We do not see things as they are...

I first came across these lines from the Talmud years ago, and remember thinking how beautifully they get to the point. The words have a zen quality for me. They point to the idea that whatever we do, think or say, the filters of our past conditioning always stand between us and what we see. Some filters are rose-colored, some are neutral and others are dark or obscured. Zen asks, "What if you didn't have filters? What if you could experience something directly?" Some Haiku masters have come close to achieving "Non-Filter", but that's a tall order for most of us.

In the visual arts, it's interesting to explore the ways in which our filters finds their way into our work. "Every photograph is a self-portrait of the photographer" comes to mind.

Take this picture of my mom's wedding gown, which I consider to be an interesting self-portrait. It is full of tones that are either very dark or very light. It was taken shortly after I was married during a time of ups and downs. I have a vague memory of grabbing my camera and my mom's wedding dress and heading down to the wooded creek behind our secluded little rental house. I had no plans and can't recall what I intended to do with it. I ended up hanging it on some low lying branches and snapped away as it floated on the breeze.