you’d already be running for the hills, watching the news, or digging that trench you’ve been planning to dig. But if you’ve made it this far, I’d like to remind you how important it is that you be patient with yourself and to remember that everyone is a work in progress.

If you consider Björk’s words further, you may realize that this is also a deeply encouraging message, as well. It implies that it is indeed possible to fully become the highest expression of who you are — the best person you can be on this planet, if you only have enough desire and commit to that path. Fully becoming who you are isn’t actually a goal you can attain in your lifetime, it’s a lifelong mission. But by committing yourself to creating your best possible self, you are spending your time on Earth in the best way possible.

The Definition of Personal Growth

Bjork Quote - It takes a long time to fully become who you are.

For those of you who know a bit about Björk, you’ll know what I mean I say she is quite a unique individual and had to overcome many internal blockages, just as we all must, to reach the heights of musical expression that she’s reached today. In fact, the quest to become the best person you can be is the definition personal growth. The closer you are to being the full expression of you, the more aware you are, and the more expressive you can be. As an artist, this means you will produce the work that is most meaningful and powerful to you, and as a traveller it means you will delve into locations and adventures that are meaningful to you with confidence and excitement. Committing to this path is not easy by any means, but isn’t the time going to pass anyway? Why not use it to become the best person you can possibly be?

If there is demand, I can add items featuring the quote to the new Byteful Store. For now, you may want to print the poster out and put it somewhere you’ll see it so you can be reminded of her message everyday: Björk Quote – Become Who You Are :-)

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The poster of this quote is in the Byteful Gallery > InspirationEverywhere Motivational Quotes album. Selected Quotes from the gallery are now available on T-shirts and mugs at the Byteful Store. (Specific quotes added upon request.)

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Thanks for sharing the traveller spirit!
  1. Travel Writers Need Time to Reflect, too.
  2. Explore Your World While You Still Have Time (Exploring the Cosmic Game)
  3. Lan Su Chinese Garden Review: A Visit that Transcends Portland (& Time itself)

What an Early Fiery Sunrise Taught Me About Color

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Early in the morning, the sun came up and the sky was very blue.

On the first day of August, I awoke before sunrise, though I’m unsure why. I decided to make the most of this unique opportunity and impulsively grabbed my camera and headed out. After all, photography is fun, but photography at 6 in the morning is better. The morning light is quite different from any other light of the day, but photographers rarely have the ability to witness the sunrise due to their late-night post-processing of images and occasional insomnia. This was a special opportunity indeed.

Luminous Beam

This time I headed back down to where I photographed some rainbow rocks in the year prior. The colorful pebbles by the river were still there, experiencing no passage of time by the narrow river that snaked through the forest. As I arrived, the sun was just beginning to peek over the treetops in the distance, and I knew a celebration of light was about to begin. If you think about it, a sunrise possesses an ironic duality. Visually, a sunrise is a celebration of light, but it can occur in a perfect inaudible vacuum — in perfect stillness. This morning was one such morning.

As I walked out onto the small pier, I was surrounded by a quiet stillness.

The golden orb of the sun began to rise over the mist that hung over the water, creating a dreamlike sensation in the air. The water played and frolicked with the light, and both seemed happy to witness the sun giving birth to yet another day. The water was so still that it created a perfect mirror. Above this mirror, the fiery sunrise haloed some strangely-shaped clouds in an electric orange light, giving them an otherworldly quality. I called them venus clouds.

And then, just as quickly as it began, the magic hour of sunrise was complete.

Color is Power

Luminous Clouds

That August sunrise taught me a lesson about color. I learned to never underestimate the raw power of color. Color is visual energy capable of arousing intense emotion, and what color you choose to portray has an effect on what emotion is aroused. Instead of relating the exact true color of this sunrise, I decided to express the feeling of this sunrise instead. For this photo shoot, I shifted the colors on many of the photos toward a magenta hue and some were ever-so-slightly shifted toward an orange hue. By harnessing the power of color, these photos are much more visually compelling than their originals, and I hope you enjoy them.

Each of these photos captures just a tiny fraction of a moment in time, but a moment is all the time you need to capture the essence of a feeling.

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Photos from this trip are in the Byteful Gallery > Photography > Walks album. All photos in the Byteful Gallery can be used as desktop wallpapers because they are high resolution (1920×1440) just as the fullscreen & widescreen wallpapers are.

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Thanks for sharing the traveller spirit!
  1. Spin Sideways Toward Sunrise poem
  2. Widescreen Wallpaper – Cherry Mango Sunrise (Tinker to Find Solutions)
  3. The Fiery Tree

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