January 5th - 11:09

Title: January 5th - 11:09 Medium: Super-8 film Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Resolution: 2880 x 2160 File Type: H.264 Codec / MP4. Comments: Originally, I was supposed to fly out to Vietnam on this day. Perhaps the weight of all the nonstop travel and carrying so much on my back had broken something in me. It was painful to move and to even stand up. It was my bodies way of telling me to STOP! So, I listened. I missed my flight to a country I always wanted to visit to take care of my health. To see a chiropractor and they simply told me to rest. Once I left their office, I mustered up all my strength to meet with Sarah. We met at a parking lot at her favorite place to shoot, since she too was a photographer. You can see the cloudy city between these pillars where the water was gently flowing. This was her thinking place, where she came to make her abstract art. She stopped me in my tracks and said, this is the place I would like you to photograph me. I squeezed her into the frame to compose this shot of alignment and stillness. For a minute there, while we were creating art, I forgot I had any pain at all. It was like a moment of clarity. Letting go of any distress I was consumed by. One minute it felt like I was Atlas carrying the world, the next I was free of all the pain and sorrows my back had accumulated on 100 flights and nonstop motion like Io in the myth of Prometheus. It started to rain and we went for breakfast. In the car she was telling me about her past life as a pilot, and I had many questions about aviation and safety. She answered them all with a smile. We had arrived to a place which took a while to seat us, then the server never came as we sat for an hour so decide to leave. My back was starting to inflame again like the healing spell had wore off and it was excruciating. It was time for me to go home to rest to give my back a break. It was the first and only time in the project this had happened. Perhaps a sign from the universe to stay in New Zealand for a few more days before going to Asia. I was bummed to miss out on Vietnam, but some things you have to accept just don't work out when you are not feeling right. And that's okay! We carry on to where we are now and make sure we take care of our only body, the temple, the vessel, we have. To not over do it because of obligation, and to be flexible and adapt when the plan has to change.