After Thoughts

If someone volunteered getting up at five o’clock in a Winter morning, climbing out from a layer of sheet, a comforter and two layers of blankets in pitch dark but still had a sort of unspeakable satisfactory joy, then this person may have a tendency of self-torture.

If someone was carrying 30 lbs. of heavy and clunky equipment, walking briskly on a snow melting, slippery mountain paths at 3,000 meters plus altitude, the temperature was 2 degree below zero Celsius but there was a smirky smile with expectation and excitement at the corner of his mouth, then this person may have some sort of mental problem or disorder.

If someone wondering back and forth, up and down, right and left on the mountain paths from 7:00 o’clock in the morning till 5:00 o’clock afternoon, had nothing but three bottles of drinking water, but sometimes this person would mumbling to himself “This is it! Yes, BEAUTIFUL!!!  This is it!  Oh, yes, FANTASTIC!!!” or sometimes, he would just dancing by himself in the middle of the mountain paths.  If, you may think, he wasn’t someone just running lose from a mental institute, then he must be on drug. 

Unfortunately, that someone was me.

Art creation is indeed a sort of spiritual exploration and the entire process of art creation is sure a way of cultivating oneself spiritually and physically.

There was no paved road, there was no comfort, there wasn't even 24-hour hot water for showers, the most modern equipment probably was the mobile toilets.  Nevertheless, there has the most spiritual experience, there has the most rich hearty touch, and there has the most plausible soul seeking adventure.  And, all these were quietly laying around among those mountains, waiting for people who has an open mind to visit, to explore, to experience.  Please go, to see it by your own bare eyes, to touch it by your own heart, to participate your whole into the scene, to breath as the nature breathing.

The thinner air at higher altitude, the severer and fierce cold mountain wind in a winter morning, the heavy and clunky equipment, the snow melting, slippery mountain paths and scarce food in a slow season even at a tourist place as famous as Yellow Dragon (Haunglong), these were all inconveniences, nothing more than trivial inconveniences.  The more important thing was that is there going to be a right environment to do art creation?  The more essential thing was that have I caught the right moment to do art creation?  The more critical point was that will all my experiences, preparations and knowledges enough, adequate and ready to honestly and precisely to capture, create and represent what I see and what I feel?

The art of living and an artistic life. 

Hopefully you would enjoy these photographs.