standing room only...

preg.6, originally uploaded by impactmatt.

Ok... i have not posted anything in a while, basically because all my photography has been "work" related. I haven't been able to get out there and just take some shots on my own and enjoy it. Hopefully soon! But I have to get something up, so I am kicking it old school and bringing out a recent shot that I love.

This is my lovely wife just over a month ago and she looks sublime!!! (which is also a preferred music group of hers) To watch her stomach grow and to feel the life inside kicking out for life is the greatest gift I could imagine! I know the baby is aching to get out, but at the same time he is perfectly content in his little warm, safe world. I understand completely!! I feel like I go through that on a daily basis.

I love the comfort, safety, and pampering that I can receive from western society and the lifestyle that our world provides for us. I have my internet/facebook/fastfood umbilical high speed hook up that keeps me satiated and satisfied. And I guess that has some miniscule place in our lives. Because eventually, we leave our little womb and go out into the world. And when this happens we do not go quietly. There is pain, kicking, screaming, pushing, and professionals in white coats to collect us. Our lifeline is cut and we breathe our first gasp of air. (see Neo being taken out of the machine world in Matrix 1) So now we are out there and we are no longer safe and protected... even though we may have parents(some people don't get to meet theirs and I can't imagine how tough that is) to fend for us, we are now using our own immune systems to fight off diseases and viruses, our skin is shielding us from the UV rays, our lungs are trying to filter the air... its on us... and its not as safe.

But thats OK... we weren't made to live in the womb. We were made to live out in the world... out in the wild! Let us embrace it, let us make the most of it. Sure the womb would have been comfortable, but imagine life without your favorite friend, food, song, or memory. We are pampered, babied, and wombed (not a word, but you understand I hope) only for a short while to be able to take on the world and appreciate it!

Maybe thats another reason why people smile when they see that little baby doing baby things. We smile at how small and fragile they are. We ooh and ahh about their wide eyes and flailing limbs as they interact with our world. But I think we are impressed with this little person as they bravely adjust and learn with bright-eyed-eagerness about this beautiful world that they have a lifetime to discover.

Here comes the son!

Ok, so I am not going to gush too much right now. But I have to say the other night my wife and I were lying in bed... don't get any naughty ideas now! And even if you did, we're allowed ok... for all you conservative folk who think that married people sleep in different beds a la Flinstones. If your parents do sleep in different beds for other reasons... I apologize for being insensitive to our society's present family situations. I do mean that.

But we were up and watching my wife's belly...she has put on some pounds... because she is pregnant!!! And even if she did get fat I would stil love her. Although I told her my cut off would be 300pounds... Ha! But we were watching my future boy kick and move in her stomach. What is going on in there I will never know. The kicks were so intense and he almost responded when I would gently tap back. I am in complete amazement at where life comes from and how it can come from such a "weird" source. Who would have thought of carrying a child in a woman's stomach for nine months only to have him pop out all slimey and crying? However, this is where life comes from and it is amazing. My son is coming soon and he is quite the active little monkey!!!!!

It also got me thinking about where else life comes from and how weird and amazing it may be. Think about how a simple breath can bring life to someone who is missing it. Imagine how a word of encouragement and compassion can give life to someone who is contemplating theirs. Just watching my future progeny (am i using that word properly?) kick and squirm made me hope that I will be able to teach him as much as he is already teaching me.

Life on the edge or life like a veg?

frontenac.blur, originally uploaded by impactmatt.

Ever thought of doing something crazy... nothing illegal... although it may have been the case. Why didn't you do it? Why did you do it?

I think its funny how hard we push our limits as humans. Yes, there are some of us that sit on the couch and eat chips all day, but some of our species get out there and do the wildest things. These guys in the picture put on skates and then bomb down a sheet of ice half a kilometer long, the whole time pushing and fighting with other guys trying to get to the end first. (kind of paradoxical "getting to THE END, FIRST!) Who would have thought this sport should evolve into being? Let's take rugby, downhill skiing, hockey, boarder cross, insanity and mash them all together!

Another extreme example was from the movie, based on the book, based on the true story, based in Alaska.... "Into the Wild." A young man leaves a university degree, car, credit cards, home, family, security, and prime time television to live in the wild world by his own wits. His ultimate goal is to live in the middle of nowhere, Alaska and fend for himself. I won't ruin the end if you haven't seen it, but it kind of goes against my point here... but regardless...

Living dangerously... living on the edge... actually living! Imagine that! We live in a society that fills us with fear. We have to get insurance, lock doors, get alarm systems, take extra vitamins, look both ways before crossing the street.... (some of these are good things, I am just on a roll.) Ever hunted for your own food? It tastes so good!!! We once speared our own fish and grilled it over a fire and it was delicious... no spices no nothing. The whole process of getting it spiced it up!

I am not against modern society... there is a great beauty in museums and grafitti. There is music in the symphony and the homeless guy playing his harmonica for change. But I wonder if we are missing out on life by not pushing ourselves, by not hurtling down a mountain of ice and fighting guys off at the same time... Jump out of our bubble baths and into the middle of raging rapids and over the waterfall into the pool below...

or maybe I'll just go to McDonalds.