Cinematic Living

Before we begin…

Going into this entry, I had just spent 3 days exploring Toroko National Park home to a landmark gorge carved by the Liwu River. I took my chances on a scooter (first time riding one!) instead of the bus because it gave me the freedom to go wherever I wanted to. And boy am I glad I did! Riding through the canyons was an epic experience that inspired me to venture into other natural wonders of Taiwan on two wheels.

Once I found my favorite spot on the edge of the gorge away from the crowds, I decided to spend several hours there in solitude, just being present and taking in the beauty around me. Once again, Nature decided to teach me another lesson.

Cinematic Living

I’m so grateful for Toroko and its fragile existence. Something about its majesty speaks to my soul. Listening to Kanho Yakushiji’s Heart Sutra while blazing through the gorge was akin to a spiritual experience.

A feeling of pure freedom that made me cry out in joy. It’s been so long since I felt this alive. All of my senses melded with the road, the cliffs, the river, the mountains and the clouds. There was no longer a sense of self. Just presence.

I tried my best to capture the feeling of riding through these vast gorges that make you feel so small yet so free.

Just as I was one with the red maple, the gnarled cypress, the dispersing water, the grooved stones sitting on the river’s edge. The water effect was especially mesmerizing. After it crashes, it quickly disperses until all the tiny bubbles are gone. Scattered. This happens endlessly for as long as the river runs. And it has been for millions of years.

A few perspectives from my meditation spot on the banks of the gorge. The concept of cinematic living was inspired by these scenes.

I’m glad the Taiwanese government decided to not construct the dam. It would have destroyed this national treasure, and stopped the flow of change. Without the flow of water, most of the trees and animals would likely also die. Time would appear to stand still. Dead, devoid of life.

For life is change. Our bodies literally die when our heart stops pumping blood and the exchange of minerals stops at the cellular level. The law of nature is change. Even the same place will have difference views, different people, different sensations. No sunset is ever the same. The good flows into the bad, and the bad flows into the good. The key is to keep flowing and be observant.

So how will I deal with change? What is the role of stillness? I need stillness to appreciate change. Without it, life passes by in a blur. When change happens too quickly, it becomes jarring. I want to embody my 85mm portrait lens, closely focusing on a few points to cut through the noise, yet be able to zoom out to the aerial drone view from time to time to witness the vast landscape in all its splendor.

If life can be viewed from a cinematic perspective, then one could live life like a movie. Why not? It does take some courage however because there will always be those who judge every time I put myself out there, but the alternative is far worse, not being able to express myself.

Lesson: Cinematic living is taking the film maker’s perspective on life, cultivating stillness to focus our attention on specific points that interest us and zooming out periodically to see the entire forest.

In doing so, we a) develop our personal taste outside societal norms, thereby becoming more self-aware and b) appreciate change in both the big and the small around us, which reminds us that stressful events will not last forever, that everything is constantly changing. The good flows into the bad, and the bad flows into the good. The key is to keep flowing and be observant.

🤔 What I’m Pondering Over

Adding Surprise to the Every Day

This is actually a passage from my Traveler’s Notebook dated January 22, 2024:

This no planning plan is really working out. Every day I’ve been pleasantly surprised rather than expecting a certain thing to happen. Though I do admit it takes a certain level of courage to do this, a state which I’m beginning to feel more at home with. I wonder how I can carry this into normal daily life where a specific outcome is desired, is required even? How does randomness and optionality exist alongside specific goals and metrics?

Even this creation style of capture, not knowing how things unfold and what I will make of them has a certain element of surprise. Yet when it comes to creation, it’s the surprise element that’s most powerful.

Something unexpected is memorable. So perhaps it’s structured chaos where the probability of positive outcomes is increased. And of course to have the capability of readiness to capture it. The analogy and model applies to business as well.

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